Try “Icing Up” Again

“Icing Up” 8”x10” Oil on canvas

Two years ago I painted a similar picture in acrylic and a little larger than this one. I decided to try it again but a little bit smaller and in oil. I had two goals in mind while painting this: 1. Be quick, don’t over think it. 2. Get the clouds right.

I quickly put down a base layer, using rags and my fingers. I was aiming to just get the proportions right. I wish I took a picture of the first part of this painting. I think I was trying to incorporate some abstract quality to my work. I try to do this by not using paint brushes, moving the paint around with my fingers, scraping paint off with palette knives, rubbing paint with a rag. None of this seems to work for me. Thankfully though, it often works as a base layer, giving me an idea of where I want to go with the painting.

So I was left with this blurry, rushed looking painting that looked like a 5th grader did it. It wasn’t what I was going for. So what to do? Do I keep trying using the techniques that weren’t working for me? Not on this picture I’m not. I waited a couple of weeks before I decided to revisit this painting, and it taunted me every time I came across it. Finally I got my paint brushes out and just painted it. I didn't think about it, I just did it. And the clouds aren’t that bad.