The more I work on this project, the more frustrating it gets! Jane's feedback for the earlier posts (the first 3 for Lesson 2) said I should try for more contrast between the sky and foreground colors. I find this very difficult to do, especially on the larger pieces, because of needing to go back and forth between the 2 colors and dealing with a dry palette, having to recreate the color, and then it goes on with difficulty because the paint underneath isn't completely dry nor is it fluid enough to take the new coat of paint. I need to let the piece totally dry in between, which, of course, makes it impossible to wipe off paint to achieve the desired contract in the right places. So it's a balancing act for which I am unbalanced!
The piece directly below (5 x 6) does not have the contrasting sky and foreground, but I like the softness of it, and I like the horizon even though the top pieces are even.
The yellow piece was a nightmare because of the paint problems described above. It is a larger piece at 7.5 x 9.5, and there is more contrast in real life--the sky is blue-green and the foreground is grayish-yellow. The entire piece is "enhanced" with quinacridone nickel azo gold, there were no pre-background text layers, and I added the music scraps afterwards for more interest.
The last piece (also 5 x 6) was another difficult one because of the paint problems. I had mixed phthalo blue, burnt umber, and raw sienna with a tad of white for the bottom, and I used a "sea glass" craft paint mixed also with a tad of white for the top. The painting of the collage was difficult because of the open spaces and the transition of the sky and ground colors between the open gaps. The paint kept drying up regardless of adding glaze medium and then the brush would stick when I tried reapplying to a less-than-dry, less-than-wet base. Really frustrating. I finally then added a little interest with a dry brush of my phthalo blue mixture, a few more strips of collage, and then I called it a day.
