Alla Prima

ALLA PRIMA (1823): Italion, at once; a method of painting in which pigments are laid on in a single application instead of being built up by repeated paintings (Merriam-Webster).

Over the past few years I've been challenging myself to work in new ways and to focus on subject matter that I'm not as comfortable with...and in the past week I've been playing with both alla prima and landscape.  Many trials on paper have ended up in the trash but this morning I thought it was time to push myself and finally try a canvas.  The sketches I've been creating on the road have been invaluable and I've chosen to continue using acrylic paint as it's definitely a favorite.  This piece is still wet so it will be interesting to see how the colours change as it dries.  Then I'll have to decide if I want to varnish with a gloss, semi or matt glaze.

Whenever I work in landscape I like to coat the substrate with red oxide so that there are no white bits glaring through at the end.  Plus, the rich ochre tone really compliments the greens of the landscape.  In order to prepare myself to 'jump in' I have been working on small thumbnail sketches just to clarify the composition in advance, but I'm allowing myself to trust my intuition with colour selection and mark-making as I work.  I have several canvases ready to go, so wish me luck.  I'll share more next week.