In the Shadows

The photo of the painting above shows a simple painting. As you look at the video of the painting of this picture you will see that, along the way, there were a few almost finished paintings covered up by later layers of paint. It was not a case of overworking this time. If you are a regular reader here you will know I’ve been experimenting with media and the effects on the handling of the paint. This is why I continued to add paint on top of layers of wet paint. I deliberately extended the time of the painting to about 3 hours, by taking breaks, one of about 30 minutes, with a few 10 minute breaks as well. The colours were: Burnt Sienna (red), Yellow Ochre (yellow) and Prussian Blue (blue). Chrome Green Light, black and white also used.

The result of the experiment is this. To paint fine lines on wet paint is easier if the initial layers have either no Liquin (medium) or solvent only. I like having some medium in the paint layer as it adds a richness to the paint. ‘Oiling-out’ afterwards does remove the dull matt of ‘solvent only’ paint, but its not the same as a layer of paint with a medium in the mix. I’m not sure why this should be, it could be that the surface of the layer of paint is smoother?? When painting details onto this wet layer, I found that a small amount of Linseed Oil (5%) mixed with the Liquin helps reduce wet paint ‘pick-up’ on the brush when painting on ‘Liquin only’ layers.

This small amount of oil in the Liquin is also good when painting shadow areas. I have problems with these dark colours if the Liquin begins to dry, the colour becomes lighter in tone. The small amount of oil keeps the ‘wet’ look on these dark colours long enough to finish the painting.

So now when I begin a landscape, the sky and backgrounds will have a little Liquin plus a lot of solvent. The dark colours and fine details painted on the wet backgrounds (tree branches etc.) will have Liquin and about 5% Linseed Oil in the mix.

Here is the video of the process.