Sometimes...

...I paint the first layer so well I want to cut corners and leave it be. But in this case, the results were so far from what I had in my mind, it will be a pleasure to paint the second layer! 

The First Layer Is Complete...

...and from this distance, it is looking pretty good! But that is the just the appeasing orange and blues, so after a while of contemplating where I want it to go, I will sand it smooth and and start on the detail in the second layer. 

The Opposite Approach...

...of how I painted the little square is the method I am using on my current large painting. Instead of working out the structure by painting every individual blade of grass, I deliberately blurred my reference photo to isolate the clumps of grass and water. By limiting the amount of information I have to work with I limit my OCD, and by my painfully slow standards am cruising through this first layer, yet still am able to define the positive and negative spaces for the next layer of paint.

The Second Of...

...the four square commission paintings is an inlet off the Chesapeake Bay draped in fog. This progression photo shows the foreground being painted. Over two paintings sessions (about 8 hours each) I worked with little brushes, painting in the negative (dark) space. Then with a razor blade I'd scrape away where the bigger/lighter blades of grass are, then paint them in. I've been trying to get away from being so specific in the first layer of my paintings, but on a small painting like this, I can afford to spend two days getting the complicated structures right so I can make it more lifelike on the next layer. 

The First Of...

...a commission of four 6x6" paintings, this view from Inis Mor of the Aran Islands in Ireland looks out to the North Atlantic Ocean. I love the upwelling of ice blue water in the wave. It makes me long for clear water...