Cool Things that studying art can do for you

EVERYBODY should learn art.


Everybody.

Art is beautiful, and even if you have no real art skills, you should try to paint or draw. First of all, doing art is incredibly therapeutic for anybody. Second of all, doing art is much like any other skill in life- as you practice it, you get better at it. While some people may appear to have an innate talent for it, I assure you that hard work trumps any talent (if such a thing even exists...) Painting can also help you see the world differently, and I don't mean in a figurative or metaphorical sense (although that is true too). Artists literally see the world differently.

Let's say you wanted to draw a tree. You'd probably get a pen, and draw a long rectangular shape for a trunk, and then some fluffy squiggles around the top to form the leaves. Note- You've never seen a tree like this before because they don't exist. You're brain has extrapolated on what it remembers and assumes all trees look like, and then taken over your observation to help you draw the tree you see. This is the exact reason portrait painting and drawing is so difficult for artists to master- our brains have a lot of preconceived notions about what the face looks like. When a trained (practiced) artist sees trees, or anything else, they have trained their eyes to see literally what is there, and not what they assume to be there, and when an artist looks at the color of something, they see the literal color, and not what you assume the color to be (grass is often quite red and brown, and shadows are mostly purple!) While these don't seem like particularly important details, I do really believe that this heightened sense of sight really changes your quality of life.

Then, of course there is the ability to share your art with others. What a magical experience this can be- to share something from your head with others through the medium of art, a true story-telling vehicle. This, in itself, is one of the most rewarding things I've found in life thus far.

So give it a shot- grab a marker, pencil, or brush, and just begin to draw- you'll be taking your first steps into a larger world of enjoyment, and before you know it, you'll be so lost in it, you'll never want to be found!

Commissioning art from an artist

"Lucas Family Cabin" 18x24" Acrylic on Canvas (commission). Sold($400.00)

[Although house portraits are very difficult, the piece was quite small and I was new to them when I took this job on, and acrylic paint isn't as pricey as oil, so I had quite a lower price.]

So continuing on my trend of talking about the transactions surrounding art, I thought I'd write a shorter bit that breaks down a typical system for charging for commissioned work.

Commissioned Work: work that an artist does SPECIFICALLY for a client, of subject matter directly chosen by the client, and with artistic restrictions designated by the client.

It is really important to understand that fundamentally, a commission is a piece that an artist wouldn't necessarily choose to do. It is a piece that a client really wants painted, and that an artist is doing not for artistic fulfillment, but rather just for money. As such, there are some different things to think about when talking price.


1. Material Cost- With commission pieces, artists have to charge for their materials. If you're paying a good artist, you want top quality professional materials used, and that will drive your price. Typically, oils are most expensive, with acrylic and gauche coming in second. Watercolor and pastels are third, with pencil or charcoal being last.

"Cape Cod House" 16 x 20"  Oil on Canvas (commission). Sold ($1,200.00)

[This piece was a bear to complete in oils, and was done rushed with very specific instructions, so the price was fair.]

2. Size- Bigger paintings take more time to paint, simple as that.

3. Subject Matter- Portraits are the most intensive thing to do for commission, as they must be exactly precise. Architectural pieces are also difficult to do for the same reason.

"Three Panels" 1x1' Acrylic floats. (commissioned). Sold ($400.00)

[This piece was of easy subject matter and was done for dear friends, who had already bought art from me, so I was able to lower the price a lot.]

4. Expertise- This is that strange awkward category that non-artists sometimes have trouble with. How do you pin a value on all of your training, practice and study? The time you've put into mastering your craft? This one is a tough egg to crack, and I'll address it later down.

"Siren" 9x12" Acrylic on Board. (commissioned) Sold ($100.00)

[This was done for my best friend, hence the very low 'family' discount.]

"Dragons" 22x30" Charcoal (commissioned). Sold (traded for art pieces)

Many artists get their price for a commission by using the famed "Square Inch Price" system, in which they charge per square inch (usually somewhere between $3-7 per square inch). When artists charge like this, it means they aren't charging price breakdowns for things like materials or time, but rather one flat fee. This can be really helpful for a buyer to understand and grasp, but can end up screwing the artist on tougher subject matter, like a portrait. In my opinion, this comes with the job, and should be a good standard for charging.

And for those of you who don't charge by square inch, the first three breakdowns are pretty simple- charging for time, materials and size is easy enough, but how to deal with Expertise? I know some artists that simply double their final number to cover for that, but myself, I find this a bit unnecessary. I like to remember that you don't have to get rich off of each painting. Usually, I set a base rate for paintings based on size (100/300/600) and then use that to help determine the extra expertise cost. It's not foolproof, but it doesn't have to be- it can change as I change as an artist!

How to buy art for normal people.

FACT: less than 10% of Americans have an original painting hanging in their house.

"WHAT!?"


 So here's the thing- The problem is communication. People feel like they don't belong in galleries unless they A. have lots of money and B. know a lot about art and/or own a bit already.

