I’ve continued build up the shapes of the deeper layers of the grass using dark greens and browns, mostly in the same colours that I needed for the moss. It’s all quite general, making loose gestures toward the direction and shape of the grassy leaves and stems, but not overly concerned with detail. Next I [...]
Now the textured surface has been completed with a glaze coat of white over the top of all the greys, blues and greens. Moss has started growing on the slab of stone in the darkened carved shapes and in the crack running across the surface, while close to the grass I’ve added a bit more mass of [...]
In the studio I’m working on building layers and layers of paint to make the flat slab of weathered granite in the foreground appear real. I put down a dark blue-grey, then used a sea sponge to create the particles that emerge in granite, softening the grain of the stone with a rag. Next I [...]
Once again I’ve been very busy working on the October project, figuring out administrative stuff. It’s going to be worth it when it’s all ready to go though. In the studio I’ve been busy with Prussian Blue, which is great for creating that faded blue colour of old tattoos. The Emperor has new ink – [...]
At last I’ve made it back to the studio after a spectacularly busy week working on preparing a project for October. I’ve painted most of the sky with a glaze of Ceramic White, which is that lovely transparent white made by Holbein, then used Foundation White to create those denser areas of brightness. The delicate [...]
In the studio I’ve worked on the flesh of the hanged man a little more, adding whites into the highlights and blue into the shadows and the hair. I’ve scraped plenty of Cadmium Red into the lower arm, reasoning that because he’s hanging upside down his blood would have descended to the lowest parts of [...]
Adding highlights in Foundation White to the flesh that went down yesterday is making the figure start to come to life. I’ve extended the flesh across his belly and all the way down the lower arm. I’ll need to move the platform over so I can get to the top of the painting and work [...]
The first layer of the skin has covered the Hanged Man’s head and chest. I mixed a simple flesh base using Vermilion, Cadmium Orange and Foundation White, then made a dark and light version of it by adding more or less white. Next to it I made some Burnt Sienna and some Raw Umber for [...]
I’ve spent a few hours working the sky above the mountains to create a bright horizon that fades upward into a darker sky. The top right corner of the painting is going to increase in brightness as I make my way up the height of the canvas, ending up brighter than the left, which I [...]
I’m having a great time painting the landscape behind the hanged man, which has populated itself with buildings and trees, and mountains that resemble the ones I see around me here at the edge of the Malibu range. I love the way these mountains stack up, fading layer by layer as they fall away into [...]
