Monday, September 12, 2016; this was it - starting a series of oil paintings inspired by man-made oil spills, big and small. The first painting I begin working on has a Gesso foundation on the canvas and a rough sketch - and I've already titled it. There are times when I truly wonder why I name my paintings, sometimes giving them titles that seem to have almost nothing to do with the series I'm working on. Maybe I do this as part of my creative process. By the way, this first painting is entitled "Sundance".
I laid the foundation coat of colors on this work and within a few hours had to put it aside so the oil would start to dry. I began my next painting already entitled "Waterfall". I struggled to find the color I was after. It's moments like these where I wish oil paint came in bright fluorescent colors like Hot Pink. Brilliant Red mixed with pure white did not produce the pink I was after.
In mild desperation, I went rummaging through an old suitcase that was filled with paint and other art supplies. Much to my joy, I found a half-used tube of Cadmium Red Rose. I mixed that paint with my white and came close to a hot pink as I was going to get. I'm satisfied with the bright color even if it isn't screaming fluorescent. A friend of mine asked, "Why don't you just use an acrylic?" Oil paint lasts longer than acrylics... way longer. Hence one reason why the tubes of paint are expensive. Plus the textures and look are different.
On Tuesday, I began "Jewels", only to have created what looked like the face of an alien in a left-hand side circle (another friends description, not mine - although I totally agreed with her). This painting was inspired by a small oil puddle mixing with water on asphalt with the sun hitting it. The blue oil drops on the faded tar that was in my painting stood out like eyes. It was not only distracting, but also disturbing. I let that painting dry for two days.
By mid-week, I went back to working on "Waterfall". I felt like I needed some additional inspiration, so on went the classical music and I "conducted" the painting. My technique was to commence with all the yellows first, as well as the other lighter shades of color, and then have the darker shades be the outlines of shapes, forms, and lines.
On Thursday, I painted "Tapestry". Have you ever experienced working on multiple paintings and some just seem to flow or come together better and/or faster? With this work, it seemed as if I was weaving it together, not stitch by stitch, but color by color.
Friday - time to wrap things up. This was officially touch-up day. On "Sundance", I blended in oil purple to take away some of the pink. I know - after all that searching for the right color, I blended some of it away. Next, I worked the inner circles to have a more oiled feel to them - as if they were flowing from one color to the next.
With the "Jewels" painting, I added black over the asphalt portions of the painting and those so-called "eyes" my friend pointed out, disappeared. The finished painting has a more peaceful look. I did the same procedure to "Waterfall" and gave it a purple glaze over where the asphalt would've been.
Lastly, on "Tapestry", I outlined in dark green some areas that were still bare and lacking color.
Looking back, I had a great week! I'm pleased so far with the paintings as well as the process. We'll see how week #2 goes. I also hope you enjoy these new creations.
The "well-oiled" painter,
Jill
"Jewels"
"Waterfall"
"Tapestry"
"Sundance"
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