Not so thick

I'm thinking I'm getting the hang of the oils. I guess I'd been laying them on too thickly for what I was looking for. Although I must admit that I'm still getting used to mixing the colors on a white background. As a matter of fact, that makes me think I should pull out an old wooden palette I have and try that. It would be more similar in color to the underpainting on these pieces. As it is, all the colors are a big SURPRISE when they first get applied to the painting. So, while these are not finished, they have their first layer of color on them. I'm thinking only one more layer and I'll call them complete. I will have to wait a day or two for this layer to dry enough. I'll post when done.

These two pieces are a bit blanched in my photo. The colors are actually kind of cool. When I get these 3 done, I will have completed 20 oil pieces. Too bad I hadn't set a number for a goal. It would have been something I could cross off my list.

On a musical note, my friend Steve sent a link to npr for some free music from the South by Southwest Music Festival. It is something I'd like to attend sometime. Usually, though, we have a show the weekend of the festival. This year we'll be in Scottsdale. Haven't tried out the music yet but will post about it when I do. I'm not sure how well I've linked to the site but between the http and knowing it is nprmusic, I'll bet you can find it.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101438331&sc=nl&cc=asc-20090310

Free SXSW Sampler Download

Download a free 10-song sampler of the artists featured by NPR Music at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, TX this month. Hear and get music from The Decemberists, Blitzen Trapper, The Dirty Projectors, BLK JKS, and more. Just click the link above and follow the instructions for downloading the mix from iTunes.

Creating a starry night panel

Today I started working on a large (at least for me) panel--30 by 40 inches. I decided to do a night scene but wanted it to look a little different than the couple I have completed in recent months. After working in oil pastels for 10 years I very recently came across a better way to sketch my composition. I've always worked with a graphite stick--Derwent graphitone--to do my underlying sketches. And that works great on paper because it is quite erasable. But it doesn't erase as well on the gessoed panels. So, lazy artist that I am, I would sometimes decide the composition was good enough just because I didn't want to erase the graphite and redo. Pretty silly when you think of all the other hours that go into creating a piece. Anyway, I was cleaning out one of my cupboards in the studio and found some chalk--just plain chalk--and it works great on the panels. If I don't like something I just get a shop rag wet and wipe off the line. Also, working in the lighter color on my colored panels makes the composition/sketch much more visible than when I use the graphite. The chalk also doesn't create a dark line when I go over it with a more translucent color. I wish I'd thought of it sooner. Well, I got the composition drawn and the sky filled in--that might be another topic for this blog--filling in the sky. I've roughed in the mountains and some of the baseline trees and one of the structures. Not real happy with the structure color so I figured I'd leave it until tomorrow and see what might work in fixing it.
And, besides, Junebug has a visitor today and tonight--our neighbors had to go to Santa Fe and this is our first time taking care of their dog, Princess--a shepherd mix. She's never even let me pet her before today but she's making herself quite at home. Asleep in the studio most of the day and asleep in the bedroom right now. Ahh, a dog's life. And, the Westminster Dog Show starts very soon.
So, besides finishing the big panel, I think tomorrow I'll take some pictures of the studio and the panel piece. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? (Is that all?) And maybe I'll post some pictures of all the snow we're getting! Later.