The First Painting of 2014

In Progress, the first painting of the new year

     I woke up early this morning in the hope of capturing an inspiring sunrise to start off the new year. All was gray so I headed back to bed and hoped the weather would be more promising when I awoke. It was brighter but the light was flat until around 1:00 PM. The sun was out but I couldn't find inspiration on the beach nor the sound. I wanted color. Fortunately I had photographed some spectacular skies after the rain on Sunday so I uploaded some of the best ones, set my iPad next to my easel, did a rough sketch and got to work....

       I have a half box French easel that I keep here at the beach but since I had intended to be out with my pochade box I only brought 6x8 and 8x10 inch panels with me. It was easier to just set the pochade box on a table and use my palette box instead of the smaller one that comes with it. I worked for an hour and a half and stopped when I reached the point you see in the photo above as the skies had become heavy and gray. I needed to turn on some lights and that was going to change the colors. Better to get back into it tomorrow. I want to thicken up the paint a bit as the surface is uninteresting to me as it is.
      By the way, when I work from photos I tend not to work from the best ones. I mean best in the sense of a photo which stands on its own as a finished work.When I do I use fragments of them and combine with fragments from another photo. I do a quick sketch like you see above that serves as a rough road map. When a photo is really good and doesn't need improving I find it hard to see the point of painting it. Copying a painting is boring. To me it is like paint by numbers. When I paint plein air I almost always change things around and edit. When working from photos I think it best to
do the same.

     I thought you might like to see some of the materials I work with. I use water mixable oils rather than traditional oils as they are versatile and free me from solvents. It took me a while to find what works for me as there are vast differences in the various brands. I think the very best is Holbein Aqua Duo. The paints are vibrant, well mixed ( none of the separation that I found with some brands) and they pull like traditional oils. Drying time is almost the same, just slightly faster. If you use water as your medium, which I never do, they will dry more quickly. I only use water to clean my brushes. Cleanup is a breeze with water and Master's brush cleaner. I prefer hog bristle brushes and they have much longer lives with these paints and that cleaner/ conditioner. My mediums are Winsor Newton Artisan thinner and painting medium. I use them just as you would use traditional mediums. The more medium the more shine. You can get some beautiful glazes with the painting medium. If you use water as your medium you will find that the paint dries quite flat and you will have to work before it sets up because it can get gummy. People who complain that these paints feel gooey are most likely using water as the medium.
     In the photo are clear primed linen panels two of which (those lying down) I have toned and have applied another layer of clear primer to. These take the paint beautifully. Sadly, they are being discontinued and these are all I have.