Wolf Khan Oil Painting Instructions

To choose your subject, look for an image of rural farmland or nature. Use bright, exaggerated colors.

Wolf Kahn is an American artist of German descent who paints scenes of rural life and nature. Wolf Kahn uses brightly colored oil paints to depict trees, barns, flowers and landscapes in a way that is not entirely realistic, but still based solidly in nature. Kahn's paintings tend to exaggerate color and flatten three-dimensional spaces by portraying his subjects without shadows and highlights, and by eliminating details.

Things You'll Need

• Oil paint
• Pencil
• Paintbrushes (various shapes and sizes)
• Canvas
• Paint thinner
• Palette

Instructions

1. Choose a subject that is outdoors and nature-based, such as a landscape or an image of cultivated farmland. Look for repetitive subjects, such as a row of trees or several rows of growing crops, or manmade structures, such as a barn or shed. Wolf Kahn's paintings tend to feature elements of nature that feature repeating shapes (like a clump of trees with tangled branches) and rural buildings.

2. Draw the most basic shapes of your subject onto the canvas. Don't draw any details. Try to divide your subject up into the most basic shapes that must be presented to make the viewer understand your subject.

3. Choose exaggerated colors for each element in your painting. These colors do not need to bear a relationship to each other on the color wheel. Your colors should be bright, like red, orange, lime green and bright yellow. Also include soft colors, like purples, pinks and baby blues.

4. Thin your paint by mixing paint thinner with the paint on the palette. Paint a base color over each shape you drew on your canvas. The base color does not need to match the final color -- in fact, it will be better if colors change slightly with each new layer you paint. As multiple layers become visible in your painting, the piece will grow to have more depth and interest.

5. Paint additional layers on top of the base layers. Change the colors of additional layers slightly and use thicker paint (paint that has not been mixed with paint thinner). Allow the under layers to show through in places, especially at the edges of each shape. Repeat this step until you've painted the piece to your liking.

References

• Wolf Kahn Paintings
• Painting Perceptions; Inspirations for 2011 -- Studio Visits With Wolf Kahn