Testing out Acrylics

I decided to test out some acrylic paints. It's been forever since I used them (not since high school, actually). I picked up a few tubes from Utrecht:

Titanium white, hansa yellow light, yellow ochre, quinacridone red, burnt sienna, burnt umber, ultramarine blue and chromium oxide.

I knew acrylics dried fast, but I was really surprised at just how fast that was. I guess it's from 6 years of using oils and being spoiled with such a long working-time.

The positives:
The quick drying time allows me to knock out paintings in one evening (This one was painted in an hour). I think this could be a good medium for doing color studies, working out compositions, etc. Potentially even as an underpainting for an oil painting. The speed of drying made me realize the importance of making every brushstroke count. I think acrylics will continue to be a good exercise in that sense. Making the most out of every brushstroke means a "fresher" looking painting, less "muddy" colors, and ultimately a quicker painting.

The negatives:
Acrylics dry darker than they are when wet. I totally forgot about this. My painting turned out much darker than I anticipated. I'm going to have to mix colors lighter than they need to be. It's going to take practice before I can figure that out exactly. The quick drying trait means that I can't mix lots of custom colors and let them sit on the palette for future use... I'm going to experiment with drying retarder next, but the window is still very narrow with how long I can work with the paint. Colors will still have to be constantly re-mixed. This adds time to the painting process.

A few new paintings

I haven't updated in a while. I've got a few new paintings to share...

 First up is the finished Camelback Mountain painting. I think the most successful areas are the large boulders in front. Least successful is the large rock face in the back left. It looks like I got lazy on it. 24x30 inches

 I think this one is 10x14. I think the most successful areas of this painting are the rock faces. The part I find most interesting to paint are the bright, sharp highlights on the top and edges. They really stand out when the rest of the rock is in shadow. I will be painting more rocks with this type of lighting. I think the foreground is least successful, especially the two trees.

This Sedona painting is one of my largest. 30x40 inches. It was a challenge for me, working this large. Normally I work fairly small. I forced myself to use a large brush for most of the painting, so I would not get caught up in the details. I think the composition here is good, though if I could go back I would have waited a few more hours for the sun to go down a bit and cast longer shadows. I think there is not enough cast shadow shapes. 

More on Camelback Mountain

First up is a small sketch from the Echo Canyon hiking trail on Camelback Mountain. I think it measured 10x10.

I liked the sense of light in this one. I also found things to be a little challenging. The rocks here in Phoenix lack a lot of color compared to elsewhere in AZ, such as Sedona (which is what I'm used to painting). Not to mention since this was done before the rainy season, there was very little vegetation. I'm hoping that I can use that to my advantage... I will need to strengthen my composition and lighting more to create an interesting painting, and not rely so much on the color that's already present. It's also going to force me to exaggerate color more in order to avoid making things too neutral or bland-looking.

Here is the start of the large version. This one is 24x30.

My palette here is:

-Flake white
-Cadmium yellow (I try to avoid using this until the very end, and only put it in the closest foreground mixtures)
-Yellow ochre
-Raw sienna
-Cadmium orange
-Cadmium red
-Quinacridone rose
-Burnt sienna
-French Ultramarine
-Prussian blue
-Viridian

Moab Sunset

I finished the painting that I mentioned in my last post. I took a bunch of pictures outside of Moab, Utah just as the sun was going down. I liked the light in them and decided I had to paint it.


This kind of composition was new for me. I placed the horizon fairly low, leaving a very large, open sky. Sky and clouds have been rather neglected in many of my other paintings, so I figured it was about time that I dedicated more time to them. 


One of the techniques that I found especially helpful for the rock face was glazing. I suppose one might call it more of an opaque glaze. Anyway, I began by sketching in the large rock with a slightly darker/more purple version of the local color. After that was dry, I went in with a darker warm purple and glazed over the entire rock. I was using Liquin and mineral spirits to thin it down. That glaze became the shadow in the recesses. When that became tacky (only an hour or so, as the Liquin sets up quickly), I went in with the orange highlight colors. I've found this technique gives a great sense of light, and I've done it on a number of my mountain paintings.


My palette:


flake white
yellow ochre
raw sienna
cadmium orange (just a tiny bit in the final highlights)
cadmium scarlet
quinacridone rose
burnt sienna
raw umber
ivory black (just a touch to help neutralize some of the greens)
French ultramarine
Prussian blue
viridian

Camelback landscape done

I'm happy to say that this 24x30 painting is finished. I brought cadmium lemon into some of the highlight mixtures in the foreground plants, and a touch in the mountain highlights. The highlights really make it look "finished".

The shadowed side of the mountain wasn't reading very well, so I extended some of the highlighted faces of rock downward.

Now I just need to pick out a frame. I'm thinking a dark mahogany frame will suit the painting well.

I was flipping through some photos I took on a road trip last year, and a couple pictures taken outside of Moab, Utah caught my eye. And on that note, I think I have a new painting in the works.

More work with a limited palette, and the start of a new landscape.

First up is a quick study of a plaster cast that I did last week. I was experimenting with an earth-tone "student" palette.

Titanium/zinc white, yellow ochre, Venetian red, raw umber, and ivory black.


I took a photo of the cast from a couple different angles, so I think I will take another shot or two at it, and maybe spend a little more time refining the paintings as well.


Next up is the start of a commissioned painting of Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. It measures 24x30 inches.

My palette (usually very minimal) is somewhat expanded for this painting. 


flake white
yellow ochre 
raw sienna
cadmium scarlet
quinacridone rose
burnt sienna
raw umber
ultramarine
viridian


I'm waiting on throwing in the cadmium yellow until near the end. I want to restrict the vibrancy of my greens for right now, and then use cadmium in some of the mixes for only the closest bushes. That will help convey a sense of atmosphere/distance.

Zorn Palette

Continuing with the last post regarding limited palettes, here is a painting I just finished which used a "Zorn Palette".

Titanium white/zinc white mix (Gamblin)
Yellow ochre (Gamblin)
Cadmium scarlet (W&N)
Ivory black