Experimenting With Paint

I told you that I would share my experimental studies with you. I had finished It Snowed for Christmas and was trying to decide where to go from there. I wanted to get back to my oils and do some more work. When working with brushes, I had a tendency to paint in thin layers, which is evidently OK to do, as long as you use several thin layers and follow the fat to lean rule [I am still trying to wrap my head around that - is it thickness of paint? amount of oil in the paint? paint thinning medium added (oil? mineral spirits?)]. Well for now, I am just playing with paint here and experimenting. I might go back in and try to finish these and salvage them. In the meantime, because I promised to share them, here they are:

Oil Painting Experiments - Left Over Paint (left) Palette Knife (right)

The main point of my experiment was to try painting with my palette knife, which I had never tried doing before. I was having so much fun with it that it was difficult to stop with one canvas. I did have a second canvas and I also had left over paint. The decision I had to make was whether to put out more paint and try another palette knife painting or try to use up the leftover paint that I already had so that I wouldn't waste any paint. I opted to use the leftover paint and so I got out my new oil paint instrument, my trusty paper towel and painted the second canvas with that. I didn't use any medium, not even for clean-up. I don't know if that is cheating or not, but it sure made it easy when it came time to clean-up.

I am still trying to decide which type of paint I am in love with - watercolor, oil, acrylic. They each have their own particular wonderful characteristics. Guess I am just fickle. I seem to love them all.

Thanks for tuning in. More later.

Palette Knife Experiment

Couldn't stand to walk by this and not try to do something with it. Here is the palette knife painting with revisions from memory and imagination. The nice thing about painting is you remember all the wisdom you read like, "Don't add yellow to snow, especially cadmium yellow." And you seem to remember each little gem right after you have done exactly what you read not to do. Think maybe I need to do more plein air painting. Fifteen million (well maybe not that many) revisions later, and I still see things that I would like to fix, even though this is just a study. I see why oil painters like to work alla prima. There is a certain freshness that you tend to lose as you continue to work, but for a study from my imagination, I can deal with the imperfections.

Still not willing to quit!

A little fun checking contrast.

I have added some new products to my Cafe Press store: Margo's Art. Check it out.