Second coat:
For this coat I use a full palette of colors and try to go over the
whole painting to bring the color closer to their general color, more like
what I'm seeing.
Medium: Linseed oil.
Palette colors:
Flake White replacement Gamblin, Cad Yellow Light both Gamblin and
Holbein, Cad Orange,
Permanent Green, Sap Green, Raw Sienna, Yellow Ocher, Burnt Sienna,
Burnt Umber, Ivory Black, Ultramarine Blue, Rose Violet, Cad Red Light.
Detail of second coat:
You can see that I'm still very loose and brushy in my paint application.
It's seems in Canada at least that some people/galleries think that a painting
with no brush work is the epitome of realist work. This is just crazy!
Brush work and the physically aspect of paint make paintings the beautiful
and unique things they are! Brush work is what can make your painting
sing. Now I paint fairly thinly but I still try to have some brush
work in the right places in my paintings. Having a sense of brush
work in places give your work a life and soul.
I don't want to get too detailed right now because if I did, it would
only make it harder to go over the painting again if it's too detailed
at this point. I want the color to be getting richer here but still
have an exciting feeling about the painting that calls me back to paint
again. The potential of the painting is still exciting to my mind.
Even though I know exactly how it will turn out, it's still exciting to
bring it along.
Start of third coat:
Here I try to bring everything to a pretty high finish as I work over
it. I'll go back and touch things up as I need. I don't hold
back like in the previous coats. It's give it all you've got time.
Time to be very, very focused on the small changes of light and form.
I start this coat by painting over what I'm going to be working on, in
this case the lemons with a coat much like my second coat, a simple stating
of the big shapes and forms. I do this from dark to light.
This gives me wet paint to work into for more detailed work.
Medium: Linseed oil, I mixed a small amount of Stand oil into
the linseed to slow the drying and give it more leveling properties.
This is a very oil rich medium but I find it works very well on the Artfix
linens, they are a thirsty bunch. :)
Detail of start of third coat:
1 A small transition in the cast shadow here helps make the effect
of almost a bleed in the dark to light
or a bit of a glow.
2 The cast shadow on the bottom lemon has traveled a shorter
distance then the on the top lemon so it's a harder line. The form
of the lemon is round and the lightest part of the form light is here.
3
4 The highlight is very close to this as well.
5 I'm always trying to find the true form shadow line and I may
play it up a small amount with a burnt sienna
in this lighting to show the form turning.
6 Keeping my reflected light in balance with my light lights,
i.e., not making the reflected light as light as the form light.
Here I've moved over to paint the lemons on the right.
Now I've finished the limes.
Working on the wood box.
Finished it!
I've had some time to go back and make a few small touch ups.
When doing touch ups it can be hard to match the color of the fresh painting
with that of the dried paint. This is where a good retouch varnish
is used. Retouch varnish should re-saturate the colors making it
easier to match with wet paint. Most of the retouch vanishes that
you can buy in an art store are not really meant for this. It's best
to make your own by cutting a Damar varnish 1 part varnish to 1 part turpentine.
I use a copal retouch varnish that I get from Robert Doak in Brooklyn,
NY.
Detail of the left of the painting.
Trying to balance all the light, reflected lights, form and cast shadows
into one painting that reads clearly and beautifully.
Detail of the right side of the painting.
1 Reflected light bouncing off the box and back to the lemons.
2 Optical red.
