Hogwarts Castle- by Ryan Burdzinski

Hogwarts Castle
8″ x 10″ oil on canvas

A small experimental painting of Hogwarts Castle from the Harry Potter series done in the “wet on wet” style, made famous by American painter Bob Ross. Also known as alla prima, this technique requires a quick style of working in order to get the painting finished before the first layer dries.

The “Wet on Wet” Technique

For the dark background, I covered the canvas with a thin layer of ultramarine, diox purple and a little black mixed together with linseed oil to slow drying. Then I began swirling in the clouds and water using only white on my brush. When the white mixes with the background layer, we begin to see lighter shades of blue. The same technique was applied to the spires of the castle, and so on. Most of the warm colors were added after drying, to keep the “unfriendly” colors from blending.

Have you ever tried the alla prima technique? Did you find it difficult? Comment below!