Art journal and canvases.

Last Saturday we still sat outside for a drink with shorts and only a thin long sleeved on. Today was the first day that I had to put on long legged trousers and a thick sweater... Just in one week, the temperature dropped. It's officially autumn now!

I've been painting and planning in the studio. Here are some of my efforts:

First: a small canvas where I am trying out the swan idea with oil on canvas. This is the first blocking in of oil colours over an acrylic underpainting. Next layer will be less blue and more grey - brownish. If I like it, I will try it on a bigger canvas next.

Then I have been trying out some landscape ideas on small canvases. I started with acrylic an acrylic underpainting. Idea from my small watercolour sketches.

Step two, one more layer of acrylic colours.

Step three, the first layer of oil colours. When this layer has dried, it will get the final layer and then it is done. I am not sure I like the oil painting on this, I think I preferred the acrylic underpainting. Well, you never know if you do not try and experiment. Next painting will be finished with only acrylic colours I think. Just so that I can compare them side by side.

I have been playing around in my big art journal for more landscapes compositions. 

The paintings in my art journal are more abstract. I like that. The only thing I have noticed though is that it is very hard to get a nice texture going on such a small scale. If I want to try out this more abstract way of approaching landscapes on canvas, I need to do it bigger.

All these are done with acrylic on a gessoed page.

Last I have a bird project. I decided that I wanted to paint the eider from my smaller art journal on a big (or not so big, but bigger than usual for me lately, 50x50cm) canvas. It is square, so I did a few thumbnails sketches to try out different compositions.

The first 2 compositions. I like the one to the left.

Next spread, and again I like the one to the left. The one to the right is not bad, but would be better on a landscape format canvas. That is why I changed the thumbnail and there are two outlines. I asked online on Instagram and Facebook which one of these four you would prefer, and nr 3, so the one to the left here got absolutely the most votes. Since I myself really could not decide between this one and the one from the previous spread I that I liked, I went with the popular one. 

And here is the first blocking in with oil colours on canvas. 50x50 cm. Now I have a few days time to decide how much water versus land I want while this layer dries. So, to be continued!