SONGS VI
IN PROGRESS
 
This page shows, from blank canvas to eventual completion, the story of "Songs VI".
[ Your Text Here ]
Base of the beautiful French Ultramarine roughly scrubbed on. welcome bit of contamination in corner from crimson touch. This cool colour will be felt through thin top layers of greys, lifted with thin or broken siennas. Remaining felt in the finished piece each layer must be chosen carefully. A well painted work can fail or a poorly painted work succeed through colour choice.
Really strongly applied thickly brushed paint - naples yellow top, broken raw umber below. Very powerful start. Had originally applied the yellow with my hand, aiming toward the intended rock but the painting demanded a stronger touch. When this has dried I intended to (but eventually was not to) overlay a phthalo green light which would have linked to the green produced where the naples yellow has been more thinly applied over the ultramarine base.
 
Using a heavily filled but relatively small brush the beautiful madder lake deep has been laid onto the naples yellow. This will be reinforced with heavily struck deep red lines.
French ultramarine relaid, knocking the overall tonality down. Introduction of Indigo will deepen this further.
Really getting somewhere now - lines of cobalt violet deep hue have been wacked thickly upon the red. This violet - with it's heavy application appears almost grey-brown, and is the perfect accompanyment to the red; both subduing it, and linking to the bluer end of the spectrum below (which has been prepped with a fleshy base for lining over with - a yet to be decided - top colour).
Finished. At bottom the beautiful and translucent burnt sienna has been scrubbed over the fleshy base, then lined with indian yellow and naples yellow reddish, making for a warm and delicious combination, and linking to the top corner where a residue of indian yellow and a fleshy tint has been gently laid over the yellow. This has then been struck with a pinky hue, making for a delicate and feminine neighbouring to the strong central band.