ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE By Richard Robinson

Master Class, Oil Painting Tutorial

LESSON NOTES
Welcome to Teal
Bay, Northland, New
Zealand! My name is
Richard Robinson.
I'm going to take yo
throgh a lesson
abot atmos!heric
!ers!ecti"e. #ere's
the !er$ect !lace to
do it. %et's get
started.
It's "ery easy to be
ins!ired to !aint in a
!lace like this, bt to
e&!ress any !lace
well, we need to
ha"e some basic
!ainting knowledge.
This lesson co"ers a
crcial !art o$
landsca!e !ainting
and one which is
o$ten misnderstood.
I'm o$ten asked, how
do yo make those
hills seem so $ar
away, and how do
yo make yor
!ainting look so so$t,
like it's got light in it'
Well, here's the key,
nderstanding
atmos!heric
!ers!ecti"e. %et's get
into it.

What are we seein! The Pa"ette Br#shes
(s things get $rther away $rom
yo in daylight they seem to
become more like the color o$
the sky, getting lighter and less
distinct $rom each other. )or
instance, $ar away hills seem to
look ble, when we know
they're actally co"ered with
green grass and trees.

'(rchi"al *ils' by +hroma
'+lassic (rchi"al Medim'
,ltramarine Ble
+admim Red Mid
+admim *range
+admim -ellow Mid
Titanim White

./ )lat #og Bristle
01 2ignet Robert
2immons )ilbert


WHAT$S HAPPENIN%!
White light $rom the sn, containing all the colors o$ the s!ectrm, bonces o$$ ob3ects arond s and tra"els to or
eyes throgh an atmos!here o$ air, water "a!or and dst. *r atmos!here $ilters ot some o$ the yellow and red
colors o$ that s!ectrm like a sie"e, lea"ing more ble and !r!le colors. (s there is more atmos!here between yor
eyes and a distant hill than between yor eyes and a close hill, the light $rom the distant hill looks bler, and illminated
atmos!heric !articles make the hill a!!ear lighter as well. I $ind it easier to imagine do4ens o$ "eils o$ atmos!here $iling
away into the distance, tinting and lightening the landsca!e behind it. Imagine these "eils e5ally s!aced on a railway
track to the hori4on. 2ee how there a!!ear to be more and more "eils closer to the hori4on' That means we're looking
throgh mch more atmos!here in the distance than in the $ore or midgrond, making things right on the hori4on
nearly disa!!ear altogether. When standing at sea le"el the hori4on a!!ears abot 6 km 78 miles9 away. It's good to
kee! in mind this increasing natre o$ atmos!heric !ers!ecti"e. I$ we were to gi"e it a name it cold be the
'atmos!heric density gradient'. It's im!ortant to note where the sn is in yor scene and to notice how the light changes
in the atmos!here as yo trn yor ga4e slowly away $rom the sn and arond behind yo. Note too when looking
towards the sn like this the atmos!heric color gets lighter and warmer the closer it is to the sn : this means
e"erything gets lighter and warmer the closer it gets to the sn : hills, water, clods, birds; e"erything. Think abot
how yo can achie"e that in a !ainting. It may seem con$sing at $irst, bt as yo'll soon see, a methodical a!!roach
can make it $airly straight$orward. )irst thogh, we need to know how too look at this scene;


HOW TO SEE&&&
( techni5e which I se all the time to make it easier to see the ma3or colors, "ales and sha!es, is blrred "ision. I
do this by going "ery slightly cross:eyed : throwing my eyes ot o$ $ocs and redcing the scene be$ore me to it's bare
essentials. I $ind this essential $or nderstanding a scene $or a !ainting. <on't do this when looking at yor !ainting
thogh : sre it makes it look better bt yo can't ask e"eryone else to look at yor !aintings cross eyed.
Being able to 3dge "ale relationshi!s is a key skill $or any good !ainter. ( color's "ale is how light or dark it is, as i$
it were trned into a black and white !hotogra!h. It's ama4ing how easily yor eyes can $ool yo into belie"ing
something is lighter or darker than it actally is. ( handy thing to ha"e is a "ale chart which looks like this and is
inclded in yor lesson notes. It's a great way to train yorsel$ to see "ales better.
,n$ortnately !hotogra!hy has it's limitations and in this e&am!le the lights are lighter than they really were and the
darks are darker : tending to look more dramatic, bt losing the sbtleties o$ the actal scene. That's why !ainting on
site is so mch better $or yor nderstanding o$ light. -o can see thogh how at $irst this $ront hill's shadowed side
looks almost black, bt sing the ctot "ale scale re"eals it is closer to the second "ale on the scale. =rint ot the
attached "ale chart and ct the middle holes ot or by one at yor local art s!!ly store.


