PAINT THIS WITH JERRY YARNELL®

#1401 Standing Proud, Part 1
This is the beginning of a beautiful iconic image -- an old covered bridge. This is an acrylic painting created on a 12x24 stretched “gallery wrap” canvas. Jerry shows his sketch of the painting. This episode is primarily the illustration of the under-painting process starting with the sky. Jerry explains what happens when you are using too much water in your paint which he corrects by adding a bit more gesso to thicken up the paint. Uses the feathering and scrubbing processes. Discusses impressionist techniques which are “simply creating the suggestion” of something and illustrates the technique while blocking in distant trees.

#1402 Standing Proud, Part 2
In episode 2, Jerry continues some underpainting of the structures of the painting, bridge support, archway, and building itself plus other miscellaneous objects before highlighting begins.

#1403 Standing Proud, Part 3
In episode 3, Jerry begins the process of intermediate details, highlights, the beginning of the color scheme, and strengthening the value system.

#1404 Standing Proud, Part 4
In the final episode, Jerry begins adding the final details on the Standing Proud bridge which is from Jerry’s Pennsylvania reference material. The bridge is another fine example of impressionism because the bridge-details create illusions but do not require a lot of effort by the artist. Jerry illustrates how the limbs help draw the viewer back to the main focal point and center of interest plus add a nice contrast to the painting. Details on shingles, road, rocks, gates, are added to refine, create more contrast, and finalize the highlights and hot spots. Touches of color are added as accent flowers along the rocks.

#1405 A Yellowstone Wonder, Part 1
In this wonderful painting Jerry excitedly describes his love for the Yellowstone National Park and the elk as one of the many wonders of that Park. This love of the Wyoming area led Jerry to create today’s A Yellowstone Wonder. A beautiful landscape with an elk in the foreground. Jerry is completing this painting in acrylic on an 18x24 stretched canvas. Getting started Jerry uses a pastel pencil to sketch some of the painting features. Then beginning with the #10 bristle brush starts blocking in the background and underpainting for the grassy area leaving no line so as to create soft edges and good eye flow. Switch to #6 bristle brush to create beginnings of shoreline. For remainder of this episode, Jerry uses his famous scrubbing technique to create area for water.

#1406 A Yellowstone Wonder, Part 2
Jerry continues building the background and underpainting starting with the #10 bristle brush and layering to build the multiple values and colors. Now the #6 bristle brush to work and smudge along the shoreline which will ultimately become an area of fallen logs. Now Jerry adds hot spots to help make the painting come alive, building brighter lights with every contrast of color added. Jerry sketches a few points on the canvas to get a quick idea of the basic location of the elk’s body. Finally, Jerry uses #6 bristle to build lights for contrast near sketch of elk so the elk will stand out.

#1407 A Yellowstone Wonder, Part 3
In this episode, Jerry starts with giving brief tips on drawing the elk and the rule of negative space. Continuing on with underpainting, Jerry uses #6 bristle brush and underpaints the front part of the elk always pulling in or out with your brush to create soft blurry edges. With a little lighter mixture, blocks in the rest of the elk. Switching to the #2 bristle brush, Jerry darkens sections of the elk’s ears; then with the #4 chisel-edge brush uses white for the light areas of the ears.Using #4 round or flat sable, uses black to block in eye, nose, chin. Toggling back to the background, create soft colors with #10 bristle and producing highlights with the skimming technique. Jerry inserts highlights which appear to be fallen logs along the shoreline then uses script brush to make stems on the logs. Highlights details are continued for the remainder of the episode.

