During the “on location” sessions for Jachthaven I, I had become very disappointed with my loss of the statement of light, because in the end I had to slap on a lot of titanium white to make it work. The painting that I ended up with was OK, but not really what I had been trying to achieve aesthetically, thus version II.
Avond aan het Jachthaven II, studio oil level one.
This second attempt had the same work-up in silverpoint, egg tempera and India ink as the first, however, I decided to do my first layer of oil in the studio (instead of relying on the vagaries of weather). I laid in a pretty definitive light statement (see right), working wet-in-wet. I used cobalt blue, lead white and burnt umber (mixed with an ET emulsion to help it dry faster) and painted this into a surface wiped thinly with a clear medium. The whole work-up process took only a week to do – in order to have it dry enough for an en plein air session – or two.
Avond aan de Jachthaven II, intermediate on site oil.
My first session was two hours, during which I was able to take the light statement (above) to this stage (left). I made use of a technique I have come to call “painting backwards”. It’s where I block in a flat area of color on top of a light statement and then dig the particular highlights I need/want out of it. That’s only possible if-and-when the underpainting is already definitive and dry. Afterwards, I called it done for a few days, though still, I felt something else was needed.
Avond aan de Jachthaven II, August 12, 2024. Oil on panel. 9 x 12″ or 23 x 30.5 cm
I went out last night, a hot summer’s evening, with perfect conditions. Here on the 52nd parallel north, we are currently about a month and a half past the (almost) 17 hour days of the summer solstice, yet it is still possible to “trip the light fantastic”. I spent about an hour adding small details (of light), which had the effect of bringing my mind’s eye vision to completion. I judiciously used some titanium white (especially in the water), but the magic really began to happen when little brush flecks of cadmium yellow light hit the trees.
I’m very glad to be able to chip away at the amount of time it takes me to create a landscape oil painting, because really, I’m notoriously slow. I still to try to avoid titanium white as much as possible, because it’s never made sense to me to prepare a white ground and then, through the act of painting, proceed to lose its luminosity so that you need to add titanium white back in in order to regain it. Don’t make no sense.
The difference between these two versions and techniques then, is luminosity. The first one relies primarily on TW and reflected light, while the second one relies essentially on refracted light, emanating, glowing, from the underpainting itself. That latter has always been my aesthetic goal, though admittedly, the results have often been mixed. 😦
This one, however, is trending up! Let’s see what happens next.
If you are interested in this piece shoot me an email.
ellentrezevant 