WHERE TO START!
%ike most o$ !ainting, this is a skill that can be learned and is mch easier than it $irst a!!ears. (ll we ha"e to do is
a!!roach the !roblem systematically and methodically. Now we nderstand basically what is ha!!ening : receding
ob3ects take on more and more o$ the atmos!heric color. We 3st a!!ly that conce!t to or color mi&ing. I$ we ha"e a
midgrond ob3ect like a hill which re!eats in the distance, all we ha"e to do is mi& the colors $or the $irst hill, then add
to these colors some o$ the atmos!heric color to achie"e the colors o$ the distant hill. We then take this new set o$
colors and add more atmos!heric color, making the colors $or the ne&t most distance hill, and so on $or the ne&t.

MI'IN% COLO(RS
( sim!le !alette a"oids con$sion and encorages color harmony. I'm sing ,ltramarine Ble, +admim
Red Medim, +admim *range, +admim -ellow Medim and Titanim White.
)irst I mi& a big !ile o$ atmos!heric color. This is the color o$ the sky 3st abo"e the hori4on. I'"e sed
mainly white, with a bit o$ ble and a toch o$ red. Note the di$$erence between the color in the !hotogra!h
and the color I'm actally seeing.
Now I'll mi& all the colors $or the $irst hill. This is the darkest shadow color between the trees where no
light !enetrates. With this $irst set o$ colors I need to make a lot more than I actally need becase I'll be
taking $rom these !iles to make the ne&t set o$ colors. While I'm mi&ing I'm holding ! my "ale scale to the
scene and checking that the tone is correct.
This color here is the shadow color o$ the
trees. Now I don't want it there so I 3st scoo!
it ! and mo"e it down. This ne&t color is the
highlight color o$ the trees where the sn is
hitting the to!s o$ them. (s I mi& new colors
I'm checking these against the !re"ios
color on my !alette to make sre the relati"e
tone and color is correct too.
Ne&t is the shadow color o$ the grass. ($ter
that is the highlight color o$ the grass. I'm
only sing two tones $or each ob3ect : a
shadow color and a highlight color. Back in
the stdio where I ha"e more time to do a
larger !ainting $rom this otdoor sketch I'd
!robably se 8 or > tones? shadow, re$lected
light, local color and highlight. Bt the light
changes so $ast otdoors yo'd be doing
!retty well to mi& and !aint all those colors.
These last two colors are the shadow and
highlight colors $or the rock at the base o$
the hill.
Now all I ha"e to do is se these colors,
adding atmos!here color, to make the
colors $or my ne&t hill; and so on. The only
tricky !art now is 3st making sre that the
relati"e tones are correct. )or e&am!le the
highlight color o$ the grass has to be slightly lighter than the shadow color o$ the grass.

THE )RAWIN%
2ometimes yo can start straight in with the !ainting, bt the illsion o$ distance in this !ainting really re5ires getting
the !lacement and relati"e si4e o$ these hills 3st right. I always !t in my hori4on line $irst as my !oint o$ re$erence and
then work $rom there. The really im!ortant things in this scene are the distances between the bases o$ the hills and
also the distances between the to!s o$ the hills and the hori4on.

