Sketch & Paint

Taking a painting class at the local CC, it's pretty darn awesome. Since the prof likes to have things done quickly and as efficiently as possible we use mainly an "alla prima" type technique. Which...I always kind of disliked because a lot of the "alla prima" paintings I saw always looked similar and got to looking more like a "style" than a technique and I always thought it was a way too easy process.

I've quickly learned though that it is indeed a technique and not a style and isn't necessarily "easy". Think a lot of it also had to do with the fact that my first demo was given in technique akin to the Flemish technique used around the the early 1600s. By that I mean, instead of going through seven different layers of paint, it was simply an imprimatura layer, maybe a dead layer, and finally the body layer. Guess I just grew fond of building the painting up in a systematic layer approach.

All of the paintings are done with black and white Utrecht oil paint mixed on a wooden palette with turp as a diluent on a 16x20 canvaboard using some boars hair brushes.

I also got myself one of those brown sketchbooks. I find it tougher than the regular white sheets and also made sure it was wired and not hardbound. Hardbounds are Headaches.