I really have a problem with the loss of daylight so when I lose the light in the early evening I usually work from a still life or a plein air sketch-referenced larger work. Controlled light is great but I still crave the challenge of changing light.
I was in the studio about to close the blinds --on the fly glanced out the window and low and behold, Christmas lights! This was an excuse to use pure pigment and it was interesting to build up the saturated darks and value shifts. I have a very large knife with different angle edges and used it a lot—on a larger canvas I could probably get away with a brush. I do like working with the knife-really really thin and wet paint though—not fond of the consistent strokes and ‘icing’ look that can sometimes happen when using a knife with thicker paint. I’m liking the Canadian Balsam/linseed oil as the paint really glides and it dries to a luminous gloss.
December, Remains of the Dayoil on canvas
9x12in, 2010
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