Fresh as a daisy

Fresh as a daisy

Oil on board (8x8in)

I set this up for myself this afternoon to take my mind off the weather turning in outside.  Winter has finally hit but this little painting reminds me that spring is just around the corner.  My usual practice is to put a small amount of medium into my background, this allows it to recede due to the transparency of the pigment and also the lack of obvious brushwork.  The medium I use is stand oil but the draw back is that takes an age to dry.  I decided to substitute stand oil  for liquin which handled the same but will hopefully allow it to dry very much quicker.  For the white pigment (which is also very slow drying) I could have substituted Alkyd but instead I have used a white which is made up of 1 part titanium white: 1 part liquin impasto into which 1 part stand oil : 3 parts linseed or poppy oil is added and mixed so that it is a good working consistency.  (This recipe was given to me by friend and fellow painter Gareth Hawker. ) I usually pre-mix this in bulk and put into empty tubes so that it is easily at hand when needed.  It handles like a dream but will also dry fairly quickly.