Stinkers and all...

as a rule, for assured marketing...sellers put only their best face forward...that is good business sense.  I've never been accused of being the best business person, I'm an artist...a painter.  I find it hard pushing to paint true to my heart, truth that I am striving for, then not being truthful to my peers.  So, I share even my stinkers.

Like many I know, I'm a book hoarder...not only work to write myself, but have shelves full of many.  Just recently acquire Mitchell Albala's "Landscape Painting- Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein air and Studio Practice"...and Mitchell suggests that 50% of the efforts of professional painters fall into that unsuitable category for framing and selling.  I like though that he throws this statement following-  

"This is not said to discourage but to put your efforts "en plein air" in a realistic context.  If my goal is to produce a masterpiece each time I paint outside, I will be frequently disappointed.  But if each "failure" is used as a learning event, then it is a worthy endeavor that can reveal another clue in the ongoing mystery of painting from nature."

Yesterday...my intentions were to drive to a spot I knew at about 2-3 pm in the afternoon, would be ideal...but then remembered I'm working on something for someone, and thought I better do that...


The light did not allow distant masses and near masses much variation...and plus, I was trying out some oil primed linen, only my 2nd or 3rd time painting on such.  Better get used to it, as I ordered a roll of it!  haaa...


Funny...when work does paint well its one thing, when not...we often call them "studies"...

Its an okay piece...but lack luster.  I'll play with it...in studio, and come up with a fitting visual interpretation...


My eyes also got tired, and vision blurred, so quit...and never got around to tightening up branches and trees...


The oil primed surface is interesting how paint sits...and for more gestural alla prima work with built up textures will probably prove a lot of fun.


I also tried something else a bit different.  I used a Richeson paint knife, this one-
 
and held the flat edge up against the support where I wanted the dock to be, tilted downward, and painted along the blade to create a crisp good straight edge, even rendering it...


Here is a close up...

and...for something different, to see what this paint on an oil primed surface appears like physically, I used the filter "emboss" in photoshop...and think it is pretty effective and interesting to see-

Well...the experiments never seem to end.  I'm looking forward to discovering what oil primed linen will lead to...and as always, images reveal larger view when clicked on...