Tips & Techniques

Technique from painting Round Stone Barn at Hancock Shaker Village

Oil Paint combined with Watercolor to create a rich texture for the stone surface

Transcribed from the program.
In the painting of the Hancock Shaker Village Barn, I wanted to show the roundness of the barn.

By getting up close to the barn, you can really see the details and texture of the stone, which is what I think is one of the more beautiful aspects of this particular subject matter.

So, I want to share with you a technique I learned a while ago using oil paints that will help bring out more of the texture of the stones.

I first learned about this technique in a book called Painting Buildings in Watercolor by Ranulph Bye.

I begin by taping off the areas of the painting that I don't want to have this particular technique applied to.

I've squeezed out a few earth pigments here to help re-create the color of the stones used in the barn. These particular paints are all oil paints.

Then, I prepare the area of the painting that I want to apply this technique to. I apply lots of water and get the surface very, very wet.

Notice I'm going around the windows and the door with the water because I don't want the oil paint going there.

Then, I mix the oil paint with a little bit of turpentine to create the colors I want.

Lightly tap the paint brush that has the oil paint mixture on it against another brush, and just splatter the color onto the paper.

Once you have applied the desired amount to capture the texture you are looking for, you simply walk away from the painting for a while and allow the oil to dry.

When it's dry, you can see for yourselves the texture that is created.

At this point, you can continue to work on your watercolor and actually glaze right over the oil paint if you wish to add more texture to the finished product.

It would take you hours with watercolor alone to approximate the texture of the stones used to create the Round Stone Barn at Hancock Shaker Village. So give this a try, the next time you are looking to add some additional texture and detail to a subject that has a lot of stone in it.

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