From Board to Finished Painting: Bringing a Pyalong Landscape to Life

Have you ever wondered what goes into creating an original oil painting?

When you look at a finished painting, you see the colours, the textures and the little details that bring it to life. But underneath all of that, there are often layers of things you might never imagine!

I thought I'd take you behind the scenes of a recent commission and show you how I transformed a plain board into a painting of a very special place.

This one is a family property in Pyalong, with magnificent granite boulders rising out of the landscape and a sheep grazing at the foot of them. It's a beautiful part of the world, and I wanted to capture not just the look of the place, but some of the character and feeling that make it special.

I met with my client at their property and enjoyed a wonderful personal tour.  Taking lots of photos as we went, the timing was perfect with morning sun creating shadows in interesting places.  I loved finding out all about the history of the place and the stories connected with it. 

They were happy for me to choose the aspect and I really loved this side of the formation. 

So, let's start at the beginning.

It all starts with a sketch or two and a blank board

Before I start thinking about the finished painting, I spend a little time considering the shapes, the composition and how I want the eye to move through the landscape.

With this commission, those magnificent granite boulders were always going to be the stars of the show. Their scale, their shapes and all those wonderful variations in the stone were what made the property so distinctive.

My client wanted the sheep grazing below them to have a place in the story, they especially loved how sometimes they could be seen on top of the boulders to the left and grazing in around the base. That contrast between the enormous boulders and the quiet little sheep helps give the landscape a sense of scale and brings a lovely feeling of life to the scene.  I created a few sketches of what I had in mind, giving my client a choice in the beginning.  This this the one they chose.

And then comes the fun part!

Adding texture to those magnificent boulders

Now, granite boulders aren't exactly smooth and simple, are they?

Look closely at a rocky landscape and you'll see all sorts of things happening across the surface.  Rough patches, lichen, weathered edges, little crevices, changes in colour and areas where the light catches one surface but leaves another in shadow.

I wanted to give these boulders a real sense of presence, so I began by using modelling paste to build up texture on the board.

This is one of my favourite parts of the process because I'm not just thinking about how the rocks will look. I'm thinking about how I can create a surface that has some of that physical character, too.

The texture becomes part of the painting itself.

Of course, the modelling paste is only the beginning. It creates the foundation for all the layers of oil paint that will follow.

A little colour before the colour

One of the things I love doing is starting with a bright underpainting.

At this stage, the colours might seem a little unexpected. They're not necessarily the colours you'll see in the finished work, and they certainly aren't a realistic representation of the landscape just yet.

But that's the point.

I love having those little flashes of colour sitting underneath the later layers of paint. As I build up the painting, little glimpses can peek through, adding depth and energy that would be difficult to achieve if I simply started with the colours I could see in the reference.

It's a bit like building a story. The first layer is just the beginning, and there's plenty more to come.

Building the landscape, layer by layer

This is where things start to get really interesting.

Once the underlying texture and colour is in place, I begin working over it, adding layers of colour, adjusting shapes and building up the different textures across the boulders.

Granite might look grey from a distance, but look a little closer and there's so much more going on. Warm earthy tones, cool greys, soft pinks, purples, creams and little changes in light all contribute to the complexity of the stone.

I love exploring those colours.

Rather than trying to paint every tiny detail, I'm looking for ways to suggest the character of the rock through the combination of colour, texture and mark making.

Some layers add depth. Others bring out the warmer tones in the stone or help a particular edge catch the light. Sometimes a new layer changes the feeling of an area completely.

And sometimes I need to step back, have a good look and decide what isn't working!

That's all part of making a painting. It's rarely a straight line from the first mark to the last.

Slowly, the boulders begin to take shape. They start to feel solid and substantial, with a complexity that I hope makes you want to spend a little time looking at them.

Bringing the little details together

As the painting develops, I turn my attention to how all the different elements work together.

The landscape needs to feel connected, rather than like a collection of separate things. The boulders, the ground, the surrounding country and that little sheep all need their place.

I love the contrast between the rock formations and the quiet simplicity of a sheep grazing below them. There's something wonderfully Australian about that combination of rugged country and everyday rural life.

And because this is a commission of a family property, there's another layer to the painting that you won't necessarily see in the finished image.

For the people who live there, or have memories tied to that place, the landscape means something personal. I want to honour that connection while still bringing my own interpretation, colour and texture to the work.

That's one of the things I love about painting commissions. You're not simply asking me to reproduce a photograph. You're inviting me to create an artwork around a place that matters to you.

When do I know a painting is finished?

This is always an interesting question!

There comes a point when I need to stop adding things and look at the painting as a whole.

Does the composition feel right? Do the colours work together? Is there enough variation in the texture? Does your eye move through the painting the way I'd hoped?

And, perhaps most importantly, does it capture something of the feeling I wanted to express?

With a painting like this, I want the boulders to have that wonderful presence, but I also want the landscape to feel alive. I want you to notice the sheep, explore the textures and discover little changes in colour as you spend time with it.

I don't want to explain every little detail through paint. I'd rather leave a little room for you to bring your own memories and feelings to the work.

Eventually, after all those layers and adjustments, the painting reaches a point where it feels complete.

The plain board has become something entirely different.

From my studio to its forever home

There's something rather special about finishing a commissioned painting.

This one began with a family property in Pyalong, a magnificent collection of granite boulders and a sheep quietly grazing at their feet. Through layers of modelling paste, bright underpainting, oil paint and texture, those elements have become an original artwork made especially for the people who know and love that place.

And that's the lovely thing about original art. There's a whole story behind the finished painting, even if all you see at first is the landscape on the wall.

I hope that when the family looks at this painting in their home, they see more than the boulders and the sheep. I hope it brings back memories, reminds them of the place they love and gives them something new to notice every time they walk past it.

That's what I hope for all my paintings, really.

Not just that they look beautiful on a wall, but that they become part of someone's life.

 

Thinking about a painting of a place that's special to you?

I love working with people to create commissioned oil paintings of meaningful places, whether it's a family property, a favourite landscape or somewhere that holds years of memories.

If you look at my work and love what you see and there's a place you'd love to see brought to life through colour and texture, I'd love to hear about it. You're always welcome to get in touch and tell me a little about it.

Shay x