Night View of Mill and River (Oil Bar Painting Day 2)

Night View of Mill and River (Oil Bar Painting Day 2) Originally uploaded by randubnick

Tonight we had open studios at Red Brick, so I spent a few hours there, and while I was there, worked on this painting of the Merrimac River and mill buildings in Manchester, New Hampshire. I forgot to bring my reference photo to the studio, so I worked from memory again. My goal tonight was just to make the colors more muted. I was really struggling with the oil bars, trying to remember how to get the effects I wanted, and just basically trying to get the oil bars to behave! I have two different brands, and one is much easier to apply than the other. I used the oil bars directly on the canvas, but also used a palette knife, a brush, and even my hands. At the end of my painting session, I added a suggestion of the reflections on the river. To be continued. . . .