ANASTASIA TRUSOVA’S MASTERCLASS. 07.07.2024. MOSCOW
For the first time in a long time I came to Moscow. Since the last time I was here, the city has changed a lot, grown, become comfortable and friendly. I liked this new Moscow. And, of course, I wanted to share with its residents my creative discoveries, findings, techniques - everything that I managed to learn, accumulate, reconsider in painting. I decided to hold my master class together with “The Peredvizhniki” (“The Wanderers”) shop for artists, inviting everyone to it. It was an amazing experience. The participants hung on my every word, showed sincere interest and asked a lot of questions. The atmosphere sparkled with creative energy. The whole process gave me great pleasure.
HOW IT WAS. SEASCAPE WITH A YACHT AT SUNSET
As a reference, I suggested a plot of a seascape with a yacht at sunset; it was also possible to use your own plot, but all participants chose the one I proposed. For the base, we took medium-grain “Sonnet”, 100% cotton, primed with acrylic primer. I took a 40x50 rectangular canvas, larger so that the participants could see it better, and most of the participants worked with a 30x40 size, some chose the shape and size at their own discretion and started working.
Palette:
1. 101. Titanium White (P.W.6), 2. 203. Cadmium lemon (P.Y.35), 3. 200. Cadmium Yellow Light (P.Y.35), 4. 304. Cadmium Orange (P.O.20), 5. 306. Cadmium Purple (P.R.108), 6. 324. Quinacridone Rose (P.V.19), 7. 335. Rose Light (P.W.4 P.R.122 P.W.6), 8. 607. Violet (P.V.19 P.V.23 P.W.4), 9. 501. Ultramarine Light (P.B.29), 10. 508. Cobalt Blue (P.B.28), 11. 528. Royal Blue (P.W.4 P.W.6 P.B.29), 12. 516. Indigo (P.B.15:3 P.Bk.7 P.V.23), 13. IMPASTO MEDIUM, MATT
First, I use blue to indicate the main elements of the landscape: the horizon line and the yacht, I apply the first layer of paint - I do the underpainting using Cadmium lemon above the horizon line, and below the horizon line Cadmium Yellow Light + a little Cadmium Orange with the addition of water so that the paint is more liquid and lay down in an even layer on the canvas. To apply the paint I use a thick, coarse bristle brush. Having finished with the first layer, the main purpose of which is to cover the completely white canvas with colour, I wait a few minutes for the paint to dry and move on to the second layer.
With the second layer I work with paint without adding water, I need the layer to be saturated in colour. Above the horizon line, I smoothly stretch the colour upward, using in turn: Cadmium Orange → Cadmium Yellow Light → Cadmium lemon → Titanium White → Rose Light → Royal Blue. I apply the paint vigorously, carefully blending the boundaries between the colour transitions, creating a smooth gradient of the sunset sky. Once finished, I wait a few minutes for the paint to dry a little and move on to the textures of the clouds.
I will paint the clouds and the yacht by applying the paint in a thick layer, using a palette knife and medium to give the paint additional volume. IMPASTO MEDIUM mixes well with paint, increasing its volume without changing the structure and shade, which allows you to apply paint on the surface of the canvas in a thick layer, creating volume or a voluminous substrate for applying patterns using figured palette knives or sculptural spatulas. The mixture of paint and IMPASTO MEDIUM is easily applied to the canvas and greatly saves paint consumption; without such a medium, such a volume would have to be created, additionally consuming a lot of paint.
For the clouds, I mix IMPASTO MEDIUM + Cadmium lemon + Titanium White and apply it to the canvas with a palette knife with a long elastic tip. Clouds stand out in the sky. Those of them that are located near the horizon are lighter than the sky, so they are illuminated from below by the rays of the setting sun, and the further from the horizon, the darker the clouds are in the sky, since the rays of the setting sun no longer reach them. Moving higher, I take a mixture of IMPASTO MEDIUM + Cadmium Yellow Light and also apply it to the canvas with a palette knife. Next, I take IMPASTO MEDIUM + Cadmium Yellow Light + Cadmium Purple and apply it to the canvas, and then increase the proportion of Cadmium Purple in the mixture until the colour of cadmium is almost purple. At the very end, I take a mixture of IMPASTO MEDIUM + Cadmium Purple + Violet and apply it to the very top of the canvas. That's all with the sky for now. I turn to the sea.
For the sea, I take a mixture of IMPASTO MEDIUM + Ultramarine Light + Cobalt Blue + a little Indigo, apply it to the canvas with a palette knife in a thick layer. Next, I take a silicone spatula with curly edges and create the texture of sea waves, smoothly sliding the spatula over the surface of the paint. Through the thick layer of blue paint, the yellow underpainting begins to shine through here and there, creating the effect of reflecting the rays of the setting sun on the surface of the sea waves, which creates a feeling of space and depth, forming a light-air environment.
The sails of the yacht look like a silhouette against the background of a bright sunset sky, and the hull is almost invisible against the backdrop of sea waves. Therefore, just like for the sea, I take a mixture of IMPASTO MEDIUM + Ultramarine Light + Cobalt Blue + a little Indigo and apply it to the canvas in a thick layer along the silhouette of the yacht. In general, the work is finished, only the details remain. To work with them, I need the paint to dry a little, I wait 10-15 minutes.
When the paint has dried, I take a thick brush and lightly apply yellow paint in the shape of a sunny path on the surface of the sea. Next, I take a thin synthetic brush and make light highlights on the surface of the waves, using Royal Blue + Cobalt Blue and with the same colours I slightly soften the sharp horizon line on the left. With the last stroke of the palette knife I mark the disk of the setting sun using Titanium White.
