don't rush to detail

When I teach, I encourage my students to make thumbnails but I usually forget to make them for myself. My workshop with Lorenzo Chavez last week was a thumbnail reminder to block in composition shapes with several values. Before going back to my 24 x 24 inch oil in progress, I revisited the composition and values as shown above in my sketchbook.

Back at the easel, I mixed a thin oil wash of Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Blue and brushed it over all but the lightest areas in my painting. Note the mixture is warmer (more red than blue) in the right front and cooler (more blue than red) as the scene moves into the background.

I have a tendency to rush toward the detail in a painting before I should. This painting is better already. Thank you, Lorenzo, for making me paint right over my precious details while at the workshop.