As the months have gone by and the work on #6, #7 , #8 has been progressing, I have had a nagging issue with the very first project painting, #1. Last week I made the decision to remedy this.
It would only be natural that I would become more and more adept at handling the very different historic pigments, just from the constant daily use. I must emphasize again, "there is no comparison to the handling qualities of the modern pigments." Everything about the hand made historic pigments is different from the modern; particle size, thickness, consistency, color, saturation, and on and on.
I guess it would be natural then, that one or another of the first paintings would not be as satisfactory as one of the later ones. A personal mantra and technique I employ when in this predicament is….while standing in front of the painting I say, "what do I have to lose?" Always, I get the same answer, "nothing!" So out comes my trusty scraper, and I go at it with a vengeance.
While analyzing the issues with the over all problems of #1, the main one was the boring color theme. Even though it was bright red and black with a few others here and there, it was lacking in something I couldn't put my finger on. I decided to try an experiment. Rather than just use one painting from the Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art Exhibit catalogue, I decided to use two to paint one of mine.
In the show catalogue, pictured side by side, are the brother and sister portraits by Dirck Dircksz van Santvoort, the boy in bright red and the girl in rich pink. The colors looked wonderfully harmonious together, so I decided to use a theme of both red and pink in my painting. I planned out a new composition, subject matter, and color palette and remembered my mantra, "what do you have to lose?" A completely new version of #1 began to emerge. Over the next few days, in spite of that pesky flu, a new painting began to emerge with much more success than the old one.
While getting my colors ready for my palette, I mixed a subtle pink with vermilion, heightened with a little red lake, for the flowers, then a brighter red for other passages. A lovely color harmony was established immediately using this palette, and days later the painting was finished much more to my liking. I kept the pomegranate halves from the old painting, but added other objects to enhance the color palette of the new one.