Advancing with iron-willed determination with the remaining few square meters of red glaze...already anticipating the rush of 'purple glaze'...
There. That should just about do the trick for the application of the translucent red glaze. Time to crack open my ( probably ) most favorite glaze...purple! Or, more accurately, dioxazine violet if you want to be exact.
Can you spot the encroachment of violet?
Everything really pops with the addition of a translucent violet glaze. Suddenly the shadows start to make themselves known and the earthiness of these first three glazes with all of their infinite intermingling becomes apparent.
You can see the steam engine grows bolder and more powerful looking with the addition of violet. Maybe I am getting just a bit ahead of myself but I thought I would have a little fun with some steely blues to create the beginning of an impression of reflective iron on the front of this huge machine. Rules? What rules? It still has to be fun!
The composition of the first several objects starts taking shape with the gradient blue bits adding incredible depth and perspective.
There's something about atmospheric blue that intrinsically suggests depth and atmosphere. I think our brains via our eyes are hard-wired to accept this color as meaning "far far away", especially when it is a graduated tone from quite light on the bottom to rich as it ascends into space.
The cluster of figures just to the right of the train begin to dramatically come into their own once the violet glaze is applied. This glaze interacting with the previous red and orange glazes set on a base of golden flesh color begins to set up a dynamic surface tension that starts to convince the eye that the various shadows, highlights and contrasting shapes are surprisingly life-like.
Progressing to the right with the violet glaze forces the images to stand out in vivid contrast to their so-called 'negative space'.
I usually start my day with a certain goal in mind. This picture was taken yesterday...the goal was to to tease out the horse and buggy from the background and also to tidy up a variety of smaller details. Mission accomplished!
You can see the steady advancement of the violet glaze popping features out of the golden-flesh field.
One final parting shot from up on the sixteen foot step ladder...we have been here before! I think one more day will suffice to finish the purple glaze. Then it's on to...pthalo blue. Just wait, you will see the shadows and contrast pretty much leap off the page with the blue. But you already know that if you have been following.
One added pleasure for me while working away on the mural is when visitors pop in to check out my progress and (in general) cheer me on...as this is truly a marathon of painting. I try not to think too much about the formidable scale of this piece and just stick to the program...paint, paint, paint. Rest, drink, snack, paint, paint, paint.
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