Glass Jar with Rag

Glass Jar with Rag
6"x6" Oil on Canvas Panel
SOLD

The final brush stroke was laid down a few days ago but it took me until today to get a decent photo.  I have to say that I am really happy with how this one turned out. A few early mistakes with my color mixes required some extra time adjusting the initial layers.  All total I put 38 hours into this piece. Most of which was spent on the rag.

Recently, I have been experimenting with new mediums, and for this piece I decided to give M. Graham Walnut Alkyd Medium a try. Glad I did, because it is exactly what I have been looking for. Up until this point I have tried Liquin, Galkyd, Neo Megilp and even a more traditional stand oil recipe. All which have had qualities I liked. Liquin is actually my typical go to medium, but might soon be taking a back seat to the walnut alkyd medium. What I really like about the M. Graham's is that it doesn't contain any solvents so the odor is pretty much non existent.  My son Taylor will occasionally play in my studio while I paint, so I want to keep the environment as non-toxic as possible. Also, the walnut alkyd medium has a slightly slower drying rate so it stays open through out the entire painting session, but is dry within a day and a half. The main issue that I have had with Galkyd and Neo Megilp is that they start to tack up within a few hours of painting, preventing me from painting into what should be wet layers. I've read on Gamblin's site that you can add a little poppy oil to the Galkyd to slow down the drying time, but haven't had a chance to experiment. Finally, I really enjoy the lower viscosity of the M. Graham's. It allows me to more easily paint complex passages without a lot of drag on the brush. At this point it is to early to say whether or not I will switch to solely using the walnut alkyds, but I am definitely leaning in that direction.

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag
6"x6" Oil on Canvas Panel

I got sidetracked this week with some freelance design work that cut into my studio time. So I was unable to put much time into finishing this up, but it's close. I still need to address the front of the table a bit and soften a few edges before I can call it done.

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag
6"x6" Oil on Canvas Panel

I'm getting pretty close on this one. Last night I finished up the first pass on the jar and background. All that is left to paint is the table top and another final layer of details.

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag
6"x6" Oil on Canvas Panel

Here is the latest on the current study. I finished the rag with the exception of what is showing through the jar. Last night's session was about 5 hours, which puts me at 20 hours total for this painting. It looks like I won't be finishing it in 25 hours as I estimated. Oh well, I'm having a blast painting this one.

I'm also resigned to the fact that if I'm going to get in consistent painting I'm going to have to forgo a little sleep. This week alone I have put in a 4:00 am, 3:30 am and 2:30 am session. Two of those days were work days so I had to wake up at 6:30 am to get my son ready for daycare, and get myself to work on time. I've been making up the lost sleep on the nights that I don't paint by going to bed early. It seems to be working well so far.

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag
6"x6" Oil on Canvas Panel

I'm starting to make some good progress on this still life. It has taken me about 10 1/2 hours to get to this point, I paint at a snail pace, but included in those hours are the initial drawing and the under painting. I'm starting to keep track of my hours just to get a feel for how long each painting takes me. I'm guessing this one will be around 25 hours by the time I'm done, but that may be optimistic.

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag
6"x6" Oil on Canvas Panel

Made it back into the studio this afternoon and for a change of pace I started this 6" x 6" still life of a glass jar sitting on top of an unused painting rag. The jar originally held olives I believe, but I now use it to store my medium. The rag is from an old t-shirt that I cut up and use for wiping off my brushes.

Taylor

Yet another in progress post on the portrait of Taylor. I know you guys have to be getting tired of this painting. I hope to remedy that soon by finishing it.