Lemons Lay-in

This is a lay-in for "Lemons" oil on linen, 9"x12", done over an umber rub-in on a toned canvas. As I stated in a previous post, I've been getting away from using thinned down washes in my underpaintings and using a frottis, rub-in, method instead. I just don't like the milky look of the wash-in and it doesn't motivate me for the overpainting. So after the rub-in I'm painting fairly directly, with large brushes and not too much paint to establish a good foundation for my next finishing pass. I'm really growing to love working with daylight setups and I'm going to have a hard time giving it up come September. I have my arrangement next to a north facing window and the same light shines on my easel. It's a little hard to see at first and it takes some getting used to, but what I've learned to do is to turn on my studio lights at the end of each session and to spend some time adjusting some of the things that look a little awkward with the lights on. It's a little bit like memory painting and it's giving the paintings a character that I didn't anticipate.