New Painting Technique

Sometimes I can spend all my time painting and forget to continue my oil painting knowledge and technique. Oil paint is a rather complicated medium with a lot of "rules" that must be observed in order for the work to have any longevity. It can be a little overwhelming when it comes to grounds, mediums and paints and their proper use to create a lasting piece of art.

I spent some time this weekend refreshing myself by reading about oil paints and methods. I looked at some amazing artwork that really challenged me to stretch my approach.
In my work, a painting is created in a fairly direct manner, meaning I mix and apply the paint directly from the tube modeling it within the value scale until I achieve my vision.

I decided to try the indirect method with the peacock. I began by painting a highly detailed image in grays. This is called grisaille and will serve as the structure for the completed work. Once it is dry I will apply several glazes of color over the next weeks until I get what I want. In other words the colors are optically rather than physically mixed. It is much like stacking pieces of colored glass on top of each other to obtain a luminous result.
I will post images as a go along. Hang in with me and lets see how it goes.