Thank you, Maria. I'm glad that you like the "inside view". But, I should tell you - being Irish, I have a long-winded story for everything. This is not always as charming as I sometimes think it is
Jimmie - very nice to hear the kind words. Well, I should be honest in telling you that it sometimes takes a
few tough paintings for me to finally learn what not to do. I'm a little thick like that.
Garth - It's very gratifying that my work might give you pause to enjoy. My only hope is that I can deliver that consistently.
I see now that the closeup posted. There's some "fingerpainting" in here that can be seen. I dry scumble lighter (and fairly saturated) values over the top and use my fingers to smooth and push the paint into the linen texture. Because of this "burnishing", it gives the light tones a porcelain-like effect. I don't know who else does this, but I was influenced by the texture of Brett Bigbee's work. I couldn't figure out how he got that high sheen, so I experimented.