Friday, December 7, 2007

Seashell no.5



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I've been experimenting with glazing recently, and it's something I've ended up doing almost accidentally in the past, not really understanding the processes but liking the end results. I work intuitively, quickly and sponataneously, which is great for keeping a lot of energy in your work but sometimes good technique goes out of the window. Working on these tiny oils is giving me the chance to evaluate technique on a daily basis, and I'm reading more about materials and other people's ways of working. I can be really impatient with drying times, so glazing isn't always a practical consideration for me - you can't glaze over sopping wet paint, it just gets muddy. I've been building up texture, letting it dry (happens very quickly here in Tahoe) and then applying a thin colour over the top. It's cool the way it catches in the grooves of the underpainting, and you can warm up or cool down a section if it's not quite right. I'm working on some bigger oils of figures at the moment, and the light effects are crucial to the theme of the painting. I'm learning as I go about how to create luminosity, depth and form with glazes. Art is all about learning, you never stop learning....

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