Welcome! I am an oil painter residing in New Mexico. I use an indirect style of painting based on Flemish and Venetian methods; I paint in layers of transparent glazes and opaque scumbles to produce a painting. I have done extensive research over the years on classical glazing techniques. This is a very time consuming way of painting, each layer must dry completely before the next can be applied. The final results create a very beautiful paint quality, quite unlike painting done wet-in-wet with paint mixed directly from the tube. I thought I'd begin my blog with the following basic demonstration in layering paint and glazing to illustrate my current painting style, this painting is from 2009.
1. rough sketch on gessoed panel in charcoal
2. burnt umber glaze and opaque white on subject matter to clean it up.
3. a glaze of burnt umber and ultramarine in shadow, ochre on subject matter.
I like umbers and ochres because of the warmth as opposed to grisaille.
4. Introduced cad. yellow and more opaque colors in the lighted areas. There should be a balance of opaque/transparent areas and an awareness of warm/cool areas. blend blend blend Warm transparent glazes help the backround recede, cool opaque white on subject come forward. White will always cool a color, cadmiums warm. I also mix and use my own version of paint similar to Naples yellow light which is a balanced warm light.
5. deepening of colors, texture starting to appear. Opaque paint reflects the light hitting the painting, light travels through transparent areas. The play of light across surface of the painting helps define form within the painting itself.
6. adding more details. overall this is a very warm painting which has a lot of color harmony because I used a limited palette.
finished painting
