Painting Small Studies

I don't know how this happened,

but there is a great art supply store nearby that I was completely unaware of...

until last week.

Going to an art supply store is my personal version of being a kid in a candy store...

well, so are book stores, hardware stores and fabric stores.

 

Walking into Artist & Craftsman Supply on Market Street in Philadelphia, I thought,
"Oh no...this could be trouble."

Being surrounded by a wonderful variety of  supplies is painfully tempting, but I stuck to my intended shopping list.

I was very proud of myself when I left the store with a small bag holding three tubes of oil paint and a collection of 6" x 6" masonite boards.

 

My plan is to do a series of quick paintings with hopes of developing my intuitive reaction to the paint and the subject. 

The limited size of a 6" x 6" panel might keep me from being overly involved and overly attached to each painting...maybe a good thing.

 

The panels were covered with an acrylic gesso.

Two coatings of gesso were needed to properly prepare the boards.

I chose to do no sanding, preferring instead to allow some of the gesso brush strokes to be revealed in the eventual painting.

 

Once the gesso was completely dried, I toned the surfaces and purposely chose a couple of bold colors that might push my comfort zone. 

After a day of drying, I started with one of the burnt sienna boards (top row) and chose a picture from my 'Images for Art' file.
 

I like how pieces of the burnt sienna can be seen, bringing a warmth to the painting that suggests the golden light of a sunset.

It was late last night when I stopped working on the above painting.

I needed to clean up, but my frugal nature wouldn't let me toss away all of the paint that was still on the palette.

Instead, I used some of the leftover paint on one of the turquoise boards.

Same image for inspiration, same paint mixes, but such a different mood.

More work will be done, but I like where this second panel is going.