There are times when I finish a painting and I am completely discouraged, and I keep telling myself, "This should've been better." Even now, as someone that has been painting with oils for about 16 years or so, I end up with some bad paintings where nothing went right and I hate everything about it. And then there are those times when I finish a painting and I really like it. Even though I had quite a few interesting challenges and some rough spots, it turns out well overall. Maybe I'm not 100% happy, but I like it anyway.
But then... once in a rare occasion... a very rare occasion I'll finish something where even I will question if it was my hand that really did it. Today, I am happy to say, was such a painting. I finished this one in 9 days, and strangely everything about it seemed to work out well. There were, as always, some rough areas and really hard parts that needed more work and correction than others. But even those corrections and refinements worked out well, and the entire painting came out beautifully. I am calling this one "The Rapids," and here are some shots of its progress, along with the final piece. Hope you enjoy:
 |
| Underpainting with Raw Umber. |
 |
| 1st layer of flesh tone on the figure using a limited palette of Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, and White. |
 |
| Painting the bright red drapery using Cadmium Red deep, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, and Vermilion hue with White on the highlights. |
 |
| 2nd layer of flesh tone on the figure. |
 |
| Finished with the figure. Beginning to paint the landscape and background. |
 |
The Rapids
oil on canvas
36x24 inches
2013 |
No comments:
Post a Comment