"Oak Creek"

Painted on location on the banks of Oak Creek north of Sedona, Arizona.

”Oak Creek” 20"x22"” (#2058) oil on linen canvas
by Lee Gordon Seebach
(Corporate art collection, Los Angeles, California)

Alla Prima (First Attempt)

Many people have the idea that the only way oil painters paint is in layers, allowing each to dry before proceeding. This is, of course, one way to do it and many artists work that way. (Those painters often mix drying liquid with their paint to speed up drying.) The layman finds it difficult to understand how an artist could work in any other way.

However, there is another way, and it's to work wet-in-wet, also known as Alla Prima, and is how almost all of my oils have been painted. Very seldom do I allow any part of a painting to dry before I complete it. The primary exception would be thin turpentine washes which dry very quickly.

Wet paint allows for blending, and where colors meet, the paint can be applied either into or on top of the one already on the canvas. When this is done with deft brushstrokes, the result will be a clean, fresh rendering.

For "Oak Creek," by painting accurately - putting the right colors in the right places - I completed each area as I went along, starting with the central area and working outward. Everything else is either drybrush work or turpentine washes or left to the imagination, creating almost a vignette piece.

For those who like everything "explained," this painting probably looks unfinished. But for me and others who often like things suggested, there's a charm to a sketchy oil such as this.

"The most precious thing in life is its uncertainty. Leaving something incomplete makes it interesting and gives one the feeling that there is room for growth."
Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness) - Yoshida Kenko

I hope you enjoy seeing this oil.

Have an awesomely magnificent day today and every day!
Liberty 😀 Peace ☮️ Love ❤️

My Jayco trailer, Ford truck, studio, and a beautiful New Mexico sunset....

Creating another pretty picture for my art collectors.

My website: Seebach Fine Art