Three Women is coming along slowly. Previously, I titled it VW Bug and later Three Young Women. Now it’s just Three Women–original, I know.
For the past week I’ve been absorbed by technical issues. Not mediums, but supports and grounds. I spend a lot of time getting paintings to the finishing stage. I’m looking for ways to cut the time down. Years back, I had a pretty efficient system. I underpainted with acrylics and finished with oils. At that time I used a mastic-based medium which, because the medium was too transparent, I firmed with tempera and an oil emulsion. The technique had a certain charm and the paintings have held up well, but I really came to dislike the medium. It was like always using a two-inch brush.
The copal-based medium I use now is transparent like the older medium but it is also firmer and doesn’t require the tempera corrective. It’s an all around better medium except it closes quicker than the old mastic medium, but that’s easy to fix when needed.