Day One: Night Falls

Yay, it's Day One of Artists Helping Artists Podcast's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!   I had the groundwork laid out for this one and since it's going to be a busy day I thought I'd finish it off.  

"Night Falls" 4x4 Acrylic on Hardwood Panel $30  - Click Picture to Purchase

This was done in acrylic in the reverse of the henna impasto style I use in oil; i.e., the textured henna part was painted on first, and then I used Golden High Flow acrylics thinned with water to get the watercolor-y effect.

The nifty thing about this is that I could probably get one done in a single day, although in this particular instance I painted on the texture and left it sit for a couple of days before I finished it this morning.  Or, I could theoretically finish one and start another.  When I paint in oils I can almost never finish a painting in one day even if it's small, because I don't paint alla prima.

While I like this technique, I've decided I don't care much for acrylics for traditional painting and I think for my spirit animals series I'm going to go back to oils, after the bison is done.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited to be doing this again this month... I was kind of surprised at how much I've blogged since January because it didnt' feel like as much as it was, but at the same time, it sure is nice to get into the studio every day, even if you don't finish something every day.  So this is just the kick in the pants I needed.

If you're doing the challenge and you drop by, please leave a comment so I can reciprocate the visit... one of my favorite things about doing it is getting to see what everyone else is doing!  Happy September!

Squire's Castle's Tree

Squire's Castle, 11 x 14 oil impasto on stretched canvas.

This one's done too :) I like finishing things if they feel finished when I'm done. Every painter faces the question: How do you know when to stop?  Yesterday, with the Weimaraner, when I stopped I wasn't sure I was done (I had to ask everyone in my household what they thought).  Today, I knew when to stop.

This photo isn't the best... my impasto medium makes the finished painting shinier than it would be without it, which really brings out the texture nicely, but it also makes the finished painting more difficult to photograph.  I'll have to take this one outside on an overcast day and see if I can get a better image.

I'm really proud of this one.  I roughed the image in with a brush, but the coat over it (well, two if you count the foreground tree layer) is done 100% with a palette knife.

If you didn't read the previous posts about what this castle is and why I felt the need to paint it, you can check them out here and here.