Funeral Hatchment 1 meter sq

My starting point was references and an overall design provided by the Designer. A colour palette was also provided. This 1 meter large hatchment was a hero painting and would be seen close up in the final film, attention to details was required.

Starting with 12mm ply board and sanding, a coat of sealer was required to seal the wood from any oil seeping into the board later creating duller colours. Then a coat of white gesso was thinned and applied in several layers with sanding in between. A wash of umber was then applied to remove the white canvas and give a tone to the panel.

First the outline was chalked in using a pastel pencil, this will give us a base line to follow when we start blocking colours in. I blocked in my first layers in acrylic in flat layers of colour, no details.

Then I fleshed out the flat layers in quick drying oil paint I could start to mould the forms of the shapes and match colours better. Going over all the acrylic painted areas making sure every area was covered, I could work in more shadow tones and details. This layer dried overnight and allowed me to add highlights next, giving the golds a nice ping and brightness. Once dry I could add a coat of sealer and varnish which would bring the richness back to the colours.