"Heading Out To Sea"

In these difficult times of self isolation, I figured it was time 
to do that classical style oil I always wanted to do.  I wanted 
to deliberately use all or at least some of the more time consuming 
techniques that involve use of more oil glazing and rich oil mixes.  
It makes everything take much longer to dry, but the look is more 
sumptuous.  It is a large piece at 36" x 48". I tend to work best at 
night, though I often wish it weren't so.  I have to get chores off my 
mind before I can dive into the concentration painting requires.  I 
did this piece over a three week period, but if I had worked more 
consistently I could have gotten it down to about a week, not including 
drying time.  The last coat was the most interesting.  After I got the 
sketching and base colors worked out, and I knew where everything 
went, I was finally able to loosen up the top coat.  I like it to 
look at once dashed out and carefully planned.  

Being a collector of coins etc.  I like to view my collection of progress 

when I am into a run of pieces, allowing each piece to inform the others.  

It also allows me to push my own envelope, trying to "allow" myself 

certain deference to my neurotic attachments to details, then to move 

past them and "allow myself" to get looser and take more chances.   

That make this my temple of sorts I guess, and color field health spa.

 The view of the studio, my faithful painting companion and 

a view of the workspace. Some times I will start in charcoal, 

sometimes directly with a filbert drawing with sienna or black.

I like charcoal because I can work out the composition and 

values with relatively little investment and it is very easy to 

change on a dime with a finger, smudge, or brush.

It allows me to visualize the final product in Notan notime!

Classic work usually lays down a wash with turpentine mixed
into the oil paint laying down thin layers.  Shadow and linear
details can then be used with a little less turpentine and map
out the darker areas, while wiping away the highlight areas
with a finger in a rag,  or brush damp with turpentine.  Then
minimal amounts of color quickly start to illustrate and bring
out the potential of the painting.

I liked the painterly way it was going, 

but I was not trying for such moodiness 

in this piece, so note to self, for next time.

So as I started making the final push to finish this, I noticed my 

brush dragged and tugged against the canvas and seemed to fight 

me.  I decided to use an old oil technique where you coat the 

whole surface of the piece with linseed oil, very thinly and 

carefully.  This allows the brush to glide over the surface with 

the paint allowing it to feel more like calligraphy than a tug 

of war.  It really added a juicy quality to the strokes and work 

ability of the surface.  It allowed me to  get soft misty strokes 

or rich saturated applications in little time or effort.

 Below: An Overview and a closeup detail zoom.