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Work in Progress 03/11/21 March 11, 2021 18:21

I was very happy to get back to painting the kind of work that I feel is characteristic for me--dark abstracts. Like a lot of people, I've been having a hellish time during this plague year plus. Yesterday, in fact, I was so horrifically depressed that I didn't see the point of painting or any kind of art at all. But this morning I thought I just have to paint for me, not for other people. And what do I like for my own painting? Mostly monotone, with lots of playing around with light, on the watercolor ground on canvas, which allows for so much play with lifting and highlighting with Guerra's titanium white pigment dispersion (plus QoR watercolor binder) and of course, with my absolute favorite paint, Dr. Ph. Martin's Payne's Gray. I swear, they should let me buy it by the 55 gallon drum. :) This combo is for me like an X-ray of the universe or at least of the spiritual realm that for me sits just behind and out of sight of our mundane world. Looking forward to working on this baby tomorrow. Or maybe even tonight.

I also got a bunch of new brushes from The Brush Guys yesterday, some of which I used today in making the lines of light but also the bright areas in this painting. I bought a bunch of different types of small brights, which is a small square brush like a flat but shorter. I find that for me brights are very handy for drybrush and for using side foward to make lines and to lift narrow areas. I actually learned about using them from oil painting, which I hope to get back to this summer. I highly recommend The Brush Guys. They have good prices and ship fast.

Getting into the groove of this ground October 18, 2020 21:57

I'm starting to find my way with these grounds. This is a work in progress on the Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground, which I applied to two 16 x 20" Fredrix Pro Dixie canvases. I have no title for this one yet, although I'll probably finish it tomorrow. This is Dr. Ph. Martin Payne's Grey, cobalt teal, DS Iridescent Gold, and titanium. 

I love how this stuff paints. I have been doing a lot of lifting in order to create the light areas and then highlighting what I want with Guerra's titanium pigment dispersion plus either Cheap Joe's gum arabic solution or QoR's watercolor medium. Lifting and then adding white is allowing me to do all sorts of stuff with glow and light. I've focused on that before, but I never realized how helpful lifting could be along those lines. I think I will extend the central part that's extending from the main shape and then do something with the top of the shape along the right-hand side. Not sure yet. This one is taking me quite a while to do. 

I guess you can tell I am really liking working with darks. :) Have a lot  more dark paintings planned. The other night I lay in bed and had a ton of ideas along those lines.