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Comment by Charles Post on December 19, 2016 at 12:55

Love it.

Comment by Britt Greenland on December 5, 2016 at 9:59

Thank you, Stephen.  It's what first caught my attention in the original scene, so no matter where you are in your continuum of painting knowledge, it's great feedback for me to know that in your estimation I captured that! 

Comment by Michael J. Severin on December 4, 2016 at 9:14

Oh, that is interesting Britt .... I personally like the gloss.  Sometimes, when I am blocking in a dark tone, I do not use any medium or solvent ... I just thinly scrub the paint on and let the white of the canvas (or the imprimatura) show through.  You still get a transparent effect, but with no shine.  I actually find that painting my  block ins without medium contributes to better control of my brush marks .. it also adheres to the fat over lean rule.

Comment by Stephen Street on December 4, 2016 at 8:38

I can't comment on a painting to one millionth of what MJS can say, but I really like the sense of backlighting that I get from this.

Comment by Britt Greenland on December 4, 2016 at 7:32

Thanks for the great advice, Michael!  I'll let you know how it goes. It's tricky to balance lost and found edges with strong shapes, but I understand the need to break up that straight line.

I also use those same products, but thinning with those does seem to leave things glossier than using turps. 

Comment by Michael J. Severin on December 4, 2016 at 6:57

Hi Britt.  I am assuming you toned your canvas with an orange like color ... raw sienna and red? .. anyway, the toned ground produced some interesting effects to the colors on top ...  it gave a more blue/violet cast to that foreground grass .. the yellow/greens give those adjacent neutrals a more violet hue .. so we perceive the color nuance through optical blending instead of physical blending.  Your warm ground also vibrates against the greens .. making the greens seem a little more .. well vibrant.  If it were not for the warm ground, those foreground gray tones would have seemed .... just a neutral gray.  I do think the background is a little too dark, but attributed that to the photo?  .. the strong contrast between that tall grass and the background is contributing to it being too dark ... simultaneous contrast is working against you there.  I would suggest you first tone down in value the tall grass and see if that improves the relationship?  Using red/violet, I would suggest you also put in some darker tones into the bottom of that mass  .. especially where it meet the ground plane ..but darker still! ... and ditch the straight line where it meets the ground plane... lost and found edges, line variation, and some dark accents.   Non-toxic thinner .. I have been using Gamblin's Solvent Free Gel to thin my paints in the block in stage ... you can also use it as a medium.  It is advertised as non toxic.  The medium I use is Neo - Meglip by Gamblin.  It has a gel like consistency, no odor ... not sure if it is non toxic?  Anyway, I think just reducing the contrast in your background and revisiting the design elements there,  will produce the desired effect.  Very nice painting .. good far and near visual music that caught my attention immediately! :)

Comment by Britt Greenland on December 4, 2016 at 5:34

Thanks, Michael.  You always seem to pick up on exactly what my goals were ; ).  I'm pretty sure I understand from context, but what's your definition of "optical grays"?  Do you think the dark background is too dark? I  have trouble with darks because I have a solvent-free studio, so no thinner at all. This can cause some shiny darks, which don't recede well.  My background is thinned with a nontoxic medium, which leaves it a bit translucent.  Do you have suggestions about that?  

Comment by Michael J. Severin on December 3, 2016 at 19:53

Hi Britt.  I like the interesting patterns you have set up and your very nice use of optical grays being produced by your toned ground!! .. nice! ..   Great shape on that white sheep .. especially those ears! 

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