Quote:
Originally Posted by Mary Pedini
Hi Bob,
I was wondering if you ever finished this one or if you used it as a study and did another. I liked your loose approach with this and wondered if you started most of your paintings this way. Also, do you always use venetian red for your underpainting?
Mary
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I actually started on the finished piece, set it aside, needed another panel right away the other day and painted over that start. It's now a ski village picture.
Like a lot of painters I started out painting every detail. After a while you discover it's far better to suggest something rather than try to paint it. It's like magic. I did a demo at a gallery last week. I applied a thinned mixture of Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber loosely with a rag shooting for an interesting abstract design from the very first. Then rubbed out some key light spots on the forehead, nose, cheek, shoulder, etc....dashed in a few dark shapes and suddenly the paint smear is a person. Maybe ten minutes. The rest of the time was spent refining that first impression and adding details very sparingly. Not the worlds best painting but fun to do.
The Venetians was the only time I used V. Red, but I like it and will use it again.