Duck Pond
Last post I was discussing the difficulty I have using Linseed Oil. This may be a problem of my own making relating to the method I employ in painting. Firstly, I am an Alla Prima painter. Secondly, I spend a lot of time manipulating the paint on the canvas. I put a layer of solvent only paint on the canvas and allow the solvent to evaporate, sometimes with the help of a hair dryer. This can be a little dangerous as the solvent is flammable and electrical equipment can cause sparks. Subsequent layers of wet paint mix with this under layer and later layers of paint. The whole process depends on the compatibility of colours and especially the flow characteristics of the medium. This is why I avoid Oils as a medium while I continue to use this technique.
The last painting had 50/50 Stand Linseed Oil and Liquin. I felt the handling was more difficult because of the oil in the medium. This painting has Liquin only and there are several heavy layers of paint, wet on wet. I pushed the technique to the limit and the handling was OK. A consequence of using Liquin is faster painting and a bonus is faster drying time. The down side of Liquin is discussed here.
The scene is partial memory and mostly imagination. Duck ponds were part of every farm yard in former times. A deep pond was a safe place for farmyard ducks especially at night when the fox was doing his rounds. The colours are: Burnt Sienna & Raw Umber (red), Yellow Ochre (yellow) and French Ultramarine (blue). Also Viridian Green, black and white. Check previous post on colours, which are almost the same as these, especially concerning Viridian.
Here is the video of the painting process. Remember its 720HD and can be viewed as a larger picture (see here about YouTube settings).
PictureS 
Beautiful work.
Thank you.
Lovely, Liam!
Thank you, you’re nearing the end of the 100 portraits. Congratulations!
I am really enjoying seeing your work and sharing your experiences in the process. I love oils but they take a long time to dry and the smell puts me off. Linda
Have you tried ‘odourless’ solvent? Also Liquin is odourless. I remember using Turpentine and Linseed Oil, phew!, the whole house would smell.
loving
Thanks.
wow, you are so disciplined and prolific 🙂
Thanks Rosie.
Lovely.
Thank you megan.
Wow and double wow!! Your work is fabulous! The time lapses are mind-blowing!! Always more to learn and I’ll be coming back for more. Thank you so much for the follow. I’ll be following you as well and will certainly look forward to seeing more of your work.
Thank you for the nice comments. Glad you enjoyed.
oh, I did!
Very interesting. While I was watching your video I was wondering if you’ve ever considered making videos or have someone else make the video so that you never see the brush or your hand involved. Just the painting constantly morphing into something new. To the rhythms of some music. Anyway, great work.
Thanks for the comment. To answer your query, I record the painting process the way I do, for a number of reasons. I’m a graphic artist by profession and use an array of equipment to produce artwork for commercial purposes. I could produce ‘paintings’ from photos or elsewhere, everything from abstract to realist, in a few minutes using these machines. Anybody with access to this type of technology could do the same, artist or otherwise. We are swamped in images and they have no integrity. As little as 25 years ago the only way to produce a ‘painting’ was to paint it. The world has changed. The manipulation of pigment by hand, as the cave painters did without sophisticated gadgets, is what I think is important today. Every brushstroke, mark, line is critical and this is what I document. By the way, I archive the entire 1 to 2 hour session for each painting in real time. A compressed 10 minute YouTube video is a limitation of current technology, but remember ‘the world it is a changin”. Also, I like the idea of showing the entire process from blank canvas to finished painting as an aid to those interested in painting themselves. I find it of interest to the ‘I don’t understand it, it must be art’ people who are alienated by current art trends. I hope this explains my lack of ‘presentation’ in these videos and I hope you continue to find some value in the work. Thanks again.
Ah-ha! So thats how you do it !
Really interesting to watch someone else’s technique, knowing how I’d set about the same subject and then watching you do it was very interesting and I’ve learned some tricks from you.
I also agree with your comments above regarding commercial manipulation of photography to produce instant “artwork” however it also emphasises the craft of the painter and I’m finding there is still a strong demand for “real” paintings with actual paint and brush strokes on the canvas and long may that live.
Thank you for liking my post @ http://jennysserendipity.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/the-cotton-pickers-winslow-homer-1876-2/
It was an interesting article, thank you.