A peachy experiment

Peaches Study 9x12 oil on museum board, copyright 2010

Last week I took the time to experiment a bit with oils, and this study is the result.  It was never intended to be a finished piece, just playing with color and texture.  I've noticed that a lot of artists, especially daily painters, are working in bits of pure color in an almost pointalist fashion rather than blending.  Brushstrokes are very visible and the paint is laid down quite thickly.  I think this is the result of working quickly and not worrying too much about details.  It can make the paintings almost abstracted when this is really pushed.

I'm a bit torn about this technique.  When done well, it looks quite good - I like how the peach on the left turned out.  But I'm not sure I'll take this route on a regular basis.  While I like the boldness of the approach, I generally work a little softer, a little more blended.  It was fun though, seeeing just how much paint I could get on without turning it all into "mud".   There were a few times I had to do some scraping.  And once the piece was finished and dried, I recognized a big mistake - reflections always point directly towards the viewer.  Ah well,  that's what experiements are for.