The UGA Ecolodge in San Luis, CR is so deep in the cloud forrest, I could not have my oils shipped. I was afraid to check them in my luggage in case they were confiscated or lost. I also found that I was going to have to walk about 3 hours (total trip) to get any type of mineral spirits.
I elected to use water miscible oils. I had been using them with my high school students and they seemed great and I could find water anywhere. We had been using Windsor and Newton water based oils, but I found them to be thick, so I bought Royal Talens version (the makers of Rembrandt) called Cobra. They were ok, but I would recommend the W & N version, they have been at it for longer. The tubes were thin and 3 of them were punctured before I even got packed, I replaced them with small tubes of W & N and they were much better consistency than the larger tubes.
It took a few paintings to get used to what I could and could not do with the paint, but after the learning curve, I really enjoyed them. Things I learned: don't use natural bristles, they fluff up in water, I used Rosemary and Co Ivory brushes, which are half synthetic and half natural. I also did not enjoy trying to put a ground or wash down, it just got sticky instead of drying of making the next layer of paint slippery.
These paintings are worse for the wear... sand, dirt, bugs and some bad places that happened while packing them across Costa Rica and in the airplane.
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| San Luis Valley, 10x12 in, ©David Boyd Jr |
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| Across the Valley, 6x10 in, ©David Boyd, Jr. |
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| Carillo Beach, 6x10 in, ©David Boyd, Jr. |
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| Samara Beach, 6x10 in, ©David Boyd, Jr |
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| Canopy Study, 6x8 in, ©David Boyd, Jr |
These look beautiful to me, I love the softness of your brushstrokes. The water mixable oils were tough for me - never did master them. It looks like you had success.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Love your use of colors and texture.
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