Week 2 in the Studio

This week in the studio I continued my exploration of different painting medium and ground colors. I produced two more small still life paintings again, working in oil and trying to paint more quickly. One of my goals is to reduce the number of layers to do a modified direct painting (direct painting with perhaps an additional layer or two). For those who don't know my older process of oil painting, I would work up 3 layers in a limited palette in acrylic and then do several successive layers in oil. My medium of choice was Liquin and my support was primed museum board with an imprimatura of raw sienna.

This week's first painting, Lemon with Blue Pinch Pot, (above) was created using a cradled tung board primed with gesso and a burnt sienna ground. This painting was a challenge as the pinch pot was very uneven and shiny. The reflections of the lemon were somewhat greenish on the surface. I forced the background to be very, very dark by mixing blue and black on the sienna ground. I purposely softened some edges.

When I returned to the studio I was not satisfied with it so I added some more color and thinned it with Fine Detail Liquin. This seemed to work very well. The Liquin Fine Detail Medium will run if you use too much so it has to be relatively dense with paint but will still create a nice glaze. So, essentially this painting was 2 layers. Not bad! I reduced my usual 8-10 layers down to 2!

I really like the cradled tung wood panels made by Cheap Joe's Art Stuff. They have a smooth, fine surface and sit nicely on the easel. So, using the same panels I did another still life painting...this time of two walnuts and an apple. It is called Diamond (below).

This image is created using only Liquin Fine Detail Medium. The panel is primed and then an acrylic imprimatura of raw sienna is applied and must dry at least one day before applying oils. (I have found that color glows on both raw and burnt sienna and I do not, as a rule, ever paint on white.) This painting went fairly quickly. I softened some of the edges with my fingers. What surprised me most was the walnuts were not nearly as difficult to paint as I thought they would be. However, the apple presented quite a challenge with all of the nuances in its reflective surface.

Next week in the studio I will have a lot more time to paint and will also be priming panels. I plan on finishing two watercolors, a modified direct oil painting of a landscape from a photo using Liquin Fine Detail Medium and making another small still life this time trying Dorland's wax medium. (I am actually fearful of this as I have never used it but we shall see if I like it.) So, stay tuned!