Quick Descent

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

This painting has been a good learning experience for me. Two of the most prominent lessons I have learned are that turpentine, by itself, is not a good medium for glazing and that I'm not very accomplished at predetermining what color will result from glazing.

Last night, this painting spun out of control for me.
In the last few days I had been working to model my face in the shadows using Burnt Umber, part of which is still visible. The farther into the shadows though, the poorer the modeling, however. Part of that I felt was due to the increased area covered by the same pigment (Burnt Umber) causing that side of my face to flatten out. I knew I needed to use something darker to push that side or elements of that side, back farther into the painting.

I started last night by "glazing" the background with Burnt Umber in an attempt to darken and unify it. The effect was marginal. Then I attempted to fill the lit area of the background with color. I started by using Cerulean Blue with Cadmium Orange (to darken) and, of course, turp. After filling the area, I wondered what the heck I just did as it looked like rotting flesh. I then mixed Cerulean Blue with Flake White and a touch of Cadmium Red and covered it over, this time without turp.

I didn't like how things were turning out, so I decided to quit at this point. Before I did however, I thought I'd just darken the shaded side of my face a little while I had some black mixed up. With the brush I had used to "glaze" the background, I began to push that side back. The turp in the mixture quickly dissolved the modeling I had worked so hard to create. I tried to save it, but I was too late. In frustration, I covered the whole area with Burnt Umber, cleaned my brushes, got some Ben & Jerry's and turned on a movie.