Reflections (2)

Didn't get a lot of painting done this last week. The exhibition season is starting and I've been busy organizing transport of my work to different galleries. 

Anyway, in my last blog I promised to tell you a bit about painting reflections in moving water. In the nineties I did a series of water colors with no horizon, only water. Very frustrating on the one hand (it just won't sit still) but quite instructive on the other. I wasn't interested in the results, but in obtaining a more or less intuitive feel of the patterns.Funny thing: back then I signed my work in the middle of the picture...





In my oils reflections play a prominent role. For example in this painting of a windy sunset on one of the Dutch islands. I made it a couple of years ago. It's a rather small panel, 50 x 50 cm. The title is 'High Tide'.
 
The bottom layer is painted wet on wet, with an indication of the reflections, painted in subdued colors. If you make em to light, you'll have a hard time applying the lighter details later on. Don't waste your color range, slowly build it up. Find out more, if you want, in my Painting Clouds video.

 The wet on wet layer is done with hog hair brushes and then smoothened with badger hair brushes. You need the smooth surface to contrast with the impasto of the details that will be painted on top if this layer. 

In the picture at the bottom you can see how the actual movement is caused by a pattern of brushstrokes. Doing these details is the fun part of a painting like this. When you look at the surface up close it's an almost abstract painting.The dots are not placed randomly though, they follow the pattern of the waves.

For more details of this painting, please go to my website, click 'portfolio', then 'archive'. It's listed as nr 7, 2009. 

Please, add your comments or questions. I will answer them as soon as possible!