I sometimes hesitate to do a second painting using the same technique as a previous one because I fear that what was spontaneous the first time will become forced and dull the second time. The trick, of course, is to stay loose while you work--not to force the painting if it seems to be going in a different direction.
All of this takes experience, and that's why my advice to any beginner who is frustrated is to just keep painting, trying things, seeing what works, and not to worry about making messes and throwing work away.
I began with titanium white again on this painting, filling in the top section as well as making some sweeps with the palette knife from top to bottom. Next I applied cadmium yellow, continuing to apply all the paint with a pallete knife. After that I used cobalt green and then pthalo blue, giving the painting a sense of weight by placing the darker colors toward the bottom of the canvas.
Next, I cleaned off my palette knife and used the edge of it to "erase" sections of the paint, wiping the paint off as I worked. This scraping did not remove all the paint, but the top layer. It also blended the colors beneath it.
As I worked, I kept stopping to see where I should scrape again, trying to find an overall sense of design and interest.
