The Daily Spectrum - Gallery Wall Talks #1

This painting was one of three that made it into my first showing that was held at a bank in Athol, Massachusetts. It was also my very first "semi-professional"painting.  It was painted in Auburn, Mass. back in 1987.  It's called Winter Sun. It was painted using the then-popular wet-on-wet technique - although wet-on-wet, or alla prima (which is Italian for "at first attempt") - had been used for hundreds of years.

The wet-on-wet technique was popularized in the general public's eye primarily by a man named William Alexander - a.k.a. "the Happy Painter".  He had a weekly show that was featured on PBS and was televised for years.  He made this technique seem so easy to master that I had to try it when the opportunity arose.  A class was being given by one of his students using this technique.

It was a fall day and the weather was balmy.  Our oldest daughter was 18 months old then and my husband David promised to watch her so I could do this seminar.  I was an excited child given a new toy.  I had trouble following directions and wanted to explore what I could do with the paints.  It took every ounce of prudence I could muster to stay on task and do what I was told.  The result was a winter sunset with birch trees extending from the oval.

The wet-on-wet technique, although it can be done quickly, is sometimes rather difficult to execute.  The paint can easily turn into a muddy mess if one color too many is added. Basically, the process involves painting in the background first, then layering other paint on top - all before the first layer dries. The convenience of this technique is that is doesn't take days or weeks for layers of paint to dry and thus a painting can be done in "one sitting".

I was told when I went to college for fine art that this technique isn't "real painting". Looking back, I feel this opinion was solely the belief of a biased professor with the strong possibility he meant the TV show didn't teach real painting. As I researched the wet-on-wet technique, I found that numerous oil painting masters from Jan van Eyck, to Diego Velazquez, to Monet and Van Gogh, either used or experimented with wet-on-wet.

My daughter, Margarette, was given this painting on her first wedding anniversary as it is her favorite.

Until next time,
Another Happy Painter,
Jill