The cool rainy weather is not working in my favor lately during “studio time” as it is not conducive for oil paint to dry. So as I work on this piece I have experienced moments of working effortlessly for hours and then days go by and I sit in the chair across from the easel watching it…almost as if I am waiting for the moment when the central fish turns his face to me and starts talking. I am certain that there are great insights he wishes to share with me, maybe even some ideas of how this painting will move forward. I sit and wait…attentively.
I always find it fascinating stepping back and watching as the paint dries, as it matures the colors change slightly and the intensity of the paint deepens, as the glossy glare of the painted surface becomes less and less. The image below is proof that a wet canvas does not always photograph well. I include this only as a tease to give an idea of what I have been working on in the studio. But is not the best representation of what the canvas looks like in real time… as I said, it is a teaser.
The big chunky elements are in place and details are added when I can as I work around the areas of wet paint, which I have to admit, is a challenge. The next step is to work on the red rocks in the landscape and drop in some more details. This will be the focus for this upcoming Monday, as the canvas should be dry enough to accept more paint without blurring the colors together. I will keep you posted as this processes evolves…and who knows there might be another canvas started to work on during the drying periods of this one…one never knows!
Lets have a little fun here…
A contest to name the central brown trout in the painting…any ideas?
If you have a good name for him/her, please post it in the comments section below.
I might turn the answers into a future blog post.
