I have been working on a couple of oil paintings the past few months. This is the first time I have painted on these Centurion oil primed linen panels and they are so great with a nice even texture. I wait for almost a month for one layer to dry before I start on the next one. I am presently doing three panels in rotation which is a bit unusual for me, I like to finish one and set it aside before I begin on a new one.
The subjects of these two paintings are of roses. I did some thumbnail studies to work out the compositions beforehand.
On one painting I started the composition using raw umber and zinc titanium white with linseed oil for the first layer, then I had to wait for a whole month for it to dry before I could do the next layer with burnt umber and white widening the tonal range of the painting (raw umber goes only to a dark middle tone). I also toned the panels to get rid of the white and let that dry before I could even begin anything on it. Watercolor painting requires less preparation and dries quicker but the results of oil paintings are worth it. The classical Flemish oil painting technique uses several layers one on top of each other, the first ones with a warm umber tone then with grey tones (all the way upto black) over them which is called the dead layer, finishing with transparent color glazes laid on top of them which gives them their final exquisite look. The next painting I decided to just use a mix of indanthrone blue and burnt umber to make a rich black along with white which establishes the full tonal range of the painting from black to white (doing away with the umber underpainting). Separating the value and color layers makes it easier to play with color temperature later on. This is where I am right now, along with another one I have going of a work of a yellow cucumber. What about you? What is happening in your studio?
Watercolor Journal 