Paint Reliever

I have been having a bad day today. Nothing very upsetting has happened so my affection remains a mystery. I slept through my Linear class, that was disappointing but not a day altering disappointment. I wore shoes without good support and my feet ended up aching, but again, not that big of a deal. I think it is better, in this situation, to focus on the cure rather than the cause.

Painting usually does the trick for my bad moods. I got out one of my larger canvasses, this large mood swing requires some massive artistic space. Next, I searched my leftover photos from my gallery for a decently easy subject. I found it, Tippecanoe State Park in fall (the picture in this post).

Before I take out the rest of my supplies I consult the book; my painting and drawing instructional manual. Painting just what feels natural can be nice but sometimes it is best to learn from others knowledge. The technique I chose to try was imprimatura. It involves tinting the canvass before you start your actual painting. I painted a blue background for the road, amber for the leafy boarders to the road, and green for the rest. I don't know if it actually made a difference in the outcome, but it was interesting to try it.

After about three and a half hours I called it quits. Surprisingly the painting is practically finished. Usually I obsess over a small portion and take about 5 months to finish it. It was hard to match some of the colors, especially the road. It is very blue in the photograph and if I were to recreate that blue in the painting I think it would look strange. The only part I can't decide is if I should paint the speed limit sign or not. Opinions?

When I finish a painting session I hate to waste the leftover paint. So, to get around this, I cover a sketchbook page in random doodles and experiments. Not having to worry about ruining a canvass makes it so much more enjoyable. Writing this account has also made me much more relaxed. When I finish the painting I will upload a photograph of it.