Parque Estadual do Rio Vermelho, slender trees

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 Parque Estadual do Rio Vermelho, slender trees, 27.5 x 30 cm- unavailable

 

 Parque Estadual do Rio Vermelho, slender trees- detail

 

 

 

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Santinho, view, mid-September

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Santinho, view, mid-September, oil on card, 29.5 x 27.5 cm available

 

Santinho, view, mid-September- detail

 

 

Today I used Prussian Blue, and no other blue.  

 

I will give Santinho a break for a few days and come back to it as it's becoming overfamiliar.

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Santinho, September, almost raining

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Santinho, September, almost raining, oil on card, 29.5 x 27.7 - unavailable

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santinho, September, almost raining- detail

This is the second of my painting trips here- it is not really so far, but it's often windy, and sand and paint make an unhappy combination so I hesitate before coming.

 But it's a striking location giving an extraordinary view of two bays from a variety of heights formed by dunes and strange hillocks- the effect is rather cubistic.

 Ergo, more visits.

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Liquin impasto

I've been using this with most works lately, sometimes balancing it with linseed oil; I like the oatmeal effect it has. 

It is made by Winsor and Newton and comes in a tube, having the consistency (more or less) of toothpaste. It speeds drying times quite dramatically, making transportation of paintings easier.

I usually mix it into white, as I use white with most of the paints, and thus some Liquin will be present in almost the entire painting.

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A drive further south 3: Ferrugen

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 Ferrugen

 

 

 

Ferrugen: sea view, oil on card, 27.5 x 30 cm - available

 

 

Ferrugen: sea view- detail

 

 

Ferrugen out of season is utterly enchanting, with river, lake, beaches and woods intermingling: I could happily spend a month here painting.

 But in summer it must become completely over-run by tourists (often surfers) and rather exhausting.

 

 

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Sambaqui, sea, August

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Sambaqui, sea, August, oil on card, 30 x 27.7 cm- available

 

 

Sambaqui, sea, August, oil on card- detail

 

 

 

 

 

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A drive further south 2: Gravatai; scale; priming

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Gravatai

 

Gravatai is a satellite town serving Porto Alegre, and not especially charming. It's untidy  and seems almost  completely over-run by the needs of cars. I sensed that it was quite polluted. There are few buildings of architectural interest, and it would be hard to find anything distinctive about it.

There was a cyclone here which shut down electricty and water in the neighborhood where I was staying for several days.

 

 

 

 

Gravatai, from a roof terrace, oil on card, 28 x 25.7 cm unavailable

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Gravatai, view up a little street, oil on card, 23.5 x 29 cm unavailable

 

 

Gravatai, view up a little street -  detail

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Where I stayed are runs of smallish suburban houses- in Brazil these are rather individualistic. Their excentric shapes make them difficult to paint.

 

Gravatai, a house, oil on card,34.5 x  27.5 cm-  -unavailable

 

 

 

 

Gravatai, a house- detail

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A bit bigger

 

  I think I'm now at the largest size (34 x 27 cm) that is comfortable for a number of reasons- the length of time I like to work in a session (up to two hours) - the issue of carrying wet paintings. 

With the former, I am limited by both my energy and the likelihood that the scene changes. 

With the latter, the issue is that the boards are not stiff enough not to bend a little and touch the sides of whatever they are being carried inside.

 

 

Acrylic priming

 

The texture of the acrylic primed surface was very dry, which makes it hard to manipulate the paint.

So, I will add another oil based priming to move the brush with speed leaving paint on the surface.

These experiments take a few months to be realised because of the time it takes for primers to dray and the time needed for the oil painted surfaces to dry.

 

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A drive further south 1: Torres

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My trip 

I drove south but I didn't stop in Imbituba on the way back up as originally planned. I drove to Gravatai via Torres and stopped on the way back in Ferrugen.

 The trip was a delight. I had the chance to work on a larger format and discover some new places.

Torres

 

 

 

Torres, sea through rocks, oil on card 29.5 x 27.5 cm -  discaded

 

 

 

 

 

Torres, sea through rocks - detail

 

Torres is a small, orderly and beautifully situated town with some wonderful rocks and splendid, if windy, beaches

On the first day the weather was rather wonderful. The second was overcast.

 

 

 Torres, sea and clouds, oil on card, 28 x 26 cm - available

 

 

 

 

 

 

Torres, sea and clouds- detail

 

 

 

 

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Praia da Lagoinha; Prussian Blue

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Praia da Lagoinha, oil on card, 26 x 28 cm  available

 

 

 

 

 

Prussian blue is a nce deep green-blue. But it is very strong and tends to overpower. Because of this, I'd jetissonied it from my regular palette. But it it mixes well with brown to Vandyke Brown to give an excellend dark shadow colour, so I'm going to use it again every now and then.

 

 Cezanne used it a lot and I feel it is sometimes too strong a presence in his pictures, forcing the mood. It isn't as noxious as Phthalo Blue but it can really stain everything if you aren't careful.

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A little drive south: Urussanga

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 Urussanga

 

 

 

Urussanga, Rua Pref. Lucas Bez Batti - availabble

 oil on card, 24 x 28.3 cm

 

 
 

 

Urussanga, Rua Pref. Lucas Bez Batti- detail

 

 

 

Urussanga, Avenue, Praça Anita Garibaldi

 oil on card, 22 x 24.3 cm - unavailable

 

Urussanga, Avenue, Praça Anita Garibaldi- detail

 

Urussanga is one of those well-maintained interior towns that you don't hear much about. It's got some lovely old (for Brazil) architecture and feels very safe. It's friendly.

