As my children are getting older and more responsible, my wife and I are regularly able to steal an hour to go for an uninterrupted walk around our village. One of our favourite walks starts through our little garden gate and into the woods, then downhill towards the valley and the river, past the lock and back up the hill again towards Blakes Wood. This reference photograph was taken on one such evening walk. The shadows being cast by the setting sun are what drew me to this particular scene (one of many taken that day).

This is quite a typical subject matter for me and I enjoyed painting it. I hope you do too!

Difficulty: Advanced
Panel Size: 12 x 12 inches
Brushes used in this lesson: Michael James Smith Professional Brush Set
Painting surface used in this lesson: Artists Exhibition Panel

In August 2019 Michael switched brush manufacturers and as a result the series numbers/names are different in some of the lessons. In order to be able to complete the lessons regardless of which set you’re using we have put together a chart which lists the equivalent brushes from both sets.

Oil Paints:
Titanium White
Cerulean Blue
French Ultramarine
Ivory Black
Dioxazine Purple
Cadmium Orange
Winsor Yellow
Burnt Umber
Pthalo Green (Yellow Shade)
Sap Green

Mediums / Thinners:
White Spirit