Watercolor techniques. Alla prima
Type of technology oil painting with quick, bold strokes, which involves completing a painting (or a fragment of it) at once, in one step or session. That is, it is written without preliminary registrations and underpainting, before the paints dry. In some cases it is determined by the specifics artistic material, and in others it is an indicator of skill. Although seemingly simple, it requires skill and talent from the artist, and is therefore quite rare.
The painting with this technique is ready after the first session. The prerequisite for this is the artist’s confidence and experience with paints. The colors are mostly mixed on the palette, where they appear fresh and luminous. When painting en plein air, with spontaneous pictorial transmission, this is a very suitable way of working. Paints are applied with bristle brushes. Rough-textured canvas works well as a canvas, but also cardboard. The application of paints in alla prima painting creates a typical compact, sometimes relief structure. It can be “shaded” by rubbing or “blurring” sections of the contours. In this case, the layers of paint can be easily rubbed with a dry, soft cow hair brush. The edges of colors and contours thus become softer and appear a little “blurry”. This method is also called “sfumato” (“with blurred contours”).
This direct, direct method of painting is technically very effective. Its advantage is that all paints on any part of the painting are applied during one painting session, or at least during the drying period. This means that all the problems associated with the use of different volumes of oils or resins, as well as uneven drying times between paint layers, are effectively eliminated, since, in essence, there is only one layer in the painting. This technique became stronger in painting with the advent of impressionists, which, in search of the possibility of longer work “in the wet,” were often used in paints as binder semi-drying poppy seed oil.
Principles of the alla prima technique.
In many ways, painting alla prima is the most complex method of working with oil paints, since it relies to a great extent on the correct formation of each individual stroke, and not just on its own expressive capabilities. In addition, the result depends on the color and tonal characteristics of the chosen paint, as well as on the color, tone and shape of the brush strokes adjacent to the one already applied. Of course, the artist can always remove the failed area from the surface of the base by scraping while the paint is still wet, and then rework it. Many artists resort to this; therefore, elements of the work that seem fresh, light and agile may in fact represent the result of the sixth or seventh attempt. This is quite acceptable if in the end you achieve the desired result. Typically, the ability to carefully study an object and accurately transfer it in paint directly onto the canvas is the result of long practice - usually in more systematic painting techniques. This practice helps the artist gradually develop his own, “personal” language in working with paint, which can be transferred to any other painting object.
Achieving fluency and fluidity in the “language” of painting requires the artist to be able to intuitively evaluate and prepare on the palette a mixture of the right tone and color for each area of the canvas, as well as choose the right brush and working technique. In addition, mastering one's own "language" includes the ability to make quick decisions and the willingness to take risks. In many ways, the alla prima technique is most applicable to small-format works that can be completed in a single painting session. This is a great way to create oil studies that can later be developed into larger paintings in a studio setting.
Not all works in the alla prima technique are characterized by expressive characteristics. Some artists prefer to work in an immediate and direct manner, but apply paint to the empty space of the canvas slowly, consistently and methodically - until the surface is completely covered; in this case, a pencil drawing can be previously applied to the surface.
From the book “Color and Line”, Y. Aksenov, M. Levidov
“Technique is the language of the artist; develop it tirelessly, to the point of virtuosity. Without it, you will never be able to tell people your dreams, your experiences, the beauty you saw.” (P.P. Chistyakov. Letters, notebooks, memories.)
“Technique is only a means, but an artist who neglects this means will never solve his problem... he will be like a rider who forgot to give his horse oats.” (Roden).
Along with similar statements by masters about the importance of technical skill developed to the point of virtuosity, you will come across warnings not to get carried away with technical techniques as an end in themselves, and especially not to blindly borrow them from your favorite masters.
“Whoever follows others will never overtake them, and whoever does not know how to work properly will never be able to make proper use of other people’s works,” Michelangelo categorically stated. (A. Sidorov. Drawings by old masters.)
The famous Soviet artist and teacher I.P. Krymov seemed to continue this thought, saying: “Many of us try to imitate great masters. They imitate their manner, and manner is the last thing. They often imitate Konstantin Korovin, but they write falsely... It would be better if his imitators tried to repeat his path. Following this path, they perhaps began to write not in Korovin’s way, but in their own way.” (P.P. Krymov - artist and teacher).
