PAINTING PROCESS STAGE 1
From the outset I wanted to free my mind of any specific ideas about the place or location for this series and allow my instincts and inner feelings to guide the process. I found this approach liberating. On my glass palette I prepared the three colours, sometimes making my own paint, in particular the cobalt and cerulean blues that were all handmade in the studio. The cobalt blues were mixed with ground poppy oil and the cerulean blues with sun-bleached linseed oil. I applied the paint to the top of the panel directly from the tube or using a palette knife working from left to right from the lightest tone to the darkest tone. After applying a small amount of paint I poured the Co-co Bello diluent onto the panel and allowed the paint to react with the solution, encouraging it to run by tilting the panel in my hand.
The great thing about using smaller supports is you can control the direction of the viscous paint. As the paint colours mixed together, I started to apply more diluent to the surface, directing the paint from the top of the panel to the bottom. I used the complementary colour schemes for the sky area although you may wish to work with harmonious colours to start with. In addition to the three colours I included lead white hue (from Wallace Seymour which has good reducing power when mixed with other colours, is not over bright and dried fast) and spinel black to extend the tonal range. Spinel black is an artificial pigment with a deep blue-black shade, which also dries fast.
Using my fingers, I started to blend the colours from left to right to create suggestions of cloud formations, working with sensitivity and making sure that the full tonal range was achieved. In certain areas I removed excess pigment with a tissue and rubbed the surface to reveal the gesso ground, creating a sense of light and space. The focus at this stage was on the top two-thirds of the painting and I tried to prevent the pigment and solution from running off the panel. Co-co Bello diluent is more expensive than traditional solvents such as turps or white spirit because it is plant based and toxic free. With that in mind I would recommend using a syringe or pipette to extract the paint from the bottle. I also transferred some of the diluent to an atomiser and sprayed the solution directly onto the surface, which was really effective.
PAINTING PROCESS STAGE 2
Once I felt that the sky area achieved a sense of light and air, I began to focus my attention on the bottom section of the pai
