Icy Lake

Are diamonds a girls best friend?! Or are they 'forever'?!

Hi Voy. This is certainly very creative shape. I agree this was very nice and easy painting. This was one my fastest. Do you think when shape of the painting changes composition needs to be revised too to take best of the new shape? I think diamond did not hurt this one at all. But I feel so many angles for this gentle landscape is contradicting. What is your idea how to frame it? will you think about special matting to match the diamond shape? I am asking as I recently did abstract painting with a lot of thoughts behind and I used the tape as idea was to make organized grid... and what I did not think about is how to/what to do about the space which was covered with this tape.

I think you did wonderful sky and water in this one and your script liner work is certainly very good!

I heard an advice from one of the artists online that we should strive to paint the best masterpiece every time we paint. I partially agree with it and something inside me is still resisting. I believe if we do it we grow with every painting. I also think we need to understand objective of why we paint? what do we want painting to give us? and combine this understanding with the statement above.

Oh, forgot to mention: there is nice sense of depth here brought by the hills layers!

Dear Sunnylady, wish we had your sun here for the moment since it is SNOWING slightly in Western Flanders.
In reply to your questions, I can answer fully YES on changing composition. I needed to really bend both side trees in, which was okay for the right one but the left only showaed a few branches. I thought of this painting as being a gem, so I got this crazy idea to form a diamond iso an oval. The latter is very difficult for me since descent contact paper is NOT for sale anywhere near my residence. My family loved the result, personally I wanted it a bit larger on all four sides.
Framing this ... now that is an excellent topic .... I would suggest either a round one (must be very costly I think!) or a normal rectangle one and let the diamond shape speak for itself. Myself, I never frame any painting, not mine and not others, since I am really hooked on the roughness of a painting that shows around the edges. That's one of the reasons my signature is always very close to the sides. I agree that a lot of empty space (what is not painted) will always be present yet that does attract al attention to waht is painted itself, not the framing of it. Jan Van Eyck (fellow country man from the 14th century and about the world best painter in those days) even experimented already with that in his days.
What you mentioned about reason to paint .... I must agree. Sometimes I oblige myself to paint whenever the possibility is there yet I should restrict myself to only paint when an opportunity is there. Quality does yield quantity in this!!

Concerning the work, I am SUPER happy with a 4USD scriptliner for aquarel paint I bought online. Bob's EXPENSIVE one just lasted two paintings, now it has become useless bullshit. I felt victim to the 'search for more money' strategy from Bob Ross inc. that allows China to produce rubbish for them with the Bob Ross name and logo on it!!!
Anyway, the cheaper one goes SO MUCH better and produces very nice thin lines, just like I want it to. Sky was rather easy but for some reason, I could hardly get any white on it. The result is okay but less flashy then I anticipated.
I am proud of the hills and was upset in the end that I did not take Lightsnow's advice to add tree tops to those hills. I would have loved that!!!!
So, as you can read …. probably plenty of reason to do this one again some day, in yet another daring shape??? Best of luck and paint motivation to you Sunnylady and till soon!

I think you need to rename it to Glorious Ruby than just a diamond :)
Regarding composition, it would be a good idea about bending trees, I'd never think about it as never did contact paper and it is NOT on sale either here in Russia. Only tape from the builders stores...to use for renovations. I'll read more about Jan Van Eyck and search for his masterpieces. About script liner I had very similar experience, however my liner brush was not from BR.
I'll share my trick how i clean brushes as i think i killed my liner brush myself by washing it in paint thinner only once. Now I do this: I wipe with the rug from excess of the paint, I clean then in white spirit from builders store, wipe with rag, clean again in the same liquid, wipe again. Now pay attention - I use a tea spoon of baby oil in the little cap from pickles and continue dipping and cleaning my brush in there, now you will see that after two rinses and wipes there is still some of leftover paint. I was surprised when I did so and understanding that this what was ruining my brushes as i was doing only one rinse with white spirit without prior wiping with the rug. However to continue with my experimentation I did water and soap cleaning first and then switched to baby oil. My experiment showed that still some paint after soap is left behind. A little bit more than with 2 rinses with white spirit.

AC is very strong pigment that takes easily over white - may be this was the reason. but you know your clouds look nice and soft. it would be bad if they were just white on this background.
I learnt where Western Flanders are. I hope that snow will be over soon and good weather will be there for you to start your gardening season!

