Mar 27, 2010

Oil Painting without Brushes

Painting Detail.
I've been working in the studio on an oil painting and using the techniques that I learned this week at Wayne Boucher's studio. So far, I've applied the paint by
  • using mostly oil sticks
  • squeezing paint out of tubes directly onto the canvas
  • moving it with rags
  • scraping it with the rubber end of a pencil
  • wiping it away with Q-tips and paper towels
  • blending it with my latex-glove covered hands

This is my progress so far.





I mostly used oil sticks, and the tubed oils I'm using are watersoluble which makes the clean-up part so easy!

I didn't like the heaviness of the pot and I wanted to introduce a variety of flower shapes, so I decide to change the painting to a vase of flowers...


I am still working on this painting, but this is what it looked like last night when the sun set. I usually stop then because I really need natural light to see.

The current incarnation of the flowers.



I like the green in the lower part of the painting. I am happy with the soft lost and found effects in the flowers in the upper left hand side of the painting.  I'd like to introduce more of that feeling in the lower part of the painting. The flowers there are too uniform...all the same size, not overlapping and facing straight on.


I'm loving the details and I'm back in the studio today to make the rest of the painting as interesting as those details. It's rather delightful to be painting with unconventional tools as well as using my hands to shape the painting. I'm stepping out into the sunshine of today to the studio to continue. It's back to the drawing board for me!

7 comments:

  1. Wowwowowowowow! I love this. What do you use to clean up?
    Water? Do the paints not smell? How long will it take to dry?
    This is a gorgeous painting, and an interesting new direction
    for you in mediums. I am so drawn to oil. I love the lush colour.
    Hmmmmm! No time right now, but maybe I'll get into it this
    summer.

    Take care,

    xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxBarbara
    P.S. As usual you are such an inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Barbara!
    I am having such a good time exploring oils.
    K....I have some low odour mineral spirits, but I haven't had to use them. All my tools (latex gloves, Q-tips, rags, papertowels) go into the garbage. The rest (the rubber tipped blending thing) wash up with soap and water. I'm using Holbein water soluble oils....I use a lot of Holbein watercolours so I am very familiar with their colours. Therefore, the leap wasn't that great.
    I'm using a bit of linseed oil....I love the smell. I've ordered some Walnut oil. The paints smell like oil...but I happen to like the smell (and so, thank God, does Larry). The paint is fairly thin on the canvas, so it should take about 4 days until I can add more on top....but these oil sticks (the B & F) are great and the light colours cover the moist dark colours.
    This painting was done using Winsor Newton oil sticks and Holbein water soluble oils in the tube (which I squeezed directly onto the canvas)
    I've been buying my supplies through http://dickblick.com and the selection and prices are excellent....but I'm 3 hours away from an art supply store.

    We'll have to try them when you come out here!
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Genius! I love it when you find someone who does something just slightly different from everyone else and makes it their own, well done. I like to use a knife when I paint

    ReplyDelete
  4. [...] think it keeps my work more spontaneous and it allows time for the oils to dry. So, I set aside the bouquet painting, for now, and pulled out a brand new white canvas. It is always a total thrill to start a new [...]

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree Happy Tree! I think that experimenting with the materials is really fun! Your blog is neat!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very interesting technique! Keep up the great work!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks John! I like your blurscape paintings too!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...