Listen to your paintings

I've always heard this, it's just that my paintings weren't talking, or maybe I just wasn't listening. Recently, when I hit troubling passages instead of wrestling it to the ground, I've heard the painting say "walk away"

Today I started a pastel based on the oil study I did in Amesbury on Thursday.  I wanted it light, ethereal, moody and overcast.  I kept the underpainting light and was happy with the alcohol wash. I did the trees first to lock them in following the advise on Liz Haywood Sullivan's video "Mixing Greens"

It didn't start to go wrong until the block-in when I started to place my dark and medium greens. I had to leave, family errands called including a trip to the dump.  On the way home I heard the painting say " too soon with the greens, keep the block-in violet and purple in tone.

I brushed out the greens, as much as I could, and added dark and mid purples, violets and mauves for my block-in. I think it is going to be ok, I'll work more on it tomorrow.

underpainting using pinks and purples

wash-in, I lost a lot of the darks

block-in after brushing out the too deep greens and replacing them with violets and purples

Nov. 3, 2017

I am trying to re-organize myself and my painting life.  At the first of the year I will have a new system for cataloging my paintings but for now I want to start recording my processes to better understand what works and what doesn't.

Today's painting was of a pomagranite, started yesterday as a grisaille using brown madder. I used a 6x6 panel with a linen oil primed surface. I started the painting using liquin impasto as a medium. After several wipe-outs I took a break.  When things do not go well with my painting I go up to the house and cook.  I made Rippolitto for lunch and a huge batch of marinara sauce as well as prepping my vegetables for tomorrow's pizza.  Well then it was time to face the painting which I finished using a 50% mix of OMS and linseed oil. I am not totally happy with it but tomorrow is a new day.

I also did a little pastel study based on an earlier version of Tancredi. 6x8 on Uart 400 mounted with 3M to foam core.  I painted the surface with black gesso and then with clear gesso to give it more texture. While working I realized that the original was on a board painted with a sienna acrylic which would have been a better choice.  All the more reason to continue my  journal of technical info.

11/2/17 Plein air today in Amesbury

It looked like rain was possible, an overcast, flat light day in mid Autumn.

It became quite mild for this time of year. 70's 

9x12 oil on panel

I used a Raymar linen panel, oil primmed and previously toned with indian yellow.
I used the Coulter box to give me more mixing area and I tried liquin impasto and new large hog bristle brushses. 

Julie suggested that I wait to do the sky, keeping to tansparents for as long as possible. I wiped out  the opaque sky areas and worked my dark transparents. She also had me darken the path,  I originally had it as light as the sky.

Sept. 2, 2017

6x6 oil on canvas

Practicing stopping before I over-work.  I have been away from oils for a while and have gotten rusty.  If I do one small one a day for the month of September it may come back to me. I liked starting this in yellows and violets.

Sept. 1, 2017

                                                   

Still Life with Sunflowers 

9x12 oil on panel

I worked on this for a day, trying to convince myself that I could still paint.  Wiping out at least three times.  I was losing the battle.  The next morning I couldn't wait to get to the studio and throw it in the trash but when I got there I found it wasn't as bad as I thought, or worth rescuing or at least not admitting defeat.  I changed the base from wood-tone to light and moved the lower flower closer to the pitcher.  I continued working until suddenly the painting told me it was finished. I won, its ok but I still won't buy it a frame.

Harris, Yellow Sky

16x20 pastel on Uart 400

This was based on yesterday's study. I am happy with some of it but still like the study better.  I like these portrait style landscapes with masses of trees and light peeking out from behind.

Harris 

8x10 pastel 

I started this with a grisaille and of course I forgot to take a picture of that first step. My plan is to use the same reference photo to try different underpainitng techniques.

I believe this was art spectrum white.  I used graphite for the grisaille. The problems I had with this I am attributing to the surface.  Maybe if I am trying to compare techniques  I ought to stick with a known background.

Casco Bay

5x7 pastel

Trying something new.  I stretched cold-pressed watercolor paper, painted my underpainting, coated it with pumice gel and then pasteled on top. It was interesting to do and I may try it again larger.

On my easel

I had a plan to deal with Winter.  I set up pastels in my old studio, the sun room off the bedroom.  I like to get up early but not to walk down to the studio.  I thought I would use this space to do small studies in the early morning and evening.

For this painting I followed Liz Haywood Sullivan's lessons in her book "painting Brilliant Skies and Water" using my own reference photo.  I am trying to find a method of painting that works for me.This is the first step, an underpainting washed down with alcohol.

