Chincoteague- glazing still under construction

8 x10 oil, glazing layers 6+, unfinished

Glazing takes patience. I do own a blow drier, not for my hair, but to dry paintings faster. It got a workout today! Tomorrow I will put on another layer. If I don't wait it becomes muddy mush rather than enticing layers of color. Patience.
Sorry I couldn't get a decent picture. It is way TOO blue...it's actually much oranger, especially in the right top corner. I will try to replace the jpeg tomorrow tomorrow.(It's harder to get a good photo of a wet oil!)
On an interesting note, I have always loved Schmincke pastels so when I saw "test the best" schmincke mussini transparent oils on the Dick Blick website, I said, why not?. I love the colors I can make with these three little paints. Check them out.

Sanibel Mangroves at Dawn

5x7 oil on gesso board
First thank you to everyone for all your encouraging words, it helped to see all of them this morning. I have decided that I am not allowed to whine or complain. It is what it is, a learning curve.
These are the Sanibel Mangroves at dawn. (I love that place) I had painted many layers of glaze on it...mostly dark orangey ochres. Then last night I kept dreaming about the blues that sat up on top of the orange in the dawn's light. I must have had at least 3 dreams about it. I guess that's what happens when you keep painting till you can't keep your eyes open any longer.
This one taught me that it can be similar to pastel if I glaze underneath and use opaque on top, sort of like my skeleton theory.

Two Works: one oil (unfinished), one pastel (plein air)

unfinished, oil, underpainting with 3 layers of glaze
Here I am working WAY out of my comfort level. I am painting 5 of these glazed pieces at the same time. Glazing is slow painful work. Deborah quoted from Edgar Payne. "Mix brains with paint." Ah...so often they are forgotten and the painting is left to their friend, impulse.
I am holding my vision tight in my head. If it becomes unsure..time to stop and think.
6x6 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper $100.
Back to the reservoir on this very cold spring morning. It was good to be visiting my muse, the reservoir. I rarely take a plein air painting back to the studio to work. The color harmony in this piece was rather disjointed. So I tried to pull it together.

Windy with Chance of Doughnuts

about 6 x6 each :top -pastel and watercolor on marble dust board, bottom- oil on paper

Today is a very windy day. I went out to the reservoir and painted then on the way home I bought a pink doughnut. After seeing the one Susan had painted recently I was inspired to do something completely different.. This one has these BIG jimmies on top. I think they were hearts and snowflakes. My goal was to paint the first painting in pastel and the second in oil with the palette knife. Familiar to unfamiliar. In the process I would hopefully transfer what I learned with pastel to the knife painting.
I am feeling a bit elastic lately as I stretch to work with this knife.
Sincerely your rubber band painter,
Loriann
PS I will post the reservoir pastel for tomorrow.
PPS I have recovered enough, so I am ready to go back to the outdoors. Boy, have I missed it!!!!!

Reservoir Dreams

about 5 x7 oil on paper
So the knife won't let me sleep. It calls out to me, "Yoohoo, try me again.See if you can do it." So I get out of bed, go back into the studio and try, again. This time I decided to paint the reservoir from one of my pastel paintings. I KNOW the reservoir right? I should be able to do it...right? So I struggle through once again.
I know what Jala means when she talks about cursing the knife. It's so clumsy. But I learned tonight that if I wait a little it dries enough to scumble new paint on top...like I do with pastels. One small satisfaction. Now I will try to sleep again.

Way Back Yonder

about 4 .5 x7 oil on marble dust board
OK....so I haven't a clue what I am doing.
Taking risks. That's what it's about when you want to learn. Stretch
I am recovering from my surgery. It's hard or eat and talk...but I can paint....or maybe not. Groan.

The Knife Please

6 x6 oil on paper
All this talk about palette knives and seeing these luscious paintings forced me, a dedicated pastel painter, want to take a stab at it (pardon the pun). Yes, the knife is cumbersome, No, I don't know what I am doing. Yes, I will do it again. My favorite parts are the streaks of unmixed paint and the thick glossiness of it. I didn't draw, I just slabbed on the paint. Palette knife painters out there...please give me some tips...ok?
I did this and one other today, Monday. I will post the pastel landscape later. Tomorrow, Tuesday, I have surgery...so I will sleep the day away, unaware of everyone. Weird, uh? Don't worry, it's dental surgery. When I was 16 when I thought I could do anything, I surfed. Well, I landed up with a surfboard in my mouth. Ouch! Therefore, every few years I need a, should I say, tune-up.