PAINTIN%*
2o now I'"e got my colors ready
and my drawing sorted I can get into
the !ainting withot ha"ing to sto!
and remi& colors so mch. I'm 3st
going to lay down a little bit o$
atmos!heric color $irst $or re$erence
and so that my distant hills will $ade
into this a bit when I !aint those. I'm
mi&ing a new !ile o$ atmos!heric
color which is lighter and warmer
than the $irst de to being closer to
the sn.
The medim I'm sing to mi& with my
!aints in my little !ots down there is
(rchi"al +lassic Medim which has a
drying time o$ abot @>hrs and is
really good $or !ainting otdoors. It's
$rom +hroma in (stralia. My !aints
are all $rom them as well.
Now, I lay in my darkest "ales $irst, $ollowed by the ne&t lightest and then the ne&t. (lways !aint a bit $rther
than yo ha"e to so that the ne&t layer o$ !aint will work back into it, creating a smooth transition and
co"ering the can"as. I'm sing a big brsh to s!eed things !, !ls I had .1 c!s o$ co$$ee : no 3st kidding.
2ee in the !hoto how the hills get a bit lighter and warmer towards the sn' Well that's what I'm doing here,
adding a bit o$ orange and warm atmos!here color to the hill color on the le$t, and I'll need to do that to all
my colors as they get closer to the sn. 2o now I'"e !t the two dark shadow color on it's time to !t on
the light colors on to! o$ the trees, which I !t on a bit thicker. (gain, adding a bit more orange and warm
atmos!here color as it gets closer to the sn. #ere I'm 3st di!!ing my brsh in the medim and wi!ing it o$$
with a rag to clean it and get it ready $or the ne&t color.
The ne&t color is the shadow color $or the grass and I'm 3st going to !aint that into the !aint I'"e already
got there, and in between the trees. I !t the lightest colors on thicker still, creating a thick ridge o$ !aint on
my brsh by !shing it into the !aint !ile, then dragging it lightly o$$ onto the can"as, not s5ashing it into the
can"as.
I'm not really interested in ca!tring e"ery minte detail in a scene : I $igre that's what we'"e got cameras
$or. To me it's more abot ca!tring the essence o$ a !lace.
Now I'm !ainting back some o$ the trees that were wi!ed ot by the grass. #ere I'm mi&ing a tiny bit o$ the
atmos!here color into the tree color to make a sky:shine color $or the shadow o$ the trees which is where
the sky is re$lected on the to! o$ the shadowed trees. That 3st adds a little bit more three dimensionality to
it.
Now I'm starting work on the second hill. When I'm !ainting this in I'm also rede$ining the ridge line o$ the hill
in $ront o$ it. Bt I will go back in a$terwards and !aint some o$ those $oregrond trees back in. (gain, adding
orange and warm atmos!here color into the colors that are getting closer to the sn;and this gets more
!rononced as we tra"el $rther back into that atmos!here color.
=tting on these light colors is really the most e&citing !art o$ the !ainting $or me. It's like yo'"e done the
grondwork and set the scene 3st waiting $or these $inal brshstrokes to make sense o$ the whole thing.
%ike smoothing the !illow $or the crown 3ewels to sit on.
#ere's where I !aint back in some o$ the trees on the ridge line that were lost when we !ainted in the second
hill. -o can really see here how I'm !shing the !aintbrsh into that !ile o$ !aint to get a thick glob o$ !aint
on the end, that I can 3st lay down 5ite so$tly on to! o$ the trees. (nother thing to obser"e is that
atmos!here brings the "ales closer and closer together as things get $rther away $rom yo. (lso, yo need
to remember that it's not 3st atmos!heric !ers!ecti"e that's making this ob3ect seem $rther away, it's also
linear !ers!ecti"e, which means getting yor drawing right, and making things smaller as the recede :
making thinner brshstrokes and smaller trees.
2o I'm $inished with the hills, now I'm going to mi& ! the colors $or the water and !t that in. (gain, the
!hoto colors are a lot di$$erent to the colors that are actally there. Where a light and a dark area 3oin is
sally the trickiest !art o$ a !ainting and sally re5ires a lot o$ work. Now 3st a little dot $or the $ishing
boat that was down there, and it's re$lection;and a hint o$ sand;a $ew other $inishing toches; and there
yo ha"e it. (nd here's a $inished !ainting I did o$ the same scene.
Well, that's it $or today. Thankyo $or taking !art in my lesson... and remember, !ractice does make
!er$ect. There are more lessons a"ailable online on my website www&new+ea"andartist&co, . Thanks.