At this point I have applied pastel all over matching color to value. The small set I brought up to the house is missing colors and especially brands.  There are no Giraults, my favorites.

The surface of this is Pastel Premier, white. It handled well and did not buckle with the alcohol wash but the tooth seemed rougher than I remembered possibly due to the missing Giraults that I rely on to blend.

It is noon now and I still haven't been down to the studio! This plan may work better for evenings.

Hope

18x24 pastel on Uart

I named this "Hope" because after a rainy week-end the sun was just starting to break through on my way home from the mountains.

This is 4 times the size of my usual work and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed working larger.

Salsibury

Salisbury 9x12 oil on stretched canvas L7

I experimented with this one using thicker paint.  I thought it was a wipe-out but then I stepped back and realized I didn't hate it.  I want to work on the background row of trees.  I tried to break up the shape but it still needs more, maybe a tree or two in the middle ground.  I tried to continue the water to the middle ground but wiped it.  I may try again. I am getting better at the foreground grasses, a big brush instead of a tiny one - who knew!

Essex

12x16 oil No. 5 Raymar panel

I am working on my goal of creating 100 landscapes in oil.  I could see no reason for my oil landscapes to be inferior to my pastel ones other than practice and technique.  The 100 is my plan for practice, after all I did see my small alla prima still lifes improve. The technique involves classes.  I researched and decided to take lessons from Julie Airoldi, her landscapes are beautiful and I heard she was just as good at teaching.

I have been very pleased so far.  She had me start with a grisaille which I find a very comfortable way to work. It feels like getting the drawing and composition right before adding color. I let that dry for a week. The part that comes next was new to me.  I mixed 4 bottles of medium with different proportions of Gamsol to linseed oil. 3 to 1,  1 to 1, 1 to 3, and the last pure linseed oil. The first pass is a glazing one using transparent color and the 3 to 1 medium.  It added a little color but mainly served as an oiling out for the next layer of more opaque color. I worked on this again in the third lesson with Julie offering suggestions for softening edges.  I would have done this by blending the tops of the trees with the sky, she did it by adding a third color, mixed to show light hitting the edges.

I am happy with this piece, in the future I would like to finish with thicker paint and more visible brush work but for now I am calling this done and ready to move on to the next.

                                    

12x16 oil on cradled hard board panel

This is the version I worked on in my own studio.  Classwork is fun and interesting but I also want to be able to work on my own.  I used one of my standard Blick cradled panels but otherwise I followed the same techniques I used in class. This time I played a little more with imaginative color.  It was interesting to note that the panels were not what was giving me problems before but the lack of a system of mediums.

This needs a little more work, some sky holes to lighten up the trees closest to center and a little more definition to the other trees to break up the toy soldier affect.

                                              

Reflections

Reflections

12x12 pastel on Uart 350

Pastel underpainting, alcohol wash

Block in

Agamenticus

12x12 pastel on pastelmat tan/peach

I have been re-doing some of the pastels I completed in Ed Chesnovitch's class.  This version is on pastelmat, the original was on Uart.  I am enjoying the smooth surface. I have been working slower making sure to do thumb nails and notans and it helps.

sketch

block-in

Pastels again

Sunlit Oak

12x12 pastel on pastelmat wine

This is my favorite tree.  It's the view from  my sun room and former studio.  I did the first version of it in a class with Ed Chesnovitch and decided to re-do all the paintings from that class to see how much I could apply what I learned and improve on the originals.  I am happy with this one and especially happy working on pastelmat - my new favorite paper.

Snow Scene

Snow Scene

9x12 oil on panel

Landscape #3

My obsession with painting water and reflections needed a break so I found this reference I took on a trip to visit my daughter last winter.  I loved the way the light hit the edge of the shed and the trees in layers surrounding this barn.

I may do a little more work on the fence posts and snow.

Umber sketch

Block -in

Marsh Grasses

Marsh Grasses

5x7 oil on panel

I struggled with the larger version of this scene, I still haven't resolved it.  I thought I would take it easy and do a small version - it wasn't.  I struggled with this one too and finally decided to blame my reference photo. It looks like the water in the upper body might spill out.

Landscape # 3 of 100

Cape Cod Light

Cape Cod Light

11x14 oil on panel

This still needs some tweaking but I am happy with it so far.  I like it better than the alla prima version I did last week of the same scene.

Landscape #2 in my goal of 100 oil landscapes

Grisailles

Cape Cod Light

Marsh Grasses

Two starts today, both done with raw umber/ burnt sienna grisaille. I can't wait to add the color.

C