Beach Play
5"X7"
Oil on Panel
CLICK ON PAINTING

I've been experimenting with supports. There are many painters of small format paintings that I admire. Part of what I admire about their work is the looseness and the brushwork on these small paintings.

I've tried canvas supports and find that with small formats the weave of the canvas sometimes fights with the brushwork.

Linen is very nice but costly. I've found panels straight from the store slimy... no tooth or grab to the paint. So this time I tried using extra coats of gesso over the panel and I find that I like it! I used a neutral grey gesso and that is nice, too. I like the way the gesso grabs the paint just enough.

Another issue I've tried to overcome is a result of my constant need to practice drawing skills. I end up drawing the figure then painting between the lines resulting in a less-than-fresh look. So this time I just tried to paint shapes then cut out negative spaces between the shapes to achieve something that looked like what I was trying to paint. I was happy with this little small format painting in that I think I learned some things and achieved what I was trying for.