The Press, the middle painting, is giving me trouble–the ground is, I mean. It’s lifeless. It’s one of two things, so I’ll soon know the cause. It’s not too bad but it’s frustrating because things go so some much more smoothly when the ground is well behaved.
The ground isn’t the only thing that bugs me about The Press. The viridian-Veronese green mixture I used in the background looks especially lifeless when examined closely. Also, when I wipe the surface with denatured alcohol, the green stains the rag. My medium is so fast-drying that it’s perfectly safe to wipe the painting surface the following day. Only the greens sometimes stain the rag.
(Before painting, I wipe painting surfaces with denatured alcohol to prevent the oil from beading.)