Stick Handler Becomes... Mack the Knife!- Part 2

Turpentine washes provide a basic colour key to guide painting process

Raw pigment knifed in... providing texture and colour

"Hangin' On... at Bush Island, Nova Scotia" - oil on canvas 20x24 inches

Detailed closeup... note deep pigment and sharp edges

Another Day of Play!

After a day or so of deliberation... and uncertainty as to how to proceed, I made a decision to continue the path I had followed thus far... to "just let it all hang out." Rather than revert back to my usual path using my brushes, I decided to first lay in colour blocks using turpentine washes from remaining pigment on my palette... just to give me a colour key to work from... as is shown in the top jpeg.

Given the highly positive response from my readership regarding my use of the palette knife in the recent Algonquin sketches, I decided to forge ahead using only the knife to paint the subject... making the most of the textural strength that the knife offers to develop a weathered and worn look to this fish shed grouping on Bush Island, Nova Scotia.

The knife also offers so much leeway in mixing colours directly on the canvas... keeping them bright and fresh... and yet at the same time creating "happy accidents"... or "colour surprises," as I like to refer to these happenings. I worked from roughing in basic background shapes and colours to the grassy areas in the middle ground... before pouncing (with glee) on the weathered sheds and the maze of dark shadows in the piers and pilings.

This preliminary state of applying colour has firmly established the direction which I will build upon and follow all the way to completion. I will leave the paint to set a bit overnight... and then work back into the new textures and colour blocks... trying hard not to disturb strong areas which already exist at this early point. A couple of cups o' java and a quiet hour... just "Me" and the canvas tomorrow morning... and I'll be up and runnin' again !

I have included one closeup of one area to show the quality of the paint application... and the "freshness" of the bravura which the knife creates. Looking at the overall picture using a digital image... clearly revealed that I had made an error on how the two sheds linked right from the beginning. I corrected... using only a few slashes of my knife. It took very little time for the palette knife to feel comfortable in my hand... and for "The Flow" to get underway! A very freeing feeling!

Stay tuned... for Part 3

Good Painting to All !!!