“These Are Days”

Finally finished!

“These Are Days,” 9″ x 12″, oil on canvas board, $300

I have to admit that the reason I didn’t work on this painting was because I was afraid of it. I liked the drawing and the under-painting so much that I was afraid I’d ruin it.

And I did ruin it. But I’d let it dry so I scraped the canvas with my palette knife, dipped a paper towel in turpentine, and proceeded to rub out the color on all 3 kids.

Sigh.

But then I decided that the colors in the photo were too much and I simply needed to simplify. So I decided to go for the “portrait palette,” AKA the “palette of doom” or the “palette of death:” Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Ivory Black, Titanium White. And, boy, lemme tell ya, it was HARD. The colors aren’t high-key but I like where it took me. I *desperately* wanted to keep working this piece, but midnight was fast approaching and I needed to push myself away. So I cleaned my brushed, scraped/cleaned the palette, put everything away, and came into my office to do the writeup.

The underpainting adds French Ultramarine and Alizarin Crimson as the “colorful black” that’s really sort of a purple. I let that show through because I just… couldn’t… cover it up.

This painting was an emotional roller coaster. As with a real roller coaster, the only fear is the anticipation of the unknown. Once it’s over, you think, “wow, that wasn’t so bad!”

Wow, that wasn’t so bad!

There’s an owl right outside my back door hooting to a friend a few houses over. I wish I could see him. He’s really loud. And I like owls.