Painting #6 - for Beth J.

Elk Knob
oil on clayboard
5 x 7 inches
©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

This painting was inspired by a photo taken by my friend Beth J. that she graciously gave me permission to use as a reference. So this painting goes to her. I loved the late autumn colors in this scene and the rocky path disappearing around the bend with the mountain in the distance. I used a piece of clayboard that I had on hand to find out how I liked it as a support for oils. It was an interesting surface, very smooth, but really very absorbent causing the paint to dry quickly, making the process more like painting in acrylic than oil.

I have had a couple of comments asking about the drying time of these water mixable oils and I have to say it varies. For the most part they seem to dry a little more quickly than regular oils but probably not significantly. A lot depends on the humidity and whether a medium is added or how much water is used to thin the paint. I like having the extended drying time of oil paint as opposed to fast drying acrylic. I know there are now slower drying acrylic paints available but for me, having learned to paint in oil way back when, I am more familiar with the feel and consistency of oils.

Teresa, of Blueberries, Art and Life commented on how there is a difference in my style when painting compared to my work in colored pencil. I have been thinking about that, even before she mentioned it, and have wondered about that whole question of style. With paint, I enjoy allowing the work to look like a painting by letting the paint be paint. Colored pencil almost seems to demand tighter control, those little pencil points and all. Although I do prefer to have my drawings look like drawings. I like seeing the texture of the drawing surface used and evidence of marks made. I have never been one to strive for photorealism. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not where my interest lies. One of my collectors mentioned how much my drawings changed when viewed up close as compared to at a distance. She said that from a distance all the marks and colors pulled together and the image became sharper. It's much the same with painting, except the marks are larger strokes of color. One of the reasons I wanted to do this 100 painting project was to see where my imagery would take me, in terms of subject matter and style. I am still intending to work in colored pencil because I love that media, sometimes that precise control is just what I am after and I find that for me, drawing nicely balances the activity of painting. Had I not practiced drawing almost exclusively over the past three years I doubt painting would come as easily to me. But that's a topic for another post. Painting allows me to work quickly, responding immediately and intuitively to my subject, while I try to keep my head clear of any outside artistic influence. I am hoping that when I conclude this project I will have made a body of work that is formative, taking me from where I am to where I'd like to go. Whatever the media.