The Artist_s Magazine 2016-03__

54 http://www.artistsmagazine.com

I

AM A FAST PAINTER; I don’t paint with a

slow build-up over many painting sessions.

So am I or am I not an alla prima painter?

h at’s a good question! When working on

large studio oils, I can start painting at 10 a.m.

and by 4 or 5 p.m., many of the paintings are

i nished, but some are not.

At times I like to get a bit more, if I can,

from my alla prima paintings without chang-

ing the theme of the painting or losing any

of the vitality and energy from the initial

session. If there is anything to modify by

glazing or subtly pushing or pulling parts of

the painting here and there to obtain more

atmosphere, I don’t want to have to wait until

the surface dries.

What follows here is a system for keep-

ing the verve of the alla prima impulse while

adjusting to the practicalities and limitations

imposed by time. Important to my method is

giving the painting I’ve started a thin coat of

Winsor & Newton Liquin in order to rewet

the dried surface and bring all the colors back

to the same gloss level. h is allows me to pro-

ceed thoughtfully (rather that rashly) until I

can get a bit more resolution and feel happier

about my alla prima painting. So, if I’ve modi-

i ed what I’ve painted after a i rst, fast session,

am I still an alla prima painter? You decide.

(See Every Stage Is Beautiful, below.)

In Praise of Plein Air

Many landscape painters extol the virtues of

working en plein air. I strongly believe that

if you’re going to paint trees, you should do

what you can on location, but I often create

large studio paintings. h ere’s nothing like

studying and drawing trees in their actual

BELOW: Every

Stage Is Beautiful

(oil on linen, 18x24),

an alla prima paint-

ing, is an extreme

example of my

letting the transpar-

ent underpainting

remain visible. If I’d

thought I could have

added anything

to this painting to

enhance the sub-

ject—the decaying

tree—I’d have done

so. Viewers might

consider the work

beautiful as is—or

simply unfi nished.