My Blog List

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Waiting

I've spent the last couple of days waiting for paint to dry before adding another layer of paint to the new 9" x 11" landscape I started.  Now  I thoroughly understand why a small format is preferred when painting in oils.  I have several layers more to go. The experience will definitely make me a more patient person, if it doesn't drive me mad.



                       

24 comments:

  1. I would need to have lots of canvases on the go with the first one being ready as I finished the last .... if you see what I mean.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do see what you mean. The last two oil landscapes I posted are still on the easel. I do like the ease of soft edges with oils versus softening the hard edges of acrylics. And the short sessions are perfect for a recovering knee.

      Delete
  2. Love the lights in this one Linda! Probably because of the wondrous dark foreground. Painting in oils has always been a challenge for me! Good luck. I love the softness in this one! Take care.
    Michael

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Michael. This may be a one series medium for me. I love the finish surface of oils and the ability to blend, but being a painter who layers, the drying time between oil layers is annoying. For landscapes, I'll be going back to acrylics.

      Delete
  3. This is a really nice beginning, Linda, and, personally, I don't think it needs a lot more done to it. It's quite atmospheric. Very nice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm thinking that myself--more or less. Those shadows are from trees not in the picture plane. I think your slump has landed at my house. My enthusiasm is way down. I'm moving very slowly with these landscapes. I am in unfamiliar territory and a bit uncomfortable.

      Delete
  4. I like what I see...you have such a very distinctive mark. I think I'd know your paintings anywhere. Keep them coming! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks Celeste. It's slow going, but then, I'm going slow these days. I will keep them coming though. I have always loved the tradition of oils--but I like the speed and the expressive freedom of acrylics. I'm going to have to settle on something if I've going to get anywhere with this art. I say this all as I am packing my art satchel for Mexico with watercolors. :-))

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bonsoir,

    Je sens que cette peinture devient très prometteuse et j'ai hâte de voir son évolution.
    gros bisous

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merci Martine. C'est une peinture très calme comme je le vois. Je ne sais pas si elle va tenir mon intérêt assez longtemps pour finir. Il n'y a rien d'excitant se passe.

      Thanks Martine. It's a very quiet painting. I don't know whether it will hold my interest long enough to finish it. There's nothing exciting going on. It will probably get a swipe here and there as I move on.

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. Thanks Corn. You're new to me. I don't think we've met, but thank you for stopping by and leaving your comment of encouragement. I'll reciprocate. I'm curious to see your work.

      Delete
    2. And I did stop by Corn's site. Corn sells art, print reproductions and perhaps originals? I poked around a bit, but didn't stay long. The business reminded me of the business Ellis and I had been in many years ago. We imported European and Asian art (oil paintings) and sold them at art show held in people's homes. We had a thousand sales people and four offices across the country. Decorative art shown in homes was a lucrative marketing technique until the bad economy of the seventies changed for the better and the commissioned sales force dwindled as salaried/perks job opportunities increased. The change in the economic winds shut down our business.

      It was encouraging to take a look at Corn's site. Online sales is the marketing technique of the computer age as you all know. Daily Painting, Etsy Shops, eBay, and individual blogs all sell prints and originals and take Paypal. I've been stocking my shop off and on, but as yet haven't opened it. I will as soon as I have a clearer understanding of how Etsy works. I am also an avid online shopper. There wasn't a whole lot more I felt like doing lying on the couch waiting for this knee to heal. :-))

      Delete
  8. Looking great already! I admit to prefer painting big in oils...but yes, a lot of waiting around for the painting to dry , that's why I always have several paintings going at the same time :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Three is about all I can accommodate in my messy media space. Thanks Jane.

      Delete
  9. Several paintings at once is the best way to go.

    But it is hard to wait to work more on one that I am obsessed with.

    This is looking good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's okay. Sort of dreamy for me. Maybe I am in a dreamy place?

      Delete
  10. For me, this painting is almost ready, very breathing, quite transparent.
    It's amazing how many freedoms art gives to us, now freedom of patience.
    And thank you for your kindest comment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure Irina. Your work caught my eye and that's the purpose of our paintings--to bring viewers across a crowded room to look closely and see more. What I saw was lovely.
      I think it's nearly there too. Thank you.

      Delete
  11. I think your experiments with oils are wonderful! I like the ways that you never portray something directly - each object is strokes, nothing but strokes. Love the colors and the zig zag composition! I've been thinking about switching to oils. But I never even seem to have time for acrylics! How could I wait for oils? In the meantime, until I do - I am going bigger too. Step by step.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm. Don't know why I said "too" - you are going smaller, not bigger.

      Delete
    2. I'm, just going smaller because I'm feeling my way with the medium. When I get back from Mexico, I'm going back into acrylics on a large scale. I have two landscapes sitting down there of size. One is five feet by three. The other is three feet square. They have promise. For some reason yet unknown, I've decided to stock my Etsy shop, the one I registered three years ago and then chickened out. Reviewing my paintings, my acrylic landscapes seem to be the best product to offer for sale. They have color, They're painterly. They are energetic. These last three little oil landscapes don't measure up to their vitality. I handle the oils too traditionally. I think. But they were a good way to return to painting while I was building stamina in my new knee. They're just big enough that I can cover some ground (pun there) in short sessions, which was all I could put in before I had to go ice again. Now, I'm up to handling an hour. I need one more half hour to handle the acrylics. I like acrylics for this subject. I can mix the palette in bulk and all I have to do is rinse my brush under water to clean up. Oils require a ten minutes out of an already short session. Acrylics can also be dried with a hairblower or in the sunlight. If you hate what you've done, you can wash the whole canvas down under the hose or in the sink or shower or tub. Acrylics are an active sport.

      I haven't finished stocking the shop yet. I know what paintings I want to stock,but they Etsy really confuses me on the number of descriptions I have to come up with. To me a title, the size, the medium should do it. But they like to know why I painting this particular painting. How the hell do I know! Anyway, it's time consuming. I figure by the new year I'll have come up with something and can open the shop up and sit around and watch how my stuff doesn't sell for what I think iit's worth. Meanwhile, I've gotten to know my mail man. He's been very helpful with regards to packaging costs and shipping costs and, being a young man of the computer generation, he's got some good tips on pricing. As for me, I like to buy items online that have "free shipping," and work that price into the total cost of the item. But what do I know? I'm only an old lady who shops on line and has been in an entrepreneureal business my whole life.

      Delete
  12. looking forward to the next thing from you....what will it be??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not this. Or maybe this? Or maybe something else?

      Delete