I read an article by William Scott Jennings where he said something to the effect that artists sometimes should consider painting something in a size worthy of its granduer. I also had the opportunity to plein air paint with Craig Mitchell at about the same time I read the Jennings article and Craig Mitchell made a comment about paint to the effect that one can't put a lot of paint down if he doesn't put a lot of paint out (on his palette), and so, I decided to paint a big painting with a lot of paint. Here I am starting the painting. Initially I laid down a thin wash of mostly yellow ochre and some burnt sienna. Once this thin layer dried, I began a loose drawing of the scene.
Here you can see the amount of detail I've given myself. Mostly I want to map out the location of major landmarks and that's pretty much it. I've been criticized in the past for projecting or tracing my reference onto the canvas. I really have no problem with the trace - I've always maintined that tracing won't help you much if you can't draw in the first place and I stick to that premise. Tracing or projecting is only tool. However, I've decided lately not to utilize those tools becauce they impede my progress to get down to painting. To project, I have to wait for dark and then the lens in my junky little projector doesn't give me a good image anyway. Tracing is a hassle, because you either have to do a preliminary drawing or you have to do a lot of tiling and taping outputting your reference, so the tools aren't really helping me much these days so I mostly just draw on toned canvas these days.
Since I'm still using the cheap little disposable palette, I don't put out a lot of colors until I'm ready for them - I need the real estate. Here's my palette with just the colors I'll be using for the sky.
OK, let's dive right in...I'm using a lot of paint, mixed with a wanut-alkyd medium.
Previous Next
© Mike Callahan. All Rights Reserved.