Slurpy Paint and Five Brushes

Returning--oil painting in progress

Here is an unfinished painting. I am posting it because I had so much fun painting the sky! Most books and articles on painting don't talk about the kinesthetic aspects of painting, but it is the fun part! And the surface appearance is a huge part of the total energy of the artwork. (Yes, they do emit an energy... )

As you can see, there was some painting done before I got to the sky, but I'll save that for a future post.

Now, for the sky! I pre-mixed all the colors from the dark blue-gray to the bright orange, and added enough Liquin to give the paint a slurpy consistency. Then, using soft, rounded, flat brushes (sable filberts) with a different brush for each color, I started with the darkest color using a light touch. These clouds swoosh across the sky, so I used swooshing motions with the brush.

Above is a close-up. I felt like a conductor leading a sympthony, using a whole handful of brushes and letting the strokes swoosh like the motion of the wind--not doing too much blending, because it would muddy the paint. But keeping it light and smooth, so the glow underneath would show through. Just enjoying the feeling of each stroke as the brush glided across the surface. Yeah, slurpy!


Now, back to painting... That water is going to be difficult!

Blue Ridge Mountains II

...Blue Ridge Mountains II...
oil on canvas on board - 6" x 8"

Another misty sunset in the mountains. I used Grumbacher Copal Medium in this and really didn't like the effect this time. (It was fine when I was painting the red tulip, go figure.) But this time, every brushstroke seemed to lift the paint underneath.

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Against the Wall Again

...Against the Wall III...
Oil on Canvas - 6" x 6"

This is the last of my red tulip against the wall paintings... at least for now. I had wanted to do a series of the same subject, using the same colors because:

1. They might make a nice set if displayed together.
2. I wanted to experiment with using a different medium for each one.

If you are not an artist, you might want to stop reading at this point, because here comes some "shop talk."

The mediums were:

1. Gamblin Neo-Meglip--This turned out to be the most difficult to work with, because the brushstrokes showed in the transparent paint, and the paint started setting up, becoming sticky after about an hour.
2. Garrett Copal Concentrate--A resin, not really a medium, seemed to make the paint thicker. Really easy to paint with! Strokes blended like a dream. Did not seem to speed drying. Because it thickened the paint, I ended up using more mineral spirits than usual, but that didn't seem to increase the transparency of the paint. (You know the expression, "Oils slip, resins grip")
3. Grumbacher Copal Painting Medium--After the above experience, I decided to try this medium, even though it is a synthetic alkyd medium. At least it is an attempt to duplicate the effects of a copal medium. It did thin the paint and give better flow. Did not become sticky before the painting was finished. Paint seemed to have more body and less transparency than when using Liquin (another alkyd medium).

So, which did I like better? Garrett Copal Concentrate, though I'm now curious to try Garrett's Copal Medium, which I expect would thin the paint a bit, so I don't have to use so much mineral spirit.

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