Today was one of those days that I was struck with 'canvas fear', or 'paintbrush paralysis'! If you've ever put brush to canvas you'll know exactly what I mean, especially if working in layers. The fear that whatever you do now will spoil what's gone before and that there will be no way back. I just stood there gawping at the piece this morning. My paints were all made up, brushes all clean, medium all mixed, but I just couldn't get started. I did that thing where you start bargaining with yourself...i'll just make a cup of tea first, then, ok i'll just put on a washing first, then ok, i'll take out the recycling. I'm used to canvas fear when i have a pristine new white canvas out the wrapper. My coping mechanism with that barrier is to put a toned raw or burnt umber and white mix colour over it. Psychologically for me it's an easy way of starting and also helps judge tonal values when i come to painting the actual figure or scene. After an hour, having done all my chores, and almost heading out to ask if anyone else needed any chores done, and having made a second cup of tea, I picked up a size 6 filbert and added some tone to the left hand guy in the pic below's cheek. Barrier broken...even if it was the wrong value tone and took me another while of chasing oil around his face to try and correct it. I'll have a look at him tomorrow with fresh eyes and see where to chase the oil paint.
Hope you're having a creative day! Speak soon Davy Comments are closed.
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Whit's he up tae noo?The blog posts of David Brodie, a Scottish artist based near Glasgow. Archives
October 2018
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