Remember those large pallette knives I bought at Continental last week? I’ve been using the long thin one to scrape on lead white for juicy cloud highlights. First I’ll put the paint onto the canvas using a small sized knife, then use the big one to get some lovely textures, very cloudy. A little rag work here and there to soften things and the first stage of the sky is done. Once dried I’ll start glazing, then re-establish the bright highlights, avoiding reds, which bleed through whites laid over them with alacrity.
I’ve also been busy transferring the image of Cody to the canvas for the Traveler piece. I’m particularly happy with the composition of the painting because everything is falling very well onto the golden section construction lines and nodes, including the staff he carries over his shoulder which I’ve only had to move very slightly to make it fit to a node line. Pretty scruffy right now, with all the sketchy first draft underneath the new work, but that will soon be gone when I put the first rendering down in a Van Dyke Brown. Presently I’m favoring the Van Dyke Brown as a first layer because of its warmth.
