Disaster

 The transparent paints are not working out. It's very hard to tell when they've finally dried, and when I applied another layer on top of dry-to-the-touch paint today, it got streaky and lifted what was underneath. I had to wipe it off, and it left serious patches. 

So I'm giving up on my idea of shimmering layers of translucent color.

I think the underpainting will be salvageable; I'll just use more opaque paint, like I normally do. If I had to scrap the grisaille at this point you would hear me screaming.

The Happy Hour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

 

And Some Bright Color

It's rainy here— again— so I turned to this little piece and used some of the Holbein Transparent colors.

                                          Tidal Basin at Dawn, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Heavy Lifting

 I used the wrong red pigment on this, but it wasn't until I took the painting out of the studio and looked at it in another room that I realized the red was too dark. So I had to go back in and lift some of it with a brush wet in Gamsol.

                                                               Glen Echo, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)       

I'm going to have to use one of the Cadmium Reds. 

Moving Along

Here's the latest installment of Plat Du Jour. I evened out the color on the ceiling and the scene outside the window; also experimented with shadows on white on the waitress's uniform. But the shirts on the two people in the foreground will have to have similar value changes so the scene has unity.

                                                     Plat Du Jour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      
 

 

Multiple Minor Adjustments

 I have a tendency to get ahead of myself; the excitement of working in color after an extended period of black-and-white on a painting's foundation sometimes leads me astray. Areas that I want to add color to turn out to still need careful modeling, or the deficiencies in drawing are going to be glaringly obvious in the final work.

Such is the case with the neon sign and the right side of this painting. I added color where I could today but there's still plenty of refinement needed before I can proceed.

                                                               Glen Echo, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      
 

Layers

Adding layers of transparent color over the grisaille; trying to keep streakiness at a minimum.

 

 

The Happy Hour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Brickwork

 It seemed like a good time to paint some of the brickwork on the left side; small chance of smearing anything nearby. I also worked on the lettering on the window. This painting is starting to come together.

                                                    Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Readability

Now that the background is filling in, it's easier to read the name of the cafe on the window.

                                                    Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      
 

Feeling Like Ted Turner

 Colorizing is such fun! But the transparent colors seem to need a long time to dry.

                                                    The Happy Hour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)       

 

High Hopes

 This has the potential to be a really sweet little painting, if I can pull it off. The smoothness of the board is presenting problems, but with enough time I'll overcome them. The left side is going very well.

                                                     Plat Du Jour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Meanwhile: added more color to this one. Again, streakiness is a problem. I may have to use some white in mixtures to even things out.

                                                    The Happy Hour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

 

Now The Fun Begins

Indulging my need for color once again... While the other paintings dry.

                                                               The Happy Hour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

An Unexpected (and Pleasant) Surprise

 If you've never tried to create a graduated passage with transparent paints, going from light (or in this case, medium) to dark, let me tell you: it is no picnic in the park. I was prepared to spend another hour or two brushing, brushing, brushing, until the strokes disappeared and the darkest night sky at the top blended into the lighter one close to the horizon, but by some miracle it's finished! Of course, right now it's wet, so I may feel differently once it dries, but for now, I am a happy camper.

 

                                                               Glen Echo, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Let's Get The Day Started

 

                                          Tidal Basin, Dawn, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Satisfying The Color Craving

 Worked on this one for a while; happy to have the opportunity to bring more color into it.

                                                          Annuals, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)                 
 

Details, Details

It seems I rushed the color in a few places; under closer scrutiny I realized there were some ragged edges and places that needed to be smoother and better graduated. So this morning I went back in and cleaned things up.

                                                               Glen Echo, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Over the weekend I researched a way to bring the tips of brushes back to a point, since I have multiple cans and jars of brushes that have splayed out, and I'm tired of having to buy new ones every month or so. So last night I tried out one of the recipes, which involves dipping a brush into boiling water, then cleaning it with soap, rinsing, dipping in a corn starch and water solution and pulling the hairs back into a point. Right now the ones you see at the bottom are in the 24-hour drying process. We'll see if it works. 

More Refining

Straightened out the ceiling line and added another layer of paint to some of the window frame; also added some more color to the brickwork.

