Tuesday, May 27, 2008


St. Lawrence River, Baie Saint Paul, Quebec ~ 12" x 16" ~ O/P

The support for this painting was a 12" x 16" piece of Masonite panel. I first prepared the panel with three coats of gesso, roughly applied with a one inch house painting trim brush. A three or four inch old brush would have been better. The object was to apply the gesso, leaving the texture of the brush strokes.


Once the gesso was dry, I quickly applied a coat of Cadmium Red Medium and immediately wiped it down with a clean rag. This left the red colour in the 'valleys' of the previously applied gesso. This was now my painting surface once dried.


My palette for this painting was, Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Yellow Ochre, Yellow-green, Burnt Umber and Titanium White. I used a Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson mixture for my initial lay-in and shadows to start. For my Grays, I used the Burnt Umber and Titanium White (warm) and added a touch of Ultramarine blue for my 'cool' grays.


Although it was mainly a "back to front" method of painting, I did however work on various other areas of the panel at the same time. I found this method to give me a better overall colour balance in the finished work.


'til next

10 comments:

Jean Levert Hood said...

Frank, excellent as usual!! great strokes.

Frank A. said...

Jean, great to hear from your part of the world, again.
Thanks for the compliment, much appreciated.

By the way, loved your "Single Calla"

Take care..

Unknown said...

Hey Frank,
Long time, no blogging! The last few paintings are so wonderful. I have a real thing for Cerulean Blue. Don't know what it is....

Ain't spring grand? The world is in color again.
Toodles.

Frank Gardner said...

It is nice to see the figures for a sense of scale and a bit of narritive Frank.
Like the underpainting showing through too. Nicely done.

Frank A. said...

Hi Toodles ! (?) Don't tell me I got your name wrong again.
"Ain't spring grand? The world is in color again."
Yup, you got that right, although a little slower up here. Glad to see that you are painting the flowers ( great!, I may add)and not out digging in the dirt, planting them. : )
Thanks for checking out my stuff and for the compliment. Good to hear from you.

take care..

Frank A. said...

Thanks Frank.. It is unusual for me to put figures in my work as most of my paintings are landscapes ( you know, woodsy stuff !) But, you make a good point and I shall make a mental note to look for opportunities to use the figure in future.

Anonymous said...

A "mental" note ...to use figures in your "woodsy stuff"????Not the first time the Loner has heard that phrase!I guess that Shuly got to you finally...hence the Baie birch copse. Frank G. is right on about the figures and scale Frank A. Good painting.
-Tonto

Frank A. said...

Howdy AWB ..Looks as though things are going well for you and your better half.( the site is looking good) : )Welcome to the 21st century..yuk,yuk. Things are going well on this eastern front.
Thanks for "dropping in" and commenting.

Best to all,
Keep well !

Keith Tilley said...

Hello Frank. I agree that the figures are a nice touch. I'm guilty, myself, of not putting them in my paintings very much. They tend to become the focal point though, so it depends on whether you want the eye to be drawn to them.

Frank A. said...

Yeo Keith ! :-)
I agree !
For the most part it is hard to imagine a figure in the environment where I am painting. But, where it would be applicable, I have to become more aware of the figure and its possibilities. It does give more options.
Thanks for your comment, Keith.

take care.