Think about these wise sayings and do not look for recipes for mixing paints and mandatory methods for applying strokes.
The very first question that young or adult aspiring artists ask is: Where to start?
Of course, you need to start with a drawing directly on canvas or cardboard, even better with a small sketch - a sketch on paper with a pencil or charcoal, which can then be transferred to canvas. In a sketch, you have more opportunities to look for an interesting point of view, think through the composition, clarify proportions, etc. You can, however, do this part of the preliminary work directly on canvas or cardboard, and it is better to make the drawing with charcoal, which can be easily brushed off the surface with a piece of rag and thus correct and clarify it. You can draw on the ground with a pencil, but you have to erase it with an eraser, which disturbs the surface of the ground.
The drawing made with charcoal must then be wiped off with a rag so that only a trace of it remains. If the carbon is not shaken off, it will mix with the paint and contaminate it. After brushing off the coal, the barely noticeable pattern can be outlined with thinly diluted blue or brown paint.
And again the question: where to start actually working with paints? The answer can be: from everything at once. This strange answer is easy to explain. It is wrong to start at the top or bottom, right or left, etc. You need to immediately determine the basic relationships of colors in terms of lightness and color tone and let them - for now approximately - outline them, determining at the same time what is the darkest and what is the lightest. This marking, which is usually called underpainting, is recommended to be done with thinly diluted paints.
It is more important for beginners to know that you cannot write a sketch in parts, but need to open it broadly, holistically. You cannot finish a piece of painting, leaving a motley canvas or approximately outlined shades all around.
B.V. Ioganson recommends that beginners paint all over the canvas at once using strokes that are laid out and correlated by color, just as colored pebbles of a mosaic are selected. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain the same degree of elaboration of all parts of the image, to work “from the general to the specific.”
The first experiments should be done on simple still lifes, consisting of two or three objects.
First, you need to paint the entire still life with thinly diluted paints, roughly determine the colors of objects and their lightness ratios, then move on to thicker writing. At the same time, the work must be carried out in its entirety all the time, moving from one subject to another, and not in such a way as to completely finish one part and then proceed to the next. If the work is interrupted for a day or more, then when continuing, the top layer of paint must be removed with a palette knife or soaked in oil, or even better, “Retouch” varnish. A layer of oil paint begins to dry with the formation of a thin film on the surface, which then becomes increasingly thicker and finally dries to the full thickness of the paint layer.
If a new layer is applied to a layer of paint after the film has formed, then when it dries, the paint shrinks and breaks the film of the lower layer. At the same time, the oil from this layer goes to the bottom, and as a result, so-called fades are formed, in which the paint loses its depth of tone, shine and looks dull and dull. After finishing work, dull spots can be eliminated by soaking these places in oil, but you must make sure that excess oil does not remain on the surface of the paint layer. If, after a few hours of impregnation, shiny spots remain on the painting (from oil lying on the surface of the paint layer), they should be carefully wiped off with a soft cloth.
If you did not finish the work in one session, then do the subsequent registration on the dried paint layer. Otherwise, withering and blackening of color will appear.
But in cases where no more than 2-3 days have passed between sessions, you can dissolve the resulting film of paint by wiping the sketch with a cut clove of garlic or onion. After this, you can continue to work “raw” without fear of dryness.
Oil paints adhere well to the appropriate primer and make it easy to model, shade and achieve subtle, imperceptible transitions from tone to tone, since they remain wet for a long time, and do not change their original tone when drying. But it would be a mistake to think that oil painting does not need any execution methods and allows you to apply one layer of paint on top of another with impunity without any system. On the contrary, oil painting also requires a very specific execution system. True, defects in the improper use of materials in oil painting are not discovered as quickly as they are observed under the same conditions in other painting techniques, but sooner or later they will inevitably appear.
All normal methods of oil painting come down to two characteristic techniques:
1) Painting in one step “alla prima” (alla prima) - a method in which painting is carried out in such a way that, given the artist’s artistic knowledge of the matter and favorable conditions, the work can be completed in one or several sessions, but before the paints have time to dry. In this case, the color resources of painting are reduced only to those tones that are obtained from the direct mixing of paints on the palette and their illumination on the ground used in the work.
2) Painting in several techniques - a method in which the painter divides his painting task into several techniques, of which each is assigned a special meaning, intentionally with a certain calculation or due to the large size of the work, etc.
