Wednesday 20 February 2013

Another work on canvas

After completing my last oil painting on a canvas for the first time i realised how much i enjoyed the feel of painting on canvas and how much it felt like a 'real' artist to be daubing on this most traditional of supports.I thought i would continue painting in the same vein for the time being as completing my last painting relatively quickly and employing slightly looser techniques was very enjoyable and i want to prove to myself that it wasnt just a 'one-off' success.Trying to curb my immediate instincts to tighten up on details and add more and more to a piece is the hardest task and so once more ive gone loose with this piece and completed background colouration and a little foreground detail in one sitting,having already toned the canvas with a little burnt umber beforehand in those areas and left it to dry.I'm now going to put this to one side to dry thoroughly for a couple of days before proceeding with the main subject,which in this instance is a delightful tiger cub.i have several projects in there early stages right now and at the moment am still using ready-stretched canvases as i get to grips with it,however if i finish all those ive started to my satisfaction i plan to invest in some rolled canvas and make my life easier by making stretched canvases to fit my layout drawings rather than the other way around as they are now.ive never been one for drawing or painting to a size and find that element of painting on pre-stretched canvases very difficult to get used to.it was never really a problem on paper or on boards which i always cut and prepared according to projects already roughed out and so i'm looking forward to learning a new skill,that of stretching a canvas.

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