Profile in Blue

It’s been a frustrating few weeks, with not enough opportunity to paint, and a propensity for procrastination even when there was some time to paint. There’s no excuse for this! But, thankfully in the last few days, I’ve carved out more time for art.

I started this painting about a week ago, and while I initially planned for it to be finished reasonably quickly (they call it “Daily Painting” for a reason), that’s not what happened.  I fussed with this, and corrected that, and finally I have decided that enough is enough.

So, put a fork in it, it is done! 

I loved discovering all the different colors in her face, the purples, the greens, the gold-greens! What a beautiful face, too!

Now it is time to go onto the next painting, though. And hopefully with less procrastination.

By the way, I used one of DickBlick’s new type of panel, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE and have ordered more. I think these panels were created to compete with Ampersand’s “Value Series” panel with smooth finish (which I also LOVE).

Ampersand’s panels have this eggshell-type texture which smoother than Gessobord (which I also love) but with enough tooth (and absorbency) so that your paint isn’t sliding around like you’re trying to work on plastic or something. However, I have found (last time I checked) that the Value Series 1/8″ thick Smooth Finish panels were different than the cradled panels from the same line. The thinner panels did have the too-smooth, almost plastic type feel. I am not sure if Ampersand is changing this and the thinner 1/8″ panels now have the same type of more absorbent surface as their cradled boards, or what.

This new line from Blick (“Premiere Arists’ Panels”) comes in two cradled sizes, as well as a 3/8″ thick panel with a “hanging slot” or dovetail slot on the back. I like dove-tail slot panels and use them frequently, because they can be hung as-is, and the larger-sized panels (over 12×16″) are less apt to warp because the wood is thicker. (It’s not recommended to use 1/8″ thick panels which are larger than 12×16 due to risk of warping, though I know a lot of artists still use these larger sizes.)

So, this is my long-winded way of saying that I’m elated by Blick’s introduced their new 3/8″ thick dovetail slot panels, and am planning on using them a lot!