Indian Pots-Flemish Technique FINAL

Oil, Flemish Technique, 18 x 24 linen gallery wrapped canvas.
This is the final glaze and highlight layer. This process took me 26 painting sessions, plus 3 days to do the draying, and many other waiting days for the layers to dry. It is really good to be working on at least 2 paintings at a time so that "you stay away" while waiting for one to dry. This is the easiest thing I have ever done. I am really pleased with the results. I am sold on this technique! Love it. Contact me if you are interested in learning more of how to do this. You can see that it is just the technique that is "old masters", any subject will work. The debth that this painting has appears to me to be far superior to a one layer painting. The glazes just make it come to life. My opinion! Ro Hint: Hit CONTROL and the plus key and the pic will get bigger so you can look at the detail on the fur. Hit CONTROL and the minus key to return to normal. If you are interested I will be happy to share how I figured out how to paint the fur. easy!

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Comment by Lyndon Baxter on February 19, 2011 at 19:36: Roena, you are an inspiration for us. Like Kim, I have decided to have a go with this method although I used acrylics, I can't see why I can't apapt the method to suit. I had just started a portrait when I saw your latest and although the canvas was not prepared properly, I'm still going to try. BTW Thank you for the link to easy-oil-painting...its a very helpful site.

I still can't beleive the fantastic textures you have achieved - 5 stars are not enough.. got to be 10!

Comment by Roena King on February 18, 2011 at 18:02: This is probally just one way, but it worked for me to paint the fur. I adjusted the photo I made in B&W for "contrast".

Next pic is the original color photo.

These are my brushes. Top one is used to blend the bottom of every brush stroke so that it softly disappears into the fur. You can do a few and then soften the bottom. The q-tip shows the size of the brush. I like to use a brush per color because I think you keep a true color better.

You paint using about 3 values of gray. Load brush after 1-2 strokes with very fluid paint. Touch the fur and brush up and out towards the edge. Change colors often so as not to paint a large area all the same color. Squint to see shapes of color variation.

The value chart is under my plexi glass palette.

The carmex jars are where I scrap along the edge of the jar any paint left over for the day (oil paint), and fill to overflowing with water. Screw lid on and no oxygen can get to the paint to dry it out. Last weeks. If it starts to get a little stiff, just mix a drop of linseed oil. No need to put in freezer or frig. Can not spill, can not get paint all over the place like if you were going to a class. I have been doing this for over a year with great success. Pour water off and drain a sec or so on a paper towel.

This last picture really does show up the different colors, how often you would need to change colors and how the colors overlap and blend up into each other.

After this inital layer drys using 3 values of gray. I went back with pure white and in very random places I added just the indication of some light catching the hair. The farther away from the subject (like on the edges of the fur on the side of the painting), I softened every stroke. Only near the subject pot did I leave the highlight hairs sharp. Still had to soften the hair on the bottom going into the fur to make it disappear. Next advice is this. If you start the fir, I have found for me I must complete the entire layer in one sitting. So gray layer in one sitting, and highlight in one sitting. If I try to come back another day, someway I change the way I am doing it and it does not work. I thought it was really easy to do. I learned how to do this by painting fields of grass in landscapes. Same principal. Dark and light colors blending up into each other in side to side stripes so the land lays down and goes away