The Two Hardest Parts

It’s starting to feel like a painting.

As I prepared myself for this project, the two parts that concerned me most from a technical standpoint were the background and the folded cloth.  I began with them, since there will be multiple steps with drying time in between.

I want to give the background a deep transparent effect.  The first step was a thin layer of rich brown (Raw Umber and Venetian Red), which is itself somewhat transparent and shows some of the yellow tone of the panel behind it.  After it dries for a few days, I’m going to apply glazes (very thin washes of paint) of blue, probably Ultramarine Blue.  Done right, this will give a subtle and atmospheric background – much livelier than a flat layer of dark paint.

The folded cloth is the biggest challenge of the painting.  The collectors have requested that I include a particular cloth, but only a 16×16 inch sample was available.  So, I had to establish the folds with a different piece of fabric and paint it to the right color.  Once that has dried for a few days, I’ll be painting an intricate pattern on the folds.

I still have my work cut out for me, but I always feel good when I can tackle some of the hardest parts of a painting first.