The day became overcast. I like empty urban spaces and I like a certain dream-style city art- as in Sironi and the city paintings of Whistler. 

Hence:

 

Urussanga, R. Pref. Jacinto de Brida, oil on card, 29.7 x 27.5 cm - unavailable

 

 

 

 

Urussanga, R. Pref. Jacinto de Brida- detail

 

 

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Getting out of Florianopolis was very good for me, and I'll try to do some other road trips in the next months -  it's so costly at the moment to fly anywhere that this is the best way to give me the change of scene that I need for inspiration.

 

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A little drive south: Laguna; attempting to work much more quickly

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Laguna 

 

 

 

Sun, Laguna, oil on card, 20.7 x 24 cm - unavailable

 

 

 

 

Laguna, July 2022, oil on card, 28 x 25.5 cm SOLD

 

 

Laguna, July 2022 - detail

 

 

Laguna was beautiful, empty of tourists and full of silent charm. The way the town perches between lake and sea and hills is wonderful.

I will certainly return.

 

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Attempting to work much more quickly

 

My logic is this: that the paintings are "worked out" within the first fifteen minurtes, after which there is a period essentially of filling in which takes up to thirty minutes. 

From experience, I can say that almost nothing I do after these forty-five minutes will make much difference- except perhaps to weary the picture by overworking it. That means the colours becoming increasingly grey or brown or just dirty, and brushstrokes losing their sharpness as marks are "corrected".

 In addition, the longer I work the greater the possibility that the scene will change, usually because of the sun moving.

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Sambaqui, bay

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Sambaqui, bay, oil on card, 30 x 27 cm - unavailable

 

 

The sun came and went making it hard to settle on an approach.

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Lagoinha do Norte, morning, July

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Lagoinha do Norte, morning, July, oil on card, 30 x 28 cm  available

 

Lagoinha do Norte, morning, July - detail

 

 

 

 

 

The paintings are growing steadily larger and this means that colour effects- whether harmonious or otherwise- become more obvious. It makes me think my colour is very brash. But perhaps I am simply over-sensitive? At what point does bright become brash?

I love the freedom of movement that a larger format gives, especially with scumbling and other brush marks.

 

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 This camera, a Lumix DMC-1X7 is not good at registering certain contrasting colours. There's a peach colour in the picture that is not effectively shown here.

 

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Aberdeen, sea, May, 2022, oil on paper, 25 x 30 cm: framed

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Aberdeen, sea, May, 2022, oil on paper, 25 x 30 cm, framed, SOLD

 

 

 

This painting has been very nicely framed in white. 

 

Many thanks to Jill for the photo.

 

 

 

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Santo Antônio de Lisboa, sea, June 2022

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Santo Antônio de Lisboa, sea, June 2022, oil on card, 26 x 27.7 cm - available

Very like Cezanne here.

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Praia Moçambique; Manganese blue and Viridian; advantages of larger scale

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Praia Moçambique, paths, oil on card, 29.7 x 27.5 cm - available

 

Praia Moçambique, paths- detail

Today I started using a tube of Manganese blue, a warm blue, i.e., slightly greenish. I see this colour has been discontinued for heath reasons and is now Manganese Blue hue. I also used Viridian, a dark, bluish green. Both are quite lovely, and slightly outside my comfort zone.

They are easier to mix than I had imagined, not bullying the other colours or staining the palette as, say, Phthalo Blue so notoriously does.

I have about another ten new colours to try, all from Winsor and Newton's artists range and I shall work through these over the next few weeks,

A big advantage of working on a larger scale is that one can experiment more with colour, including by cross-harching or scumbling for a vibrant effect, and one can vary the textures used more too. I shall grow larger in the next six months or so.

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Sambaqui

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Sambaqui, cloudy day, oil on card, 28 x 26 cm unavailable

 

Sambaqui, cloudy day- detail

 

 

Today I used Cobalt Green, a lovely dark coppery colour by Winsor and Newon; I mixed it with Kings Blue- a Harding colour. 

 The painting has a very conventional composition.

 

 

 

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Santinho, fields, sea

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Santinho, fields, sea, oil on card, 29.5 x 26.5 cm - available

 

 

Santinho, fields, sea - detail

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Sambaqui, June 6, 2022, morning

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 Sambaqui, June 6, 2022, morning, oil on card, 23.7 x 28 cm - available

 

Sambaqui, June 6, 2022, morning- detail

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Sambaqui, June 4, 2022

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Sambaqui, June 4, 2022, oil on card, 28 x 25.7 cm - available

 

 

Sambaqui, June 4, 2022- detail

 

 

 

 

 I'm using a new colour - Winsor and Newton's Cobalt Turquoise light- it mixes very happily, not bullying other colours in the mix. 

 

Seascapes are ideal for patiently trying new colours- you don't have too worry too much about drawing, or creatng forms.

 

 

 

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Aberdeen, sea, May, 2022

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Aberdeen, sea, May, 2022, oil on paper, 25 x 30 cm  SOLD

I`ve been trying out pre-primed card for painting. I am not sure I like it much, the texture, which imitates canvas doesnt allow me to draw so speedily across the surface.

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This picture has sold and the proceeds will go to help Ukraine

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