Tiny Oils

After beating myself up for not getting straight back to painting bigger and better than ever, I've had to give myself a reality check and realize that after such a long hiatus that just wasn't going to happen, I'd have to build my skill and discipline from the bottom up once again.

What better way than with some tiny Aceo's!..

Oil on LinenBoard
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 Inches

*Since this post I've created two more little Aceos with the same theme to create a triptych series!
Check them out as well as wip pics at 'Glass Reflections'!

Loved the light reflections that this wine glass created on my olive green wall and decided to design the composition so as to have an almost abstract feel to it. 

I wanted to extend my experimentation with minimal palette's, ala Zorn (example 'Tea Mug' below) so only 5 hues were used (including white): Cad Yellow Light, Yellow Ocher, Burnt Sienna & Sap Green. As I was painting it alla prima, I found the combination of sap green and burnt sienna too transparent to get the darks needed without applying the paint really thickly (you may notice this in the more textural quality of the darks in the glass), so I may change my pallet slightly in the next aceo that I'll be painting of this same subject matter...

A fan brush was lightly brushed over it's surface at the end
to tame some of the glare from the textured surface of thick paint. 

Because of my unfortunate choice of colour and starting the piece off with a little too much medium, I spent the majority of my time fighting with unwieldy paint that just wouldn't stay where I wished it to. Ahh.. the fun of relearning old forgotten lessons in a few extra exasperating hours. 

Though taking twice as long than the hour I'd planned, the completion of my previous piece (below), went a little more expeditiously than the 8 hours spent on the 'Glass Reflections' above.

Oil on LinenBoard
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 Inches

Using a limited palette of Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ocher, Ultramarine Blue & White, I attempted to recreate the stained look of my overused and rarely washed favourite tea mug (I only drink black tea or coffee (sans sugar too) so I don't really see this as a problem ''said the hermit in defence'')

Ok that's it for now, hopefully my speed & skill will improve with these tiny oils, though I am practicing with other mediums as well (I get antsy using the same media or creating anything too similar again and again). Will be back soon with a few of my latest practice gestures!.. 

Thanks for the visit!....