In this case, the work is divided into the first painting - underpainting, in which the painter’s task is reduced to a solid establishment of the drawing, general forms and light and shade, while coloring is either given secondary importance, or it is carried out in such tones that only in further painting with overlying paints give the desired tone or effect, for the second, third, etc. registrations, in which the task is reduced to resolving the subtleties of form and color.
This second method makes it possible to use all the resources of oil painting.
You must always follow the basic rules of painting:
1) do not apply oil paints in thick layers in general, and especially paints rich in oil;
2) always use a moderately adhesive (oil) primer in painting, as well as the underpainting and, in general, the underlying layers of painting, saturating them with oil if its content in the latter is insufficient.
The best painting technique for the second registration is “alla prima” painting, which gives freshness to the pictorial execution.
The second registration is carried out with more liquid paints than underpainting. Painting varnishes and condensed oils are applicable here. The latter are introduced into paints in a mixture with turpentine varnishes. The second registration, in terms of the content of binders in its paints, thus exceeds the underpainting. The ancient principle of layering oil paints - “fat on skinny” - is fully observed. However, you should not overuse oils and varnishes here, but rather adhere to a certain moderation.
If the underpainting was carried out in conventional tones, then to make the work easier, it is useful to start the second registration in local tones of nature with glaze or semi-glaze, on top of which body painting follows.
Corrections in oil painting
Oil paints become more and more transparent over time. This increase in transparency is also observed in body paints, and some of them, like lead white, become translucent due to their loss of hiding power, as well as the thinning of the layer upon drying. Taking into account this feature of oil painting, it is necessary to be very careful about all kinds of correspondence and radical alterations in oil painting, which the painter sometimes needs, since all corrections and notes made with a thin layer of body paints become visible again after a long period of time. .
Thus, in the equestrian portrait of Philip IV by Velasquez, eight legs are visible, four of which protrude from under the tone of the ground, which the author covered them with, apparently being dissatisfied with the position of the legs.
In the portrait of the artist Litovchenko by I. Kramskoy (Tretyakov Gallery), Litovchenko’s forehead can be seen quite clearly through the black hat placed on the artist’s head. on which the hat was put on, apparently, later, when the head was already painted. In Rembrandt's portrait of Jan Sobieski, the stick that Sobieski holds in his hand was initially large in size and then shortened. There can be many such examples.
The above examples clearly show that corrections made in a thin layer, even of opaque paints, in oil painting do not achieve their goal. Here, thorough repeated layers of paint are needed, which alone can make forever invisible those parts of the painting that they want to destroy. It is even better in this case to completely clear the places intended for alteration from painting and then write them down again on clean ground. Using chloroform, acetone and benzene, you can easily and quickly remove even very old oil-based paint.
When making small corrections on important areas (for example, the head, hands of a portrait, etc.), you need to take into account the possible swelling and the usual darkening under the varnish of the corrected areas. And therefore, when starting to correct, the areas to be altered are thoroughly dried, covered with liquid varnish and corrected with paints and painting varnish in order to avoid the appearance of dryness. In the same case, if a fade has formed, it should not be covered with retouching varnish, but the lost shine and tone should be restored to it only by oiling.
Here we present only the most general, elementary information on the technique of oil painting, information that every beginning artist should be familiar with. Of course, the oil painting technique is not limited to these brief tips. The artist accumulates knowledge and skills in this area himself in the process of practical work.
Learn other methods of oil painting - underpainting, body molding, glazing techniques as you gain experience. We must go “from simple to complex.”
Sections from D.I. Kiplik are quoted below: “Painting Techniques”, M.: Svarog i K, 1998, 504 pp.
Underpainting with oil paints, both technically and pictorially, is done in different ways.
Carrying out painting using this method on adhesive and semi-adhesive primers is the most appropriate, since with the use of the latter the number of oil layers decreases, which has a very favorable effect on the strength of the painting, but impeccably prepared oil primers can also be used.
The color of the primer can be different: white, gray, brown, reddish and others, and colored primers can be quite dark, since they can easily be made translucent if desired and not at all visible through layers of paint, which entirely depends on the system of layering them.
One of the frequently used and quite productive methods of painting in underpainting is to do it “in a rub” with oil paints, diluted essential oils, turpentine, oil, etc., as is practiced in “alla prima” painting.
