Glazing on Strawberry Started

"Strawberry on a Plate" 9 x 9" oil on board

This color glazing is going much better than the cup and grapes from Monday. Things I have learned so far:


1. Some Flemish painting techniques start with an umber value study and the second layer is the "dead layer" which is the greyscale underpainting. Then go to color glazing. Check out Dennis Whalen. I skipped the umber underpainting although I can imagine it would warm things up a bit.


2. Don't put in the highlights when doing the underpainting.....it usually leaves ridges that can't be corrected without scraping the canvas/board. Only add the highlights towards the end.


3. Be careful of hard edges that you create in the underpainting.


4. A mop brush is a big help for gradations and smoothing the paint without actually pushing it around.


There may be more learnings as I go....but for the first two oil paintings done with this approach I'm happy with the direction. I just need to get familiar with my palette, mixing colors and using the medium.... in my case walnut oil.