Third and final day of the Descartes underpainting. All hard work. Before each session I must will myself on. The hot weather made the paint dry quickly, I had to mix some colours fresh at each session. Blending into dry is problematical. I remain amazed that Bouguereau used dryers and blended so well.
For me, such painting is a race. Paint works best when wet, so I want to complete everything quickly. A painter must dart between fast, bold, large; and intimate, tiny, fearful and precise, never confusing the two. This is one of my most colourful paintings, and it will get more colourful when glazed, which can be a more sedate experience. I'm already dreading the work.
Now I have a huge list of jobs. I want to make a new paint box for new paints (I have one for paints in use). Two new sets of lights for art photography, which I will design, and a spring loaded 'push box' for the behind the painting as I paint, to push it away from the easel towards me. At the moment I use wooden blocks for this, but I need different ones for different canvases or supports, and they can still slip. I need a rubberised spring loaded version.
That, plus SFXEngine programming and several days of other accumulated jobs.
