First Strokes, "Leaving the Inlet"

First day of work, "Leaving the Inlet", 18x24 oil on gessoboard

     I showed you the sketches for this painting in my last post and today I got off to a good start.  I am happy that I chose the underpainting of alizarin crimson as I think it will serve me well.  This is an early morning scene and the colors in the sky reminded me of the colors I see in the shells I find on the beach at the Outer Banks.  This, however, is not the OBX but, as I have already written, is Lake Cuyaga in Ithaca New York.  The lake is one of a group of glacial lakes which make up the Fingerlakes in upstate New York.  The region is very beautiful and I love our visits here!  I hope I will have more progress to show you tomorrow.

"The Farmhouse, Bright Blue Sky", 6x8 oil on linen panel

      Also painted today is another addition to my Farmhouse series.  This one was painted uber fast because I only had a very short time left.  I will have to add a few strokes tomorrow to finish.  The drive needs more work and I need to indicate a window on the house. 
     I know I have mentioned how much I enjoy these and I do hope you will not become bored by them.  This may just turn out to be folly on my part as I have no idea where and when I can exhibit them all.  I also need to consider the framing issue and have asked for some advice from my frame supplier.  I would hate to wait until I have a huge amount of them before starting to frame.  I also need to be sure that whatever frame I start with will still be available at the end of the year.  
       That last remark is important as I have recently found out.  These little paintings have been painted on clear primed linen panels that I have been using for years.  They are one of my favorites for plein air painting.  When I got down to just one 6x8 left I contacted my supplier to order a dozen more.  Unfortunately they will no longer be carrying this size.  I can still get them in larger sizes, which is good news, but won't be any good for this series.  So...I got online and searched for other distributers of these panels.  I found a number of them but guess what...they are out of them as well.  They have been discontinued:(  Now, there are plenty of 6x8 panels to be had out there but not with the same texture and not clear primed.  Believe me, I have looked!  So, either I can use another brand and underpaint with umber (a wash of that will mimic the color of the clear primed linen) or get creative.  I chose to do the latter. 
        I have a pad of 16x20 inch Centurian Belgian Linen.  It is white primed.  However, the back is still the natural linen color which is almost like that which I had been using.  My old panels were gray/umber in color and this linen is more like a burnt umber.  I was going to order some hardboard and adhere this to it but then I learned that I can't get those in 6x8 1/8 inch panels either.   Back to the drawing board....I ended up ordering Panelli Telati, 6x8 inch canvas panels.  I have also used these for years, mostly for plein air painting and love the extra fine, cotton canvas surface.  They are white primed.  I cut a 6x8 inch piece of linen and glued it primed side down on the primed surface of the panel.  When it was dry I clear primed it myself.  The above painting is the first to be painted on one of these newly made panels.  It worked well and the surface felt like those much loved panels I had been used to.  The only downside will be the extra time it will take to make them. Such is life:)