                                                    Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      
 

Straightening Window Lines

 From the looks of this photo, I still need to measure and redraw the lines at the top of the painting. It looks a little slanted. But I'm trying to get the window framing done so I can concentrate on the interior scene.

                                                    Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

A Quiet Scene

Adding and refining layers; trying to get the color and form right. 

                                                     Plat Du Jour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Colorful Plants!

Before picking up on the DC-centric pieces today, I wanted to add some color to the left side of Annuals. Here's this morning's work: 

                                                     Annuals, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Progress

 While I'm still on the first pass, mostly, on this painting, it feels like it's going well. I have to make some color adjustments and refine some detailed areas, but it looks good so far.

                                                    Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

More Fixing

 So I cleaned up the uneven grey values on the building, and that made me happy. Then I added a little more color. Now we're getting somewhere! A couple of days of drying and there will be a color explosion!

                                                              Glen Echo, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

More Primaries

I love the fact that there's so much color in this one.

 

                                          Tidal Basin, Dawn, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Fretting And Fixing

 I should know better than to let a streaky initial layer dry if I want the successive layers to have a deep, transparent look, but no. So I've had to fix it with a slightly opaque cobalt-and-white mix. Fortunately, it worked; it probably won't have the depth I wanted in the first place, but it'll do as a base layer.

Meanwhile I decided to indulge my craving for color on this one and so I've started placing some reds, yellows, and especially turquoise, where they're going to be built up in a more subtle way. I still need to even out the grey components before I can really get into the color.

                                                    Glen Echo, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

No Sleep; No Paint

 Had an awful time trying to sleep last night, and as a result just dragged myself around today. Got practically nothing done but everything needs to dry anyway.

                                                   Plat Du Jour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)         

 

Onward

 I continue to work into the evening hours. Hopefully all this will be done soon.

                                                    Jack and Sylvester, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)       

 The paint is very wet on this one, so there's some sparkle glare—

 

                                                   Tamara, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)    

 

                                                   Plat Du Jour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)         

Hello Monday

This is going to be a heavy-duty work week. Spent a couple of hours on this today and am taking a break before picking up Plat Du Jour.

                                                    Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Two Small Pieces

 It's Saturday, and I don't feel much like working, but these two beckoned to me from the shelf. I really wanted to get into the color on the Tidal Basin one, but selected the wrong red for the sky color. Will have to adjust it next session.

                                                   Tidal Basin, Dawn, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      
 

And this one is just sheer fun:

                                                   Jack and Sylvester, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      
 

Last Big One For The Day

 Tomorrow I need to work on the little dawn painting, but I wanted to get the three important paintings out of the way for the weekend so they can dry.

                                                    Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Fun With Blues

The night sky is going to take a lot of layers of transparent blue, mostly Ultramarine or French Ultramarine, to create the kind of depth I'm looking for. Also, there's a faint glow around the areas where the white lights meet the sky. The Radiant Blue from Gamblin and regular, plain old Cobalt, are helping to make that subtle transition. The streakiness will disappear over time.

I'm also brushing a thin layer of the blue over a couple of blackened spots, like the trees and the upright structures, to give those places some extra depth and dimension.

                                                   Glen Echo, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

A Lotta Paint

 As I'm trying to make  up for lost time, I decided to put as much of the basic layers on as possible. Once they dry, it'll be a lot easier to paint the next pass.

                                                   Plat du Jour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

A Time Out

Out of town friends stopped by yesterday and we had a wonderful time. It was nice to take a break. But today, back to work.

                                                   Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)       

                                                   Glen Echo, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Last Night's Work

 

                                                  Postcard 15, Cherry Blossoms, Tidal Basin, (click on image for larger view)     

This painting, from the Postcards Series, has been bothering me for a long time. It's still not where I want it to be, but it's better now. 

                                                  Tamara, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Sorry For The Glare

 Just wanted to document the newest iteration, but the sun has gone down and I'm using the studio light. Trying to fill in the window details today.

                                                   Plat du Jour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

Progress

I'm moving forward as quickly as I can. Glen Echo stands a good chance of being finished in time, and I'm doing my best on Dolcezza.

                                                  Glen Echo, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

 

                                                  Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)