#1408 A Yellowstone Wonder, Part 4
Jerry begins detailing the elk. With a #4 chisel-edge brush, works on highlights in the elk’s eye, nose, and other facial areas and in some areas forming the suggestion of hair. Shadows areas are a result of the original underpainting and give the image its dimensional form. Then with #6 chisel edge move to highlights on the elk’s body to see its form take more shape. Now with #6 chisel-edge brush, Jerry inserts weeds and illustrates importance of light and shadow. Then with #6 chisel-edge brush, tap color to add a grayish-blue, airy, lacey look coming through the reeds. Jerry switches to his #4 script brush to add tall, light colored weeds and pods … pulling a heavier concentration of weeds around elk. Final highlights include spots on elk’s back, and with that Jerry recommends the viewer add as much or as little detail as he/she prefers and add layering and glazing to bring the color of the elk’s body up one or two levels.

#1409 Steps to Nowhere, Part 1
Jerry explains the composition of this beautiful painting and shows the various pieces of reference material which will make up Steps to Nowhere. Using a 16x20 vertical stretched canvas and acrylic medium. Starts with pre-sketch and then begins scumbling with his #10 bristle brush. The painting is an impressionistic, loose technique: creating a suggestion versus the close-up details. Next step is creation of soft distant trees shapes to push trees in background (depth). Jerry uses script brush to lightly add collection of trees in background. To add contrast, Jerry uses #4 or #6 bristle along w/a grayish green to create cedar trees. Then with #4 bristle using rolling circles to add the rolling mist.

#1410 Steps to Nowhere, Part 2
The underpainting process continues throughout this segment. Jerry continues by lightly sketching the intermediate trees next. Using one of the chisel-edge brushes to create a smudgy effect on some of the trees. Switch to #4 bristle or #6 to work on pathway. Next Jerry reviews light source options and decides light will be coming from left to create cast shadows. Uses a #4 chisel-edge brush to add light to stones and steps (caps and risers) being careful not to make steps look “perfect” cautioning viewers that the steps are very old and need to be crooked. Uses #6 bristle to create open part of foreground w/sand, dirt, and scrubs to create mud.

#1411 Steps to Nowhere, Part 3
Jerry starts with a brief discussion around inserting a sketch into the painting but moves on to using a #6 bristle brush to create soft sand and dirt. Now Jerry uses the toothbrush technique to splatter … thus adding the effect of gravel, pebbles and dirt. This also makes the area appear the sun is hitting the pebbles. Now he builds grasses around this area. Uses the #6 bristle brush to create combination of grasses with the ‘push’ technique. This creates drama. Next Jerry uses the #4 chisel-edge brush to create stacked stones and opportunity for shadows. Similarly uses same technique on the steps...with quick, decisive brush strokes. The remainder of this episode Jerry spends on stonework creating harmony and balance in the painting.

#1412 Steps to Nowhere, Part 4
In this episode Jerry starts putting in larger trees and details and tweaking the painting. Uses #6 chisel-edge brush with a dark-color mix to fill in foreground and walls …. using sideways painting technique else you’ll get a hard line. #6 bristle brush to create suggestion of brush then shadows and sunlight. Adds light on stones giving the shape of the rocks dimension.. and light on the pathway and wall. Next Jerry begins work on leaf patterns starting at the top of the painting with the #6 bristle brush using a tapping technique which overlaps brush strokes and creating a lacy, airy look and warmth gradually adding warmer colors. Then Jerry uses the #4 chisel-edge brush to create bark by ‘pulling across’ to create pockets. This technique sets the stage for the next and final episode.

#1413 Steps to Nowhere, Part 5
As a conclusion to a wonderful painting Jerry adds final details. #6 bristle brush and dark tone to tap in clock-wise motion to add the airy canopy over the top with leafy effects. Same technique is used to bring the light up in the painting -- for highlighting yellows into base of trees and grasses plus underbrush and saplings. Jerry uses some red to bring eye in toward the steps and to further embed the trees in the natural beauty. Jerry adds weeds in foreground with #4 script brush plus a few saplings at the base of the trees. Now Jerry uses #6 bristle to add brighter colors (orangey-red) to finish off painting plus some green to tap in some yellow-green weed-growth around base and top of steps and wall. Final warm highlights to create soft sunlight and shadows plus with the #4 round sable and using orange and purple Jerry scumbles to put final edges on leaves to make them look more like individual leaves.