Buxtehude Project: Ad Latus Painting
A day of rest...well, make that 1/2 a day. I find I really do need to take a break from all this creative problem solving...the right brain does seek rest after all. But, I am close to finished on this painting and it is calling to me to bring it all together. I am sitting on the stoop of the doorway down into my studio (four season porch) staring at my painting. I stare at it quite awhile, several times a day. If you saw me you might think I wasn't working...but, there's a whole lot goin' on up in here (picture me circling my head with my hand). I visualize several different options for these last steps. I am going to use a more opaque pigment (adding white or black to a pigment) for contrast to the bright swirl of colors happening. It helps define where I want the viewer's eye to travel...helps bring out what I consider to be the important parts of the painting. It also gives you a little rest before diving into the more active elements of the painting. This cropped image above shows you an area where I've applied a caramel colored neutral as a layer over the more vibrant color to dull it. The place of greatest contrast is where we are wired to look first. Very tricksey, eh?