Wet Snow, Back Alley, Toronto

24x24 oil on board

I often mention Richard Schmid. He seems to be an artist who never compromises, and who paints from the soul. I like the way he writes about art in a no nonsense way. I found one of his earlier books from the 1970's in the library. He discusses several ways to start a painting and he demonstrates most of them. Unfortunately this book is not available unless you can pay a lot of money on amazon for the few copies around. The one from my library has also disappeared.

Starting a painting is a difficult decision. I spend a lot of time experimenting with different ways to begin a painting. I like what Schmid calls the "Full-Value monochrome Wash" He says in the book,"This is a nice, safe way to handle complicated subjects when brilliant color is not particularly important. The turpentine wash can be carried to various extremes. If a bit of clean color is added during the rendering, it can be an end in itself-a finished painting in transparent paint."

I loved this back alley scene behind P.J. O'Briens Pub off of Leader Lane in Toronto.The reflections from the wet snow gave it more interest. After doing the wash in payne's gray with a little black added, I decided to leave it alone, deciding whether to leave it as a painting in transparent paint.