A thin, as if watercolor layer of paints establishes the forms, the general coloring of the picture and its entire ensemble.
Of course, such underpainting requires the least abrasive primer, since only under this condition can it retain its tonality and be useful to the work.
Drying of the underpainting made by this method is very fast if the paints are fast-drying, and, moreover, through due to the thinness of the paint layer, which, of course, is of great importance for further work on the painting.
But you can also do underpainting with impasto painting, and the technique will depend entirely on the properties of the soil used.
Paints are applied to the adhesive pulling primer in the form in which they come from tubes, without any thinners. Due to the absorption of oil by the soil, they thicken on it, become viscous to a certain extent, and take on new paint strokes well. This allows the artist to easily introduce tone into tone, thus interfering with the colors not so much on the palette as on the painting itself.
Due to the partial absorption of oil by the soil, the paints darken soon after they are applied to it, which forces the artist to maintain the painting in a lighter tone. Soil that is too stretchy is therefore not even suitable for work and requires some additional treatment.
The positive properties of this underpainting are that its paints dry quickly and bind firmly to the ground. The disadvantage is the change in the tone of the paints during the painting process, as well as when wiping the underpainting with varnish before further registration.
Oil underpainting on an emulsion primer rich in oil, especially on an oil primer, is greatly facilitated in this regard, since the paints applied to them do not change their tone. Paints can also be applied impasto here, and a set of quick-drying paints is preferable.
The old masters, especially those more distant from us, looked at their work in the underpainting as a preparatory rough work, where all the attention of the master was absorbed in setting up the drawing, modeling forms, and details of the composition; As for the coloring, only the necessary base was prepared for it in the underpainting, based on which the color of the picture was subsequently created, the freshness of which is largely explained by the method of work described above.
Modern painting adheres, in general terms, to the same system of work, but the “alla prima” method of painting has received very great importance in it. Each era, as we see, creates its own system of painting, which, of course, cannot be ignored.
Underpainting in a pictorial sense should be carried out in such a way as to simplify, if possible, all further registrations. A correctly executed underpainting is therefore easy to finish with a small load of paints during the second registration.
In the field of underpainting and multilayer painting in general, a modern artist must have a practical acquaintance with the elementary laws of optics, which the old masters of painting used to perfection.
For example:
When applying warm tones to dark ones, insulation is obtained over the underlying tone of the paints;
When applying warm tones to cold ones and vice versa - cold to warm - the result is a weakening of the color of each of them, etc.
The second registration begins only after the first has dried, i.e. underpainting.
The duration of drying of the underpainting depends on many conditions: on what, how and on what the underpainting was made, on the composition of its paints and, finally, on the temperature and light conditions under which the painting is made.
An underpainting made with tempera will be ready for registration earlier than other underpaintings. Then, in order of readiness, come oil underpaintings on adhesive primers and, finally, impasto oil paints on emulsion and oil primers. These latter require special care when drying, since simple oil paints dry slowly in the thickness of their layers. As for oil-varnish paints, due to the composition of their binder, through-drying of paints in all layers is more intense than in simple oil paints.
A well-dried painting can be recognized by the following features:
1) it does not stick,
2) when scraped with a fingernail and a knife, it turns into powder, but not into shavings,
3) it does not fog up when you breathe.
If necessary, the underpainting can be well scraped and smoothed with a knife, special scraper, etc., before re-painting.
Scraping, pumice and smoothing layers of oil painting is especially appropriate when underpainting with impasto (greasy) layers of paint, since here excess roughness is cut off and, what is especially important, the top crust of dried oil is removed, which, when the oil paint dries strongly, prevents the attachment of the layers applied on top of it oil paints. After this operation, the underpainting is washed with clean water and dried.
When the underpainting is not impasto, there is no need to scrape it, but other processing is necessary, since the top film of a firmly dried layer of oil paints is not only impermeable to oil, but also “does not accept” oil; in other words, the oil applied to its surface does not wet it and does not spread out evenly on it, but collects in droplets and rolls off. Therefore, the newly applied layer of oil paints does not adhere tightly to the surface of the already dried layer and, therefore, does not bind firmly to it. In order for the dried layer of oil paint to regain the ability to accept paint, if it has not been scraped and sanded, it is wiped with bleached oil, which is rubbed into it with the palm of the hand. The oil is applied in the smallest amount, just to moisten the surface that is supposed to be painted again. After that, they get down to business.
