Tonight, I covered 5 panels with Ultramarine Blue. Not all over, but in various places over two sets. A diptych and a triptych. I love that type of work. I can spread the feeling over 5 canvas’ in one sitting and have totally different effects from each one, it all depends on the color placement underneath. Ultramarine is a beautiful rich Blue, not deep in color like Indigo or Phthalo. A lot remains from the under-painting, that often gets covered with darker Blues. There is a calm in the room with Ultramarine.
I did some ‘sheeting’ with heavy pigmented glaze. Applying in ‘sheets’ and allowing movement to become part of the result. It is great fun to watch as various area’s drip or run in a wave over other color, changing the reading and depth of the painting. I am having a week of darker tones bringing forth the lighter ones from underneath. Sometimes it feels as though I am looking into a river, or the sea, the way the depth and color change together.
A lot of my paintings seem to be from the point of view of looking in, from the surface, at the many layers below. A few seem to be from the depths looking up into the light, but predominantly, if you engage with them deeply enough you may find yourself ‘falling’ in!
I had that experience tonight. They seemed to draw me in.
I was working on a large Tryptych with Red and Yellow Cadnium backgrounds, and a Dyptych with Red Cadnium and Blue’s. These paintings are in the ‘Deep End’ Series. In fact, they are the last to be finished in that series! I look forward to seeing them in daylight and after the shine has settled, as they dry. They both have a couple more layers before they will be finished. I haven’t got a resolution in sight yet!