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Hidden Stream

TitiaD 09 May 2024

"Hidden Stream"
April 14, 2024
Oil on canvas
50x40 cm

So, I decided to have a go at this one.
As others have said already, the right side of the painting was the most difficult because of all the layers of paint.
I'm not completely happy with how it all came out, but it could have gone much worse, as I feared at some point.

Oils

Comments

It doesn't look as though you've struggled at all, you've done a great job. I think this is one were you have to think damp on damp instead of wet on wet. That's how I'll approach it when I do it. I love that shade of blue/grey you've got there.

Thank you!
Yes, it does help to keep the paint as dry as possible when you put in all those layers on the right side. The bright tree on the far right has the wettest paint.

So gorgeous! Love the result!

I agree, this turned out excellent.

@TheLandscapePainter - when you say damp on damp, what did you have in mind? Do you think the Kevin Hill method of dabbing with a shop towel would work?

Thank you paintingblondie.

And thank you, Jeff.
Kevin's shop towel method might indeed work here.
Or at least do not thin the paint with paintthinner. And if you really have to, because the new layer won't stick, use a minimal amount of thinner.

On a side note:
I mostly use Royal Talens Van Gogh brand. Their Van Dyke brown is very very very very firm. It's hard to even get it out of a full tube. LOL
It helps a lot when using this in the background colours. :)

Another thing that can be used to make paint more firm is to add a bit of plain talcum powder.

Ah, interesting. I've never worked with talcum powder, it seems like it could be a mess. I'll look in to trying that when the time comes.

Regarding Van Dyke brown (I use winsor newton), compared to every other color I have, it dries the quickest. I try to save leftover paint in little containers, and the vandyke has a thick skin within 6-8 hours. Whereas something like my alizarin crimson or burnt sienna stays mobile for weeks in storage.

^
I can confirm the quick drying time of the Van Dyke.
Can be annoying when you have to continue a painting the next day...

The talcum powder can come in handy when making knife-only paintings with lots of layers. I've used it with my "French Mountains" painting, which was my first knife-only.
It helps with breaking the paint, as Bob calls it.

Beautiful version Titia!

Thanks, Jos. <3

Beautiful painting Titia, well done, cheers

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