Instead of oil, the underpainting can be coated with a warm liquid solution of Venetian turpentine (balsam) in turpentine, as was practiced in the old days, or with a liquid solution of turpentine varnish, since essential oils easily moisten dried oil paint. The same goal is achieved by adding painting varnishes containing essential oils to paints.
If these rules for handling the underpainting are not observed, the upper layers of the painting become prone to crumbling, and the more so, the longer the underpainting is left in place; There are many examples of this in the works of painting of a later era.
When further painting the underpainting, glazes can be introduced if they were part of the painting execution plan, or secondary painting is carried out with the so-called “half-painting,” i.e., a thin layer of body paint, and the painting ends with this technique. It must be borne in mind, however, that too much build-up of colors in oil painting is considered unacceptable; Each newly applied layer must be dried, and only then can further work begin.
The “alla prima” technique can be described as a fast, creative style of writing, and the Italian term itself can be translated as “in one step.” The picture, if you work in this manner, is painted immediately in one session, i.e. without steps requiring layers to dry before reapplying subsequent layers. The main thing here comes down to capturing the essence, showing the most interesting things with bold colorful spots, while avoiding glaze - the colors should be pure.
This technique is applicable both in oil painting and in watercolors, but there are differences - watercolor is fluid and transparent, so it is very important to avoid “dirty” flows, but at the same time, the infusion of color into color can be used advantageously.
You need to start your work with an analysis of nature - try to conditionally, in your imagination, break the object into spots of color, and do not forget to “weigh” it on a darker/lighter scale. You can start with the most intense, bright colors and work your way up to the lighter ones. Actually, each spot of color is applied to its place, and the image is put together like a mosaic. You can, of course, re-cover something, but in watercolor this can lead to a loss of freshness.
The “leaf” exercises illustrate the above.
And these are fruits. Isn't it beautiful?
By the way, this technique is indispensable if you need to quickly capture something elusive. Such work can serve as a sketch, or an independent work, if it can be done carefully. As an example, I will try to depict a bird - the most restless creature. The parrot is offered a sprig of grapes, and while he is tormenting it, I take up the paints.
I'll start with the bird (I had a minute before it turned the other way).
I paint everything else in exactly the same way - I immediately apply the color that is needed in one place or another.
Perhaps this painting technique seems too free, but it, like no other, contributes to the acquisition of confidence, because it requires tenacity of sight and a steady hand. The pictorial work will have a living breath and the power of a real impression right from the scene of the event.
In technical terms, this method of painting is the best, since with it the entire painting consists of one layer, the drying of which, with a moderate thickness, proceeds unhindered and quite normally, which is why, with the appropriate soil, it is protected from cracks, just as the paints themselves retain their original freshness. But this method cannot always be implemented in practice and, moreover, it is not always part of the painter’s task.
The primer for painting “alla prima” should not be too tugging, nor too impermeable and slippery, which is why when using adhesive primer, all necessary measures are taken to prevent too noticeable changes in the color of the paint due to loss of oil. Oily soil, especially one that has dried thoroughly and is therefore impenetrable, is given some permeability, which is achieved by rubbing it with alcohol or pumice; In addition, choose soil with a rough surface. As for the color of the soil, the most suitable in this case are light soils with various shades, in accordance with the painting task, as well as pure white soil. Pinkish, yellowish and other shades of primer are obtained by painting the white primer with transparent paint.
The painting method described often does not require conventional drawing, and the artist can directly proceed to paint and writing, depending on the painting task and the experience of the artist.
If a drawing is necessary, then it can be limited to a light charcoal sketch. Black charcoal drawing with its fixer should be avoided, since any sharp black contours will subsequently show through a thin layer of paint and thus spoil the painting. The composition of the fixative is also not indifferent to its strength.
The drawing can be executed separately on paper and then transferred to canvas to better preserve the purity and color of the ground.
In order to be able to finish painting in the raw, that is, before the oil paints begin to dry, all sorts of measures are taken, but harmless to painting, starting with the selection of paints. Slow-drying paints are preferred here. So, zinc white is more appropriate here than lead; In addition, the composition of the paint binder is also of great importance here. That is why paints grated on slow-drying oils are most applicable here: poppy, walnut and sunflower; paints based on linseed oil are suitable only for quick, short-term work.