I think your idea of going with a diamond shape is really cool and original. I can see this making a great gift for someone who enjoys gems. A few of the things you mentioned in your description really resonated with me. Firstly, not being pleased with all paintings created, and a painting potentially lulling you into this false sense of security as it appears initially simplistic. I've had that happen a lot and it can be quite disappointing. Having said that, I think you did a great job here. The colors are beautiful, your trees are well done, and the painting has an overall serene and tranquil mood. Another thing that stuck out to me was your description of the Ross brand script liner. Mine 'split' in less than a year. I bought another one online, but like you said, really expensive. I'm having better success with a small liner brush I got for 3$ at Michaels. Also, I spent over 20$ on Ross brand titanium white, thinking that the supposed dryness/thickness of it would allow me to make snow break on mountains. When I received it, it was nowhere near as thick as I had anticipated. In fact, I recently started using this old tube of cheap Van Gogh titanium white paint I got from my brother, and it works so much better! I'd always heard that the Ross brand of paints and supplies was quite cheap, student quality. There are a few brushes I really enjoy, like the round brushes and the oval brush, but overall I think just buying cheaper things at an art store can be better in a sense. I got myself this small pack of brushes at a dollar store and they are fantastic for distant trees (I used this brush I am describing in my own version of icy lake).

Jan Van Eyck is amazing master of art! Thanks to Wikipedia that allows to zoom very detailed in some of the pictures, I am just breathless what level of details in his painting available to be seen through the professional photos. I would never see those details by just looking onto the painting in front of me. Most amazing that those paintings that survived are almost 600 years old! I think it is first realism there!
By the way I had very interesting experience after I did almost one year of oil painting I went to the museum and I saw all the magnificent painting with absolutely new eyes, my brain was telling me look how amazing brush strokes are and I could see a new piece of information that I previously never saw. ( one exception Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam as one cannot miss amazing brushwork not matter how deep one is in the art world)

Dear Sunnylady, this is not a bad idea, to give this painting the 'Glorious Ruby' nickname! A gem!!
Bending trees was indeed a good solution, I never thought about it, I was merely unhappy afterwards that I had't widened the diamond shape enough.
Sriptliners ... guess my too expensive LOW quality Bob Ross is also killed and yes, it might well be that rigorously cleaning it might be the killer! I will order several of those cheap liners (Van Gogh brand) for aquarel soon, they do better then Bob Ross. I have to admit that concerning cleaning, I am really a poor amateur and only give that a poor effort. I should try to drill myself in better performing there. Thanks so much for the time and effort you put into providing us with so muc useful information and sincere cheers!

And yes, Van Eyck was an exceptional artist in the early days of painting. He even invented mixtures that would dry the oil paint faster and was the first painter (with a name and reputation) ever that signed his works!
I saw several of his works already in exhibitions in Belgium and the conservation of it is SO remarkable next to his incredible talent. Did you know that only 24 paintings are left from him? Can you imagine what one would cost!!
And another happy thing about this artist is that he got some fame in Italy, as a young man, and was invited to become a student of the most famous Italian painters for the next few years. Well, while he was some 6 months in Italy … ALL of his fellow students AND all the teachers became his students and he was teaching everybody his art and talent for several years!! Really happened!!

Dear Lightsnow, so glad I found a mutual soul on many aspects of painting and artist material!!
The truth is that about 60 % of all my brushes are cheap budget amateur stuff and that really does the trick also. Not always perhaps but if it works, I stick to it and else, my garbage can is big enough!
Concerning the quality of paint, I agree with you there also. I bought three small Bob Ross colors (37ml) and the paint is slightly thinner then what I normally buy, which is 'Winsor & Newton' paint, the larger tubes (200ml) and not the professional quality cause that costs a small fortune. Also 'Van Gogh' paint I tried and that brand is also thick enough. There are several stores (mostly online cause they are cheaper) where I can buy these from and as soon as one has a sale on paint, I buy some supplies! Oil paint tubes lasts forever when properly stored AND firmly closed. And 'Winsor & Newton' also has the best budget canvasses in my opinion. Double primed and a really thick and solid frame.
Thanks again for your cheers on this painting, this means a lot to me from you and all other community friends that write me psoitive comments. It keeps me motivated and inspired!! Wishing you all the best and till soon!!
PS: don't forget your article on your 'Icy lake' painting, it will be great!

I love this painting voy, very nice! you did a Great job, the trees are awaysome and the colors u used are outstanding.

Thx patoex, I gave it a try and would welcome you to try this one as well, it is an easy yet can be a tricky painting! Till soon!