I’ve been working with the Transparent Iron Oxide in a couple of different contexts – the sky has been glazed with a thin coat that makes the blues a darker grey while simultaneously yellowing the clouds. After wiping the glaze down with a soft cloth I used a knife to scrape it away from the highlight areas of the clouds so that there are areas of brightness popping through. This is really beginning to work well. I think I’ll paint in some bright edges to make it feel as though the sun is really bright behind those clouds above and to the right of his hand. I’ll have to pull out my platform to reach the high part of the painting and apply the same oxide glaze to the darker areas up there.
It’s curious that the same pigment can have a completely different effect elsewhere in the same painting. I used the same transparent glaze over the white highlighted jacket in order to make a shiny finish to the leather. It will need a few blended highlights for it to really work well.
I’m not sure why I forgot to paint the glaze over the patch of sky peering through the straps of the bag. I’ll have to remember to add a touch of paint there when I get to work on the sky.