In order to delay the drying of paints as long as possible, the painting being executed is placed in the cold, in the dark, in the intervals between work, and, if possible, free access to air is blocked. The implementation of these last measures, unfortunately, cannot always be used, especially with large sizes of the painting, however, these measures are very valid.
Essential oils are used for the same purpose, slowing down the more or less severe drying of oil paints, which are mentioned above. The most energetic in this case would be clove oil. There are, however, authoritative indications of harm from using these oils for painting in large quantities.
Painting with this method is carried out differently and depends largely on the individuality of the artist; That is why, when presenting this method, we can limit ourselves to only the most significant and important instructions.
By “alla prima” painting, in the literal sense of these words, one must mean one of the methods in which the artist sets himself the task of immediately reproducing in paint everything that he sees in nature, i.e. color, shape, light and shade, etc. , without resorting to dividing this complex task into separate moments of work. The difficulty of solving this problem, of course, is great, and becomes even greater if the artist strives to finish his work “raw,” that is, before the paints dry.
Painting is done in different ways. It can be started with strokes of semi-thick paints, applied freely, tone by tone, without stirring them for a long time on the palette, until the entire canvas is revealed. At first it is advantageous to keep the shadows lighter and warmer than they should be in their finished form; light, on the contrary, is darker and colder. The strongest lights and shadows are applied at the last moment, when the painting comes to an end. Decisive and final strokes with impasto paints are very appropriate here.
Painting should be done with tube paints as they are, without adding fatty oils to them. When using black paints (light in weight), you should not apply them in a thick layer, since heavy paints applied on top of them drown in black, contaminating the painting.
When applying a layer of paint that is too thick, making further work difficult, you should remove the excess using a palette knife, spatula and knife, as well as by placing clean paper on the layer of paint, which is pressed with the palm of your hand against it and then, upon removal, takes on all the excess paint .
When painting “alla prima,” you can start rubbing it, thinning the paints with turpentine and applying them liquidly, like watercolors. This laying is carried out planarly, without modeling forms, with the goal only of a broad overall effect. For it, it is better to use body paints, introducing white into them. Then, in further work, impasto paints are introduced and real painting begins.
When working “alla prima”, on too tacky ground, oil paints produce a matte painting, which in terms of color is inferior to tempera and, in addition, if the paints are de-oiled too much, they lack strength.
Painting performed “alla prima” has a unique beauty; it is pleasant with its freshness and spontaneity, revealing the author’s “brushstroke” and his temperament. Examples of this type of painting can be I. Repin’s sketches for his painting “The State Council”.
Alla prima (ala prima) is a painting technique watercolor on wet, implying work completed in one session. The term applies to both oil and watercolor painting. It's essentially one job at a time.
Alla prima oil
When it comes to oil, the technique is good for many reasons. Typically, this material is characterized by long-term work with the canvas. This is due to the different drying times of different layers. Due to the application of fresh strokes to already dried ones, cracks subsequently appear. And when working Alla prima (or a la prima), the master paints only one layer, thus avoiding the difficulty of applying glazes. In addition, due to the lack of a huge number of layers, the work remains fresh. In some places you can even notice areas that seem to be highlighted. This effect is achieved by a primed canvas showing through transparent layers of paint. In addition, such a lively manner allows for more dynamic and expressive work. This technique was especially popular among the Impressionists. Artists loved to paint in nature, creating in the field not sketches, but completed finished works. 
Alla prima in watercolor
If we turn to watercolors, we will see how this material is revealed in the hands of a master in a completely new guise. In essence, when working A la prima, the artist paints in one sitting. Since this is practically impossible with watercolors, paintings using this technique are always painted raw. Hence the bright iridescent spills of colors. The artist has little time before the paint layer dries, so he needs confidence and a steady hand to paint with watercolors on wet. In addition, caution is necessary, since when mixing a large number of watercolor colors there is a risk of getting not a rich shade, but mud. However, many artists use this technique as a basis for work, later applying a few more clear strokes on dry to shade the silhouettes and sharpen the necessary areas of the work. 
In short, Alla Prima is a painting style for highly efficient parasites who find it difficult to sit still while painting a photorealistic canvas layer by layer
