This unfinished painting, Lunch Alone is 32″ x 46,” is part of the Playhouse Square series. I like my medium a lot but I’m always willing to try new things, especially when they come from James Groves. I’ve written before about how much I like his products, copal varnish, and Courtrai drier. In yesterday’s session, I tried another of his copal varnish variants he markets as Cole’s Copal Varnish. The varnish is named after the Hudson River school painter, Thomas Cole. Groves claims that the varnish is made from a recipe brought back from Europe by Cole in the early 19th century.
It’s similar to my normal copal medium but with enough difference to make it interesting. I plan a review of it later this month.
I also used another of Groves’ copal mediums–Copal Jelly Painting Medium. It too is interesting but of less utility for me. After using maroger medium some years back, I’m skeptical of jellies, goos, and gloops; all the sticky, thick stuff popular with some artists.