Click on image to enlarge.7"x 5" Oil on gessoed board.
I'm still painting on the Ampersand Clayboard ( I bought a pack of three) with a violet- grey background this time. I knew that the soft color palette of this painting would be hard to accomplish on the black gesso ground, so I mixed some acrylic paint and white gesso to cover the clayboard. I'll try the Ampersand Gessoboard on my next purchase because the clayboard is very absorbent and requires two coats of gesso to prepare for the oil paint. On my first painting I only coated with one coat of gesso and had many dull spots occur as the painting dried. Some spray varnish brought it all back to a shine but I don't really recommend this surface for oils.
I'm liking my new approach to these last two paintings. It seems that I'm starting to feel a direction to pursue. I've been trying to "loosen up" for so long that all my focus has been on changing my brushstrokes. This has been a very valuable exercise, but I've lost some of "me" in the process. The ability to view so many artists online has been very inspiring and I've been learning so much by studying other's work, but I've had a real problem with "falling in love" with an artist-of-the-day 's style and thinking "I want to paint like that!". I've been a bit fickle, searching for that style that is going to be "me". These last two paintings I've just painted in a way that is a combination of how I used to paint as an illustrator, bits of influence from other's work, and the improved skills of using oil paint that has come from a year of practice. Maybe it is all beginning to gel into a style for me. Oh, I don't know, it's 1:15 AM and my brain is asleep already.
I'm liking my new approach to these last two paintings. It seems that I'm starting to feel a direction to pursue. I've been trying to "loosen up" for so long that all my focus has been on changing my brushstrokes. This has been a very valuable exercise, but I've lost some of "me" in the process. The ability to view so many artists online has been very inspiring and I've been learning so much by studying other's work, but I've had a real problem with "falling in love" with an artist-of-the-day 's style and thinking "I want to paint like that!". I've been a bit fickle, searching for that style that is going to be "me". These last two paintings I've just painted in a way that is a combination of how I used to paint as an illustrator, bits of influence from other's work, and the improved skills of using oil paint that has come from a year of practice. Maybe it is all beginning to gel into a style for me. Oh, I don't know, it's 1:15 AM and my brain is asleep already.
3 comments:
The guy that sells me paint and paint supplies has never heard of black gesso. I guess that is what I get for living in the sticks or marsh grass. There is a bridge near my house, I may apply as resident troll. argghh...
Dick Blick I know sells it online.
I know how you feel, when you see other's work and are inspired to do a painting using that technique or subject matter or style. I've always been that way, always trying different things, waiting to find the right fit. I love when I see a painting, and I know who did it just by looking at it because their style is so obviously thier own. I guess it just takes alot of time!
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