Getting Started

 

48"H by 36"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement) 

My favorite part of any painting is in the preparation and first coats of paint. With this painting I decided to use a thicker ground than what I usually use. While normally I saturate a rag with leftover paint and mineral spirits and wipe it onto the gesso, this time I made a thick mixture of mineral spirits, galkyd, and liquin and brushed it on with some chromatic black and a little leftover brown. The resulting coat is thick and lovely. I hope it retains the gloss and slickness that it has when the paint is fresh.

This is to be the next of the garbage series of paintings, in the same vein as Tumult. I'm likely going to spend most of this week thumbnailing compositions and mixing colors in preparation.

Showing off my studio space.

Here is a photograph of my studio. It's the size of a large cubicle. As a result I have to keep it fairly uncluttered and move larger paintings into storage as soon as they're completed so that they won't become an actual obstacle. I mix paint on a marble sink blank (a cut-out of a sink from a marble countertop) and keep all my paints in a zippered sack on the floor. Nearly everything in the space is on wheels or light enough to be moved often.

An interesting bit of trivia: there are 13 completed paintings in this photograph and 4 in progress.