15 Paintings in 15 Days (Round 2) - Day Six

It is indeed true that I've fallen behind. If this turns into a fifteen in 16 or fifteen in 17 it'll be ok. Or that's what I keep telling myself. Getting caught up would be nice too. :)

Here's a painting from yesterday. The light was gone when I finished (actually there wasn't much light all day!) and my photograph under artificial light was too poor to post.

Retreating Light

6x6, oil

A quick color sketch from some photos I took before hiking to Humpback Rock on the Blue Ridge.

Tools of the Trade: Palette Knife & "Dusk" 8x6

Dusk

8x6, oil

sold

A bit about the tools of the trade.

Everyone knows about paint brushes. Yes, I use them to apply paint. Just as important are the tools to remove paint and push it around on the canvas.

The palette knife is not only useful for mixing paint, but for controlling the amount of paint on the canvas. In the photo below I scraped a "spot" for the spindly tree on the left as well as removing some of the too-wet-and-too-thick paint in the foreground.

The more I paint the more I find there is no formula to making a painting. What worked yesterday won't work today. The each landscape brings another discovery in my journey as a painter.

White Rock Creek

This was one of the largest alla prima paintings i've done since college. It was incredibly fun. My husband took a look at it and said "where's all the detail?" I'm leaving the loose section to your imagination. I think you can fill in the details. 

6x6 study:

Two progress shots:

White Rock Creek 

16x20, oil on canvas

sold

The Blue Ridge

This was a fun piece. Tried to capture the "day" -- overcast, but still vibrant. VA is beautiful.

Blue Ridge

16x20, oil on canvas

(Sold)