Some Progress Part 2

This first painting is a little one (10x10cm) that I brought with me to New York, as I wanted something to compare my progress with it. The second painting, same size, same canvas, was my first completed painting here. I hope you all agree that progress has been made, although basing this on two paintings only is probably a bit daft, as of course things are never quite that straight. Not for me, anyway - I find I can do something that I really like, then forget how I did it, and go back to struggling for a while.

Anyway, to me the difference is the use of medium - a mix of stand oil, liquin, galkyd and turpenoid - which my workshop introduced me to. Until now I was using turpentine if painting at home for the first pass, but after that using straight paint. In Life Class it would be straight paint all the way, as it is not fair to inflict turps on other folks. But using the medium allows me to really think out the composition both in tone and colour right from the start and gives me plenty of opportunity to change things around. It also enables thinner layers and glazes, whcih really expands on the possibilities - great stuff!

Turpenoid doesn't seem very available in the UK, though, so I may have to experiment a bit to find an alternative - the manufacturer says it is citrus based, so maybe Zest-It would be the one to choose. Or turps, back in the house, as previously.