Claybord experiment [No.1] FINISHED.

[Mike Sibley]

You will miss yesterday's one, as my IP address in here was banned from posting.

I've no idea why that happens - and I only know of it ever happening to you. But then, you are unique

I decided to practice onto western hat today. I need to check if I can blend colours smoothly, before I move on skin tones... if I can make smooth blending...
The answer is YES, as you can see.

It's a very definite YES. All your values and hues blend very smoothly into each other.

That background reminds me of something I painted at art college. I can't remember what it was (it was over 50 years ago), but it does give a very alive and dynamic feel. It should contrast really well withy the smooth painting of your face.

[PogArtTi]

Lol, yes - I'm strange&unique so the system recognise me as a suspicious threat

We've got Polish saying;
"Nie mow hop, poki nie przeskoczysz"
I shall translate it as - don't say hop, until you jump over.
I'm confronting it against what you said Mike - *it should contrast really well with the smooth painting of your face.*
That's right, easy to say SMOOTH FACE, lol...
Let's wait until I do it, hahahaaa, the smooth face hahahaaa, then you can compliment Mike hahahaaa...
I'M REALLY SCARED TO START!!!
It's MY face hahahaaaa !!!
Thank you for keen words Mike

[PogArtTi]

And so on, and so on
Lol, I just realised it's my first self-portrait I have been ever working on!?
I was suggested I should..., I never did

[Mike Sibley]

I just realised it's my first self-portrait I have been ever working on!?

I'm glad you are. And it's looking very promising.

[PogArtTi]

I'm glad you are. And it's looking very promising.

Thank you a lot my friend

[LindasPencils]

Pretty cool Pogs. I am enjoying your progress and explanations... as I have just started experimenting with oils! Not sure I like them yet though. Like you, I am using clayboard, and the oils I am using are the Daniel Smith Water Soluble oils - as the traditional oils/turps and solvents cause breathing issues for me. I gave up experimenting with oils in my teens because of this.
Like I say, not sure I am liking them yet, because damn they take a long time to dry!!!

[PogArtTi]

That's interesting dear Linda you have decided to give them a go once more!

I've heard something about water soluble oils, but to me it's leaning towards watercolours...
It's always good to try things, so they might be just right medium for your needs?!

Obviously you are aware of Alkyds oils (Wilson&Newton)which dry till next day, but you haven't chosen them, so I assume it's not what you wanted Linda

You most probably went through my first posts, where I did share priming my Claybord.
Whether it helps or not, I don't know, because I've never painted on plain Claybord, so I can't compare.
I assume you didn't prime your board, so I'm curious of how your paint behaves when you apply it

I used to paint with Alkyd oils back in 2018, and this is how I have done two practice paintings on paper at present.
I wanted this adventure to be different though.
I've chosen to fully switch to general oils (long drying) made by Michael Harding - a british artist.
He's got a huge passion of making paint by himself, and this is how he attracted me to follow him.

The longer I'm working on this slick surface of Claybord the more I appreciate it.
I'm continuously learning how to apply brush strokes, that are hard to notice, but I think I do like it so far.
The thing that put me off from canvas surface is its textile look, and up close you can easily see crossed horizontal/vertical lines showing on your painting.
On Claybord all you can see it's your brush strokes, which may be complimenting your style, and you are on full charge of whether to make them more or less appearing.

Linda, one more thing, because you did mention it - this time I DON'T USE ANYTHING MORE THAN PAINT.
No solvents, no any oil added to mixed colours.
Just straight out the tube this time my dear friend.

Good luck!
I will follow!!!

*I've tried reply yesterday, but my account was still blocked off....

[PogArtTi]

Some more progress if you interested of how it's going
I'm frequently being blocked off, so I was unable post earlier updates for you
But you are not getting bored then, so everything is alright

[LindasPencils]

I

've heard something about water soluble oils, but to me it's leaning towards watercolours...

Nope.
Absolutely nothing to do with watercolor. They are OILS, work just like oils do, nothing like watercolor. They do not blend like watercolor nor are they transparent like watercolor or transient. They dry as an oil does, by chemical oxidization as opposed to water evaporation. What they are is 'water miscible' in that you can clean up with water. You can, if you wish, thin with water, but that flattens the color, and you lose that oil sheen - they will dry faster but it isn't recommended you do this. Instead, you thin (if you need to) with a water miscible oil, a safflower or linseed.
This is a common misconception about them, but they are real oils - without the solvents. No fumes, no smell apart from an oil/linseed smell. So great for the asthmatics like me.
I have tried the Alkyd but did not like them. I found them too much like using house paint or nail varnish. And they smelt too.
Very strange you have been getting blocked. Not like it is a nude! Some glitch in the algorithm perhaps?

[PogArtTi]

I

've heard something about water soluble oils, but to me it's leaning towards watercolours...

Nope.
Absolutely nothing to do with watercolor.

Thanks a lot for details!
Linda, as you have noticed, I have no clue what your oils are...
I've never been interested to try them, so I never went across any review yet - till now...
Now you've brought all this aspects much closer - so I know what they are thanks to you.
Thank you.
I think they great.
No smells, no chemicals...
Very good!
I can wait to see what you can do with them!

Alkyds ...
The main reason I did full switch to *real oils is the drying time on the palette while working on painting!
Guess what - the mixed colours were drying so fast, that I couldn't carry on the painting, because the mixture was already dry...
I was ending up mixing the colour for second time, just to let me carry onto painting...
After few sessions, I had enough.
Therefore I moved to genuine oils...
Guess what!
I did forgot to clean one of the brushes, and found it still ready to paint at next day!?
The remaining paint onto the bristle was still usable!
Wow!
This fact triggers me sometime to leave the whole palette with mixed colours to the next day
I didn't try it yet, but temptation remains

Very strange you have been getting blocked. Not like it is a nude! Some glitch in the algorithm perhaps?

I'm getting that frequently...
Unfortunately...
Mike knows about it, but he can login to my profile without any problem! But me...
So Mike can not fix it, as he can not point the issue.
Yes I tried by myself to get in touch to that blocked list, and I sent request to remove me from it...
It was long ago I did it, and I don't remember if I did receive any response from the other side.
I guess I don't.
So I got used to this issue somehow.

The only trouble it's causing, it's when I'm writing the post (like now for example) I'm not getting notified whether I'm blocked off today or not.
Then - when trying to post the reply - I'm getting that notification instead.

To not lose all I just have written down, I'm copy the text and sending to my wife using fb messenger
So I've got my post SAVED.
Then trying to post few letters next day, then a day after...
If it goes through, I know my profile was unlocked, so I’m doing same process backward - copy/paste that saved text in messenger...

Before I was looking all the text I spent time to write it down, and my replies were much shorter then, when I was unlocked, as I had no patience to write down long text once again...

So I've found WAY AROUND it weird issue...
Thank you Linda