1f. That Wet Look

Well, that's what I'm working up to. That Wet Look. At least that is what I am trying to achieve. Sometimes I can pull it off better than other times. Each time I paint a painting with water that should look wet, I gain just a little more experience at it.

The technique I am using on this painting I have used before and like it. But, its not for every situation to be sure.

Last time I was bringing up the darker green shapes up towards the lighter sky reflections.

Now, I want to add some medium blue shapes as a transition from the darker greenish waves up towards the boats. I need some blue.

So I squeeze out a chunk of Soft Mixing White and a smaller squeeze of Prussian Blue.

Its looking too dark, so I need to add a little more white.

That will do it, even though I'm not sure these photos are showing this correctly. Trust me. Its lighter. 

This shows how I am bringing this blue up. Quick strokes of the medium blue across everything. The light blue paint is still very wet, and pretty think under these strokes, so you can't really go back over them very easily. I only do so very lightly, especially when the brush stroke it too large and noticeable. 

Here is how that is looking for the moment.

Once the medium blue shapes are in place, I will go back to the dark green. They need more power! So, I'm mixing some dark green again.

I'm using yesterday's tin can, squeezing Chromium Green Oxide, Olive Green and some Orange.

Now I have the dark green similar to what I had been using.

Like I had done before, I rough in the dark green wave shapes. This is where I must be careful to not create any unusual places in the water that would draw too much attention. The viewer's eye must go to the middle of the painting first, then roam throughout to get the right feelings of being there. Thus, as I create these wave shapes, each one has to be different from the others, but not so different as to draw attention. 

Some end up being connected to others nearby. The one above the other can't look like it is duplicated. It is almost like laying a stone wall. It all has to fit properly, plus be a comfortable design. I will be on the lookout from here out for this, and will think nothing of making the correction if I see it.

I decided that within the can I should have several shades of this green to work with, so I added some white to one side. This will allow me to make the blends between the green shapes and the blue shapes. The green dries faster than the blue/white paint, so my blending ability has diminished this morning. I need these extra shades of green primarily for that reason, almost as if I am wetting it all again for blending.

Once I like their positions, I take a large soft brush and start blending them to get rid of the hard edges.

I do this across the whole bottom of the canvas. But, what is happening is that in doing this blending, much of the blue sky reflections are being covered up partially by the soft green fuzzyness of the blend. Its starting to look too dull. But, that is the beauty of oil paints, there is nothing that can't be fixed and painted over. This is all part of the process and should be expected. No big deal...... Hello blue!

Now that I've gotten my deep blues back, using broad strokes of thick paint with my large brush, I need to modulate the blues a bit to add some wetness. So, went back to my light blue can and found the paint to still be fairly wet. Using my small brush, I added the light blue into the deep blue I had just painted.

I tried to imagine the blue being the tops of the waves at the bottom. That means that these little light blue highlights are actually reflections of the light blue portion of the sky in the distance.

So, here is where I am at now.

The foreground is starting to carry its weight, even though I will most likely go back into it after it is dry for some final touches. There is a pretty good transition of water from top to bottom. The waves look larger and closer to the viewer as they go down, thus the perspective is working. 

The middle of the painting is starting to take on a glow. This will be a very dramatic painting. I do both serene and dramatic in my work, but usually its the dramatic ones that people are drawn to. Compared to the original photo, this image now has its own rich color and its own dramatic water. The painting has left its photo behind and has moved into new territory. The difference between photo and oil paint.

I will let the water dry before I touch it again. At least dry enough so that my brush won't dig into it when I paint on top of it again. That might take a week or so. 

I have moved my canvas down so I can comfortably paint in more in the area of the boats and background that I had saved for later. Once I am happy with that, I will bring the reflections of the objects back down over the water. That is my favorite part. Paint flows so easily over dried paint, so I can move fast and paint many colors off my palette at once.

I'm thinking about what I will start painting next. This one is pretty much done in my mind. I know how it will turn out. I just have to spend the time finishing it. Right now I am thinking about painting a Brown Pelican....large. I haven't done a bird in a while and I have a great reference shot I took several years ago that has been begging me to paint.