Finished Painting

These are the final images of the colour painting. I think that I am now happy with it, I have wiped a lot of the paint away using a rag and turps and added some textured brush strokes I think that this makes the painting appear less flat and it now has some depth to it.


This is a close up showing where have wiped away some paint and added texture







Mark Rothko
White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)
1950, oil on canvas




Red, Orange, Tan, and Purple, 1949
Oil on canvas 84 1/2 x 68 1/2 inches (214.5 x 174 cm)

These are some examples of Mark Rothko's work. I really like the brush stroke effect in his work, it appears thin yet textured, I tried to create this effect within my painting.

Richard Diebenkorn

Richard Diebenkorn
Untitled, 1949
oil on canvas
48 x 41 in.

I like how ramdom this painting looks and the way the texture of the paint looks.

James Elkins: A Short Course in Forgetting Chemistry

When Elkin says that 'painting is alchemy' he is saying that no knowledge is needed about the materials and how to use them, that a painter will know naturally just how to use them. I don't believe that this is truly correct I think that there has to be some teaching otherwise how would anyone know how to use any materials. My understanding is that each painter becomes a master to their own style and so the skill and perfection needed to blend or mix a certain colour can only be mixed by the painter themselves as it is their touch and what they see that makes a certain colour the right colour that they need to use. It comes back to the question of 'when is a painting finished' it is only the painter who knows the answer to this question and so it is only the painter who has the natural ability to create a piece of work to the way they want it and to the quality that they want to achieve.