Tuesday, August 18, 2015

To Be Relentless Like the Sea

To Be Relentless Like the Sea
9X12, Oil on Panel
SOLD


The black sand beach of Dyrholaey near Vik was one of my favorite places in Iceland.  The weather was pretty foul when we were there, about 40-45°F and spitting rain, but the place was still astounding.  This painting was accepted into the Arkansas League of Artist's annual juried show.  I have one final Iceland painting I have done.  I am sure I will return to it as a subject in the future but I am already started trying to get a jump on next year's solo show.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Onward, Till Valhalla

Onward, Till Valhalla
9X12, Oil on Panel
Available
 
 
This is Þingvellir in Iceland's Golden Circle.  It was such an incredible place, it made my imagination go wild.  One day I want to camp here and explore it in greater detail.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

The Water Whispers

The Water Whispers
6X8, Oil and Golden Opens on Panel
SOLD


This was my first nocturne produced with Golden Opens.  Obviously, I was able to overcome the issue with making nice deep darks using Ultramarine blue and Dioxazine purple.  I did make some touch ups to this in the studio with oils but they were not major.

Monday, August 3, 2015

As Fleeting As Morning Light

As Fleeting As Morning Light
6X8, Oil and Golden Opens on Panel
SOLD


This is one of my paintings from the backpacking trip I took a few months ago.  It got a lot of rework in the studio with oils using the same palette as the Golden Open plein air painting did on location.  We camped alongside Gee Creek in a beautiful wooded flat beside the Ozark Highlands Trail.  It was my first true backpacking experience.  Carrying paints and plein air setup really limited the amount of supplies I could carry and that will need to be resolved for future trips longer than one night.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

The Depth of My Dark - More Golden Opens Talk



I first began experimenting with Golden Open acrylics sometime in January of this year.  My primary objective was to use them for plein air work.  My main motivation in trying this specific variety of acrylic was that it walked in the boundary between regular acrylic and oil in terms of workability.  I tend to have a habit of not being super happy with my plein air work and doing a range of tweaks to it in the studio ranging from just some very simple touch ups to full repaintings.  I wanted to be able to make those tweaks while still on location by giving the painting some time to dry which is not remotely possible when using oils.

As you may remember, I started with just a small handful of colors to begin with.  I chose colors that were frequent players on my palette and with which I was comfortable.  However, I quickly noted some glaring differences in the way in which these colors played together.  Firstly, I realized that these acrylics apply much more translucently than oils typically apply, very glazy.  I think this is primarily due to the fact that these paints are pretty soft in body and go on pretty thinly.  But my main issue dealt with the relative lack of depth I could achieve in the darks.  I think a big part of this was that the red oxide I bought was inherently fairly opaque and so, when mixed with cobalt blue, it made an interesting earthy purple and not the deep dark typical of cobalt and transparent oxide red.  I also noted that the Golden Open cobalt blue was lighter in value and more opaque than most standard cobalt blues in oil.  It was a fascinating color, just not what I needed.  Still, I made do the best I could and produced some passable paintings with that palette (some getting touched up in the studio with oil.)

However, before a backpacking trip that I was looking very forward to, I went to the LASS (Local Art Supply Shop) to see what all I could get to help out with this conundrum.  I already had some colors in mind and hoped I would find them there.  But during my perusal of the Golden Opens I noticed the Transparent Red Oxide (as opposed to merely "Red Oxide" which I had purchased) and I knew I had found one of the main reasons I was having trouble making nice deep darks.   I was much happier with my results the next day as far as making nice darks.

So here is the list of colors I added:

Dioxazine Purple
Hansa Yellow
Ultramarine Blue
Transparent Red Oxide
Yellow Ochre