I would like to say I rest on Sundays, but it often works out to be a day of doing chores and errands and of course I painted today also....
Sooooooo.... As I have pointed out on MANY occasions, I am constantly learning new things about painting (and life itself, but that is a topic for a different blog) Anyway, today was definitely one of those days. I mentioned yesterday that I have been struggling with the tactile qualities of my oil paint... It seemed to be drying out too quickly, getting tacky and unworkable and generally just pis... well, angering me.....
I have to say, it takes me awhile sometimes to figure out problems.... but, I figured it out today and it has everything to do with humidity. With the onset of frigid weather, I have been using a space heater in my studio which obviously has dried the air out considerably, enough to make my oils dry way too quickly. I added a humidifier to the mix today, and voila.... problem solved... Thank the Lord.... because I was ready to fling things..... In my defense, oils are, well, made of OIL... I really didn't think humidity had a whole lot to do with dry time. Wrong. So lesson #1 for the day, if you are an oil painter and having similar difficulties, put a humidifier in your studio and see what happens. Hope this helps....
Sorry about the looong post, but I have more to say...
I have also been playing around with color palettes and today, I decided to go with the very limited palette that a well known artist, Kevin MacPherson, uses. It consists of only 4 colors - Alizarin Crimson, Cad Yellow light, Ultramarine Blue and Winsor Green (which I used Phthalo Green because it is the same thing and that is what I have) and then Titanium White.
I must say, I love a limited palette when I use it, I am always happy with the results and I don't know why I don't just stick with it. I actually do... I love color and really can't resist all those tubes of juicy colorful paints. But I should restrain myself and try to just stick with the limited palette for awhile to learn a little more about color mixing. So, lesson #2 for the day.... Limited Palettes rock...
Last bit of blab for today's post....
I had too much fun on Google Street View last night... (yes, that was how I spent my Saturday night...) I have read of artists using screen shots of different google street view pics as references for their paintings. I decided to give it a shot. Street view is just about the coolest thing out there, and if you have several hours to burn, just start street viewing different areas of the world. I do love it and I even came across a herd of elephants crossing the road in South Africa. So cool. Anyway, today's painting came from a screen shot I found last night somewhere in Northern Normandy, France. Using the limited palette, having increased humidity in my studio and being excited about my street view reference made for a really great day painting in my studio. So, there, lesson # 3 for the day... if you are feeling un-inspired and need a pick me up, start roaming the world using street view and your problems will be solved....
With no further ado or blabbing, here is my painting
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Somewhere in Normandy, oil on panel, 6"x6" to purchase, please click here |
Love this street view in the country!!! Beautiful colors! Your painting feels great with all the repeating values of blue in it. Truly enjoyed reading your post. I had never thought of using google street views but it is genius! I will be busy tonight! Thanks so much!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tam! I love your work also... So glad to introduce you to the fun of street view!
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