Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Painting tip of the day: Tread lightly and watch for something extraordinary to happen

Commission work-in-progress detail:

Even though I’m a little under the weather today, I couldn’t wait to get some more work done on this garden painting. So this morning I threw on a comfy sweatshirt, jeans and some thick wool socks, made myself some hot tea and dove right in.

Into the painting that is, not the tea.

First I added some deeper glazes to the underpainting, including mars black mixed with my transparent glazing medium in most of the foreground... 


... Then, after giving the acrylic underpainting a few minutes to dry, I started with the oil layer, beginning with the cottage and trees in the background:


At this stage, as I add more “realistic” colors, I’m still referring to my composition photo but also going with the flow and frequently stepping back to get the big picture and assess which underpainting colors I want to keep and which I want to tone down or change completely.

And trying real hard not to fall too much in love with that luscious red of the tree branches.

I’m treading lightly here, ...

... watching for something extraordinary to happen!

4 comments:

Virginia Floyd said...

Do you thin the oil paint like a glaze? It looks see- through.

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing. I loVe seeing the stages. I can tell this one is to be a real beauty. Oh, how I love your talent!🎨

Karen M Schmidt said...

Hi Virginia! No,
I don't thin the oil paints, but I don't put them on real thick at this stage. Sometimes I choose an oil color for a certain area that is real close in color to the underpainting in that place ... maybe that is what you're seeing?

Karen M Schmidt said...

Thanks so much, Deborah for your sweet comments (here and on Facebook :) I always enjoy seeing other artists' progress pics; I'm glad you're enjoying mine!