Abstract Tree #7

Oil on canvas, 48" sq.,  c. Catherine Vines

It's done.  Over the next couple of weeks (or more!) I will make adjustments, but . . . it's done. Yea! and Boo! The "boo" is also because it's done.

Painting the Background

Oil on canvas, 36" sq.,  c. Catherine Vines

I find backgrounds challenging.  Somewhere I've read to just paint a lot of backgrounds - in other words, practice, practice, practice. In that practicing, I've tried using the complement of the subject matter.  Mimicking the outside shape of the subject in neutral, darker colors. Painting a deeper version of the subject. Sometimes I've used smooth backgrounds (like today) to contrast the rougher interior strokes. Or the opposite: rough against smooth. But to be well done, I believe the painting has to look as if no other background good possibly work as well. So I keep practicing.

Completing a Painting

This is the latest tree in my current series (I'm working on #7 now).  Posting is helping me realize how long I take to complete a painting. I tell myself, "It's finished!" and hang it on the wall. But over time something starts to bug me; then off it comes and back to the easel.  Thus the process starts all over again.  I'm learning to pay attention to those nagging bothers rather than talk myself out of them. But I seem to need time to digest the painting before I can really see it.  Weird, huh?
These color choices are intuitive and very different from my usual.  In this case I had prepainted the background, also an atypical choice, and worked from there. The dark is Gamblin's Torrit Grey from last year, made from their recycled pigments.
The further I get in the series, the looser my brushstrokes become.  Think where I'll be by #15!

Thank you to everyone for your comments on my last post.  It's so nice to have you looking at my work. I hope you'll come back.