I thought it would be good to include in this first journal piece a picture of myself in my Fiat Doblo painting
vehicle, which has been a real bonus since I bought it at the beginning of the year, and hopefully it
will see me out for a few years..As I am in the throws of a house move, I felt I wanted to give myself time
to do a fair bit of experimenting with painting media, grounds and glazing without necessarily being committed
to doing a lengthy painting on canvas.
I was very fortunate in being given access to a new painting site, by a local Welsh farmer John which enabled
me to work close to the Cardigan coast and just concentrate on a couple of views.
vehicle, which has been a real bonus since I bought it at the beginning of the year, and hopefully it
will see me out for a few years..As I am in the throws of a house move, I felt I wanted to give myself time
to do a fair bit of experimenting with painting media, grounds and glazing without necessarily being committed
to doing a lengthy painting on canvas.
I was very fortunate in being given access to a new painting site, by a local Welsh farmer John which enabled
me to work close to the Cardigan coast and just concentrate on a couple of views.
This is the first view of the field , that I felt would in its simplicity be able to serve the purpose
experimenting with mediums first. Compositionally the strong Vshape in the middle ground
helped to anchor the right hand edge of the picture plane , as did the Hawthorn tree on the
far left to the foreground. The drop in the plane of the two converging hedges helped to take
the eye to the beauty of the sea beyond in the Cardigan Bay..
The time of day was actually quite important as the field could look incredibly dull between
10.00- 11.30, so I tended to work on from 11.45- 2.15 pm. There were some wonderful surprises
in the vibrant colours in the foreground hedge golds particularly as they linked with the soft
crimsons of the curving hedge meeting the two adjacent in the centre..
So the first stage was to choose and compare three painting mediums, one I was familiar with
and two not.
I drafted out a rough sketch of the field and divided it into three to use the mediums on.
The first medium was a Venetian glazing medium, second Oleogel and and then Liquin original.
I had never used impasto as technique before in any previous paintings and this was an
opportunity to try out try out a favourite medium with Plein Air Painters in America, Oleogel
is supplied in the UK by the Supreme Paint Co, but manufactured by Natural Pigments in
America in their brochure called Rublev Colours
Oleogel is a thixotropic gel made with linseed oil and fumed silica. It adds transparency to colours,
but if its mixed into stiff oil paint it produces an impasto effect..
I made notes on the comparisons of the medium , but felt that the Oleogel in the way it behaved texturally
and its drying capacity was well worth exploring more.
So the next two photographs show the comparison media painting together , with the white impasto
used on the field.
experimenting with mediums first. Compositionally the strong Vshape in the middle ground
helped to anchor the right hand edge of the picture plane , as did the Hawthorn tree on the
far left to the foreground. The drop in the plane of the two converging hedges helped to take
the eye to the beauty of the sea beyond in the Cardigan Bay..
The time of day was actually quite important as the field could look incredibly dull between
10.00- 11.30, so I tended to work on from 11.45- 2.15 pm. There were some wonderful surprises
in the vibrant colours in the foreground hedge golds particularly as they linked with the soft
crimsons of the curving hedge meeting the two adjacent in the centre..
So the first stage was to choose and compare three painting mediums, one I was familiar with
and two not.
I drafted out a rough sketch of the field and divided it into three to use the mediums on.
The first medium was a Venetian glazing medium, second Oleogel and and then Liquin original.
I had never used impasto as technique before in any previous paintings and this was an
opportunity to try out try out a favourite medium with Plein Air Painters in America, Oleogel
is supplied in the UK by the Supreme Paint Co, but manufactured by Natural Pigments in
America in their brochure called Rublev Colours
Oleogel is a thixotropic gel made with linseed oil and fumed silica. It adds transparency to colours,
but if its mixed into stiff oil paint it produces an impasto effect..
I made notes on the comparisons of the medium , but felt that the Oleogel in the way it behaved texturally
and its drying capacity was well worth exploring more.
So the next two photographs show the comparison media painting together , with the white impasto
used on the field.
Unfortunately the file for the impasto work on the field couldn't load, but the experience of working with the media
was sufficient to include it now in the painting menu.I didn't find the Venetian medium particularly pleasing to use
and it took a long while to dry , and show varying levels in the oil colours. Liquin I have used in all the paintings
but I felt there was room now to explore a richer medium and to this end further work in progress.
was sufficient to include it now in the painting menu.I didn't find the Venetian medium particularly pleasing to use
and it took a long while to dry , and show varying levels in the oil colours. Liquin I have used in all the paintings
but I felt there was room now to explore a richer medium and to this end further work in progress.
The painting has been for me a helpful exploration into three mediums, looking at a range of greens with the
palette that I have, but also the quality of reproduction of the painting and looking at the reality in the studio
there is unfortunately a marked difference and I think its time to look at my old Canon EOS camera
and the ways to definitely take better pictures..So another happy learning curve awaits the next oil studies to
start soon on the beautiful site.
palette that I have, but also the quality of reproduction of the painting and looking at the reality in the studio
there is unfortunately a marked difference and I think its time to look at my old Canon EOS camera
and the ways to definitely take better pictures..So another happy learning curve awaits the next oil studies to
start soon on the beautiful site.