Blog

Going Deeper

One of my favorite subjects is the sea.  It never stops moving.  Sometimes it is serene and beautiful.  Other times it is wild and unpredictable.  The sea can give life and it can take it.  My paintings always try to display the opposing forces of the seacoast.  The ageless and relentless water and waves against the unyielding rocks.  The subject is always the same yet never the same.  

Expanding my Palette

My first paintings involved limited colors.   The three primaries and white could be successfully used in a landscape.  I did use a little black when needed as my palette could not produce the darks I would need in some parts of the composition.   It was time to expand my house paint palette.  For oils I used Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna,  Cad Orange and Pthalo Green.   While not too obvious in the seascape example these colors gave me many more options.

A Matter of Touch

Now I had a fairly complete palette my next task was to work on my brushwork and techniques.  Getting soft edges especially when dealing with water and spray was challenging.  The paint dries quickly and blending on the canvas is not easy.  The other thing about house paint is that it dries flat.  The colors do dry a bit darker and less vibrant but the inability to lay in a good brushmark is difficult.  The paint is self leveling and leaves no trace of your brush.  

Solution

The brushwork issue was daunting and I took an extreme measure.  I wrote an email to John Myatt the artist who opened the door to using house paint.  After many weeks I received a reply.   Unfortunately I had painted more work before hearing of the solution but I was grateful none the less.  John Myatt recommended using gloss super heavy gel offered by Liquitex and Winsor Newton.  

Next Week:  The Adventure continues: