Blockhead

I knew that painting by birds every day would get a bit tiresome, so I brought along some other options, just to break things up a little. Specifically, I have about a dozen 4"x4"x1.5" hand-cut, cedar blocks. I bought them here. I prepped them with a few layers of gesso, sanding in between each layer.

They have a nice keyhole cut in the back so they are ready to hang.

I set up my paints and palette. I have all of my paint tubes numbered, using a sharpie, both on the cap and several places all over each tube. I then number the spot on the palette where I lay out the paints. I find it hard to tell which paint is which after they leave the tube: the names of the colors can be quite long and can get obscured on the tube after lots of use. When I want to replace a color, it makes it easier to know which is which by just referring to the number. Those blues and those dark reds can look very similar when it's just a thick slab of paint on the palette.

So I decided on a simple beach landscape.  Lots of intense color to start. The usual "hot mess" stage:

Then I wiped it down a little, leaving a smudgy stain of colors as a base:

More layers of color, adding a little white surf:

At first I was going to leave it like that, but then I thought it was just a little too saturated. So I added a glaze of white over the whole thing. Made it more misty, more ethereal, less garish:

Alright, then done!

Negril Beach No. 6  $40


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