Tonight I worked on the other two relics in the foreground. Approached them same as the others, however the one on the edge of the picture is a bit darker. It has to be toned down as its further away. I'll stop now and see how I feel about it over the next few days. Next I need to start work on the birds.

Last night I started working on foreground rock/sculpture relic figures. I'm using a mixture of ivory black, zinc white, burnt umber, some yellow ochre and hints of cerulean blue. Just feeling my way around until I'm happy. I want them to look like ancient sculptures, marble-like and not simply rocks. Pushing paint around and trying to capture a brushstroke I'm excited about. It's like laying down a stroke and then another and many times it just doesn't work. Then I have to put down a mid- tone or dark again and go for the light over the top. This goes on until I'm happy to leave it alone. Sometimes you just have to stop and move on. The danger of over-working an area is a constant problem to overcome.

Still wanted to work on this piece again tonight. I've added some touches of blue and impure red in the water. Also I worked on the sky to finish it off, especially around the vessel or tree. The relics in the foreground are progressing well. I'm mixing green greys and keeping things loose. Slowly tightening the image and feeling my way around, finding darks and lights until I'm happy. I'm going to slowly keep lightening the rocks until the foreground jumps out a bit more. Next session will be interesting.

Ok finally got around to working on this painting again tonight. Decided to work on the middle ground water section. I mixed ivory black with white to make a mid tone grey, my tinting color I mix with most colors. Then I mixed a nice olive green using that grey and yellow ochre. Darkening it with more ivory black and lightening it with zinc white when needed. Laid it down blocking it in and covering the previous paint completely. I like the tone and it suits the scene make better. Works well with the other colors and ties the whole picture together. After this, the horizon landscape needed to be adjusted too. I've applied the similar color to the trees and land. Works better. Also straightened the horizon line. I'm thinking of calling this piece The Vessel with Relics. Just a thought at the moment.

Had so much fun in this session. Started modelling the tree with light colors. As you can see I've used many colors mixed in with grey neutral tones and hints of stronger, more vibrant accents here and there. Really this kind of painting is my favourite thing to do. It's free and very abstract in this section. The paint is a bit textured and brushstrokes are juicy. Not sure at this stage what to do with the birds at the top and the middle ground really bugs me. Also I think the horizon line is not that straight ! More tweaking to come !

In this session I worked only on the tree. It's a very dark brown under painting mixed with burnt umber, Prussian blue, black and a tiny bit of spectrum red. Looking at the middle ground, it definitely looks too busy.

The next few blog posts are just quick ones to catchup on the progress of this artwork. In this session I just worked on the middle ground. I want it to be water. I've tried to reflect the colors from the sky. In hindsight, I think it looks way too busy with staccato brushstrokes. Too much going on. Very distracting.

In this session I laid down some color on the birds. Really not sure what texture they should be yet - feathery or sculpture-like ? I've put tints of blue, however, I'm thinking a greyish hue would be the go here. Also just a little more darker, but not as dark as the tree. Also I have blended the middle ground water section. Looks better and more relaxed now. I've been starring at it for a while now and I'm still not convinced that it is working. I think I need to make it a lot darker and greener. Not high chroma, but muted to offset against the impure reds in the picture. See how it goes. Next session will be very interesting and decisions need to be made more concrete.

More work on the tree. Added some lighter tones.

I recently flipped over I plywood board I've been using for a few years now as a backing board. On the back is a painting I started about 5 years ago. For some reason I just never got around to finishing it. I remember having it on my easel and once it was dry I just forgot about it. I must of had a long spell without painting and got on with printmaking mono prints at that time.

Every once and a while I would flip the board over and discover the unfinished painting again. I'd give it a thought for a second and just decide it wasn't the right time to consider finishing it.

But recently in the last couple if weeks, I decided it was time to start work on it again and get it finished. I guess the strangness of the tree shape really appeals to me right now. It's a bit abstract and as a subject it's perfect at this particular time.

In this first session I've started with the sky laying down some greys and greens. The greens are mixed using yellow ochre and black tinted with some burnt umber. Also I've put in some pink hues to play against the greens and greys. At this early stage I'm considering the tree dark tones for the next session. Just giving it a thought. I've added some distant background landscape and worked on the water in the middle ground. Just working away and getting a feel for everything at this stage. I'm calling the central motif a tree, but it is a vase-like monolithic object the more I think about it. The bird shape on the top of it needs to be considered as the painting progresses. Im liking the scattered relics of rock figures and face in the composition very much. I'm excited to be working on this painting. See how it goes.