I don't know when I acquired such a fear of oils. I know it stems from my inexperience with them. And yet every time I lay them down on a surface, I love the way they look and feel and can be pushed and persuaded. So what's the deal? I walked around, looking at everyone's wonderful work so I wouldn't have to start. I finally realized that what I was experiencing was a type of performance anxiety; not too unlike what happens to me when I sing. I don't want to make mistakes publicly. It was a major breakthrough for me. Once I identified what was preventing me from moving forward, I had a good talk with myself (get over yourself!!) and started repeating the Greg Manchess mantra, "Art is simply about moving the paint on to the canvas", and began.I used a walnut oil alkyd medium and started working on my darker values in the background. I also put down some warmth in her hair to see if that would work. I must thank Dan Dos Santos, Greg Manchess, Rebecca Guay and Scott Fischer for all their help with this. Each of them took time to teach me, sometimes painting on my piece; sometimes making suggestions. These photos aren't the best but they show the progress on the painting. Next post will show painting into the glaze on the face.
1 comment:
My 'fear' with oils stems from their opacity and my huge dependence on line in my work. (I do *love* line, but I also work small enough that the details kind of go away if the line is covered...) I don't seem to fear them at all if I work fairly thinly and build up gradually. Attempting the same sort of control one has with transparent and dry media.
Someday, if I ever get more experienced with them, maybe I'll be braver and more 'direct' and opaque, but thus far, applying thinly is the only way I can manage...
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