The power of sublety

I am impatiently awaiting the arrival of my new oil paints! There's a blank canvas staring at me around the corner of my computer screen. I just have to use the proper techniques and procedures, as best I know, for my reef paintings.

I am on an orange binge with my little abstracts. With lots of textural brushstrokes, unlike the smoothe coral paintings. I have found that if I click "Quick fix" in the Jasc photo shop, the images appear brighter and more true to life than the photo I've taken, although sometimes, or often, I prefer my original. This gizmo-technique really shows; some of the images in the gallery really need it, they reproduce dull, on the Daily Painters page, http://www.dailypainters.com/index.php.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Sad Eye of the Storm" 8X10 inches oil on canvas ~~~~~~~~~~~~
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So what I did here was one of my little, 8X10 inch abstracts. I put straight on the canvas on one side, three globs of Cadmium Lemon, straight from the tube. On the other side, I put Cadmium Red, again, straight from the tube. Then I shut up the little yakking voice in my head, sometimes called Ego, and quietly observed what my paintbrush did. Swish, swirl.

OK, stop! But it didn't look finished. I set it aside, where I could watch it. I don't feel like I'm looking, I'm watching.

Two days later, it seemed to need circles, or something. Cadmium Orange, squish from the tube onto the painting, and the round pure color made itself into the roundish 'spot'. OK, stop. The name then came to mind.

In dim light, I'm seeing a couple of faces in the brushstrokes, but owell.

I was a bit surprised at how different the orange looks. Then I couldn't decide which way is up, another little painting with four hangars on back! The big surprise came later, after I'd taken the little beast on the porch to photograph it in indirect sunlight. Four images, turning the canvas each time, to see which view showed the prominent brushstrokes to my liking.

Once on my computer, just for fun, I clicked Quick Fix. WOW! see below, same orange painting, two different lightings, two interpretations by a computer program.
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I've never had this happen before. Usually a painting's image just brightens some. But this!! And two different images, depending on the reflections of light off the brushstrokes. But these aren't paintings! Only the orange one exists on canvas.

Now I'm waxing philosophical about 'subtlety'. Does being subtle create more, a great deal more, impact to our minds/brains?

Hmm, I'm going to try this with pure Cadmium Orange, do a realistic portrait using only brush strokes. But I then only one color wouldn't make these differences. Hmmm, How about the pure orange, and a blueish red, and a greenish yellow? Hmmm, how about Windsor Blue, green shade, with Windsor Blue, red shade, with Pthalo blue?

note: Please tell me if I should separate this stuff onto another blog, and keep this blog true to its' name! I think I will, but not today!

Until later, Cheers!

Melissa