The final quarter and going fast and slow

Untitled work (work in progress)

upper left quarter

Drawing and beginning of the underpainting 

with some colour

Acrylic and willow charcoal on gessoed canvas

36 x 48 inches

Barbara Muir © 2012

 

My idea with this four-part image is to try and
progress at the same rate with all four paintings
to make sure that it is one consistent whole.  But
the black and white drawing and bit of an under painting
is worrying one of my blog readers who likes my
work for colour.

To her I say don't worry.  I have begun the colour,
but I am trying to ease into it slowly.  In most
of my paintings I use one colour for my
underpainting, but in these four I am trying an area by area
underpainting in places. The entire scheme is really
warm hits against a mostly white table cloth with a blue
center, and blue napkins.  So I am holding myself back
 a little from full colour right away.

To give you an idea of the possibilities, although this painting
will be much more intense (and obviously bigger) here's a
 little painting I did in August that looks something like
the left hand side of the big painting done from the same series of
reference photos.

I hope you had a lovely weekend.  It was cold today
but beautiful -- a blanket of low blue/grey clouds covering
the city, and at the end of the day a flash of brilliant, golden
sun and a spectacular sunset.

Have an easing-into-colour day.