I'm continuing to work over my canvas - moving down farther into the fields of the painting. Somewhere in my process the title comes into my head, which seems to make the painting really come to life as I keep the echo in my head of what this painting is instead of what its becoming. "She pondered all these thoughts in the Clouds".
I start to apply color in almost a crosshatch design. This step takes a while because I only do 2 - 3 strokes and then step back. I'm not only choosing design structure but also color hue and tone. I like the feel that evolves as I determine areas that will actually show through from the toned part of the canvas. Sometimes things happen that are a surprise- good and bad - but that is always part of the painting process and life.
Day one - I prime my canvas with a gesso mix which contains marble - this gesso makes an awesome platform for my painting. Then I apply a toner with acrylic paint mix of sienna and black. I'm determining the lights and darks of my painting in this step.
A pic from our life drawing class at the Art Loft in Delaware, Ohio. We were part of the "First Friday" event in downtown Delaware. We had a great night and met a lot of new friends!
Today was our first painting day for the Ohio Plein air group at Highbanks. Excited as I was, I arrived and set up at 7:45. I painted for about a hour until my hands weren't moving very well because of the cold. I left got a cup of coffee and shivered and painted for another hour. Even though the cold and wind were against me painting - it was wonderful! Surrounded by nature and other artists just as intent on painting.
