Best Intentions

self portrait, 20" x 16", oil on panel (in progress)

Not much has changed, save for the two darker violet areas. At the top of the inner area, notice how it becomes a brilliant violet? That's an example of a "good" idea gone bad. Those two areas are shadows, as you might have guessed. The inner area will gradually lighten, blending behind the figure into the lit area right of the figure. In an effort to aid this gradual blend, I thought it would be a good idea to place my thin layer of violet down and then draw it to the right with a large bristle brush. Once again, I'm thinning the paint with turpentine.

Now, turp isn't really a glazing medium, it's a solvent. So essentially I put a solvent on my painting and then applied force to it. What happens when I do that to an unprotected painting? I dissolve the previous layer AND the imprimatura right down to the white acrylic ground, and wipe it away. What violet is left over the area becomes beautifully luminescent, and entirely undesired. This was one of those moments I wish I could travel ten minutes back in time to smack myself on the head.

Once it all dries, I'll attempt to darken that area again. How? I'm not sure yet. One of the issues with this method of painting is that it's harder to correct problems when you are dealing with multiple layers of paint, as opposed to just the surface.