I've been working on small canvases lately, composing them mostly with a palette knife, experimenting freely. In this new painting, I began by applying titanium white, parcment, and unbleached titanium over the whole canvas, blending them as I worked.
Next I made some broad swaths of cadmium yellow light, cadmium red medium, and Prussian blue, keeping the paint on the surface as much as possible. I wanted the pure color to be there rather than blending it with the paler shades beneath. I was working while all the paint was still wet, so the application has to be done carefully.
After cleaning the palette knife thoroughly, I used the edge of it to scrape blocks of color off the canvas--revealing the colors underneath and creating blends. Then I decided more white was needed, so I added some back in. As I worked, I stood back periodically to see how it was coming along.
Tomorrow after the paint dries, I'll decide what to do next.
