Autumn Aspens

Autumn Aspens
Oil over acrylic on canvas, 18x24

I seldom paint on canvas.  The the way the woven texture grabs the paint is so different than wood.  The canvas soaks up the paint far more than a birch panel does, even when primed.  I love the way I can push the paint around a wood panel.  I had started this one on canvas, so today I return to working on canvas.  I had the underpainting done in acrylic, leaving me free to apply the oils at will - making changes as the painting progressed.  Any reference or sketch is only a template for the painting, a jumping off point.  As the painting grows, it often takes on a life of it's own - leading me to where it wants to go.  The hue and key of this painting is far different than where it began, softer and more peaceful than it's underpainting.  Oils are king for this kind of change, the transparency of acrylics make it very hard to come back from bold.  I have been working rather large the last few days, and I just got some beautiful new larger frames.  There is nothing more motivating than gorgeous frames awaiting their paintings!  This one makes 86 paintings in 86 days.