Artists DREAM of being emailed out of the blue by somebody they've never met to say, "hey, my name is _____ and I really love your work. Is there anything in your body of work right now for sale in the ____ price range?" or even "hey, I'm looking for a commissioned painting of _____, and my budget is ______, are you interested?" Many people assume that because of the assumed steep learning curve to buying art, that it just isn't for them. Artists assume that because people aren't buying from them or finding them, that their art isn't good enough, or that the world is falling apart because nobody buys art anymore.


So, there is clearly a communication problem.

To Everybody- Artists would love to hear from you. First of all, most artists offer art at all price points. Yes, even original art. Lets take an example: I have a good friend who is a very accomplished oil painter with plenty of accolades. His original work frequently sells in the 5 figure range ($10,000+ ), but he sells original studies in the 3 figure ($100-999) range, canvas prints and giclee prints for under $100.00 and coffee mugs with his paintings on them for under $15.00. His work is wonderful, and anybody can enjoy it!

"Mark the Shark" birthday card commissioned painting done on request

It's also worth mentioning that artists paint because they need to. It is an intrinsic part of who they are. We know full well that even as successful artists, we won't be rich. We don't need to be. We have chosen this profession because we have a desire to share our art with people that love it. Because of this, Please know that even if you can't buy art at the moment, you should always let an artist know you love their work. It seriously means the world to hear from somebody that your work is touching.

To Artists-

"The light from beyond" an oil study I did that is for sale at a LOW price point ($80.00)

People often feel intimidated by you- they feel like they don't understand what you do, and that your art is created by some deep innate magical talent, and that they could never do it.

Be welcoming! Try and make buyers feel like they are in the know with friends, and remove any air of pretentiousness from the room.

Be prepared to haggle your price down- It is always better to offer a customer a slight discount, because you greatly increase the chances of making a friend and repeat customer. Again, 15-20% is a market standard, and not meant as offensive. If somebody asks you to halve your price, be kind in explaining why it isn't possible nor fair to do so.


Make sure you explain your price to your customer- let them in on why you charge what you do.

Be understanding and realistic- If you aren't willing to see yourself paying your price for another person's art, then maybe your expectation that other people will is
a bit off?

"Above the Tallest Tree"- Large painting for sale at high price point ($1200.00)

Don't Undercharge- If you drop your prices too low in hopes of selling lots of art, not only do you ruin the market for other artists, but you actually create the illusion that your art isn't particularly valuable. Offering a deal or a sale is ok, but blatantly undercharging for your work doesn't help anybody.

Don't Overcharge- If your prices are absurdly high, it doesn't help either. You may be trying to create the illusion that your work is very valuable or a commodity, but if your resume or sale history doesn't back it up, you are just perpetuating the problem of communication between buyers and artists.

A few other tips:

Try to always buy LOCAL ART- local artists are often greatly undervalued for their talent and are always under-priced compared to what their work is worth (because they aren't going through a gallery or selling in great quantity.)

Barter- Artists are salespeople and business people for their own work, and as such, their work has value. You would never ask a Lawyer to defend your son in court for free, but if you couldn't pay him in cash, you may try and barter a deal or exchange goods. I know artists that trade a painting or two per year for a 2 week vacation at their client's timeshare. It is never insulting to offer a barter to an artist so long as your goods have value.

Don't buy Box Store Prints- Canvas prints from Target or HomeGoods are literally destroying the art world. You can buy a large canvas print for $90.00 at a store like this, but after one year, the print will sag off the stretcher bars, and you know you're just buying a mass produced reproduction. Instead, contact an artist- many artists can offer you better quality ORIGINAL art in a similar price point. (especially art students at a local college or through a local art guild). You end up with a far superior, UNIQUE, ORIGINAL piece, and you're helping somebody make a living!

When looking at art from an artist directly (such as through their website, or studio)- Artists give prices on work that includes: Material Cost, Time Cost, and usually, a little extra to cover difficulty of subject. Know that an artist will typically leave a little wiggle room on a price quote- I rarely see an artist that won't negotiate price on their work, especially if the prospective buyer REALLY loves the piece. A typical discount that is acceptable and not offensive to haggle for is 15-20%.

"Holy Sunset" watercolor offered in printed 'get well' cards at a low price point ($3.00 each)

Framing- Typically, gallery pieces are framed, and when sold, are sold with a frame. When buying art from an artist directly, the pieces are usually loose (unframed). Framing is an art unto itself, and can be very expensive. For Watercolor pieces, frame quality (glass) is really important to protect your piece's longevity, but for canvas pieces, a frame isn't always needed. Expect to pay about $200.00/square foot for a professional frame job (the money is worth it- framed work done by a good framer looks wonderful!)

Final Thoughts-

Every time your smartphone dies, you run to the store to get a smartphone. Often, you spend $200.00+ on that phone BEFORE ANY MONTHLY BILLS, and then a good 50.00/month for at least two years. You know that within three years, your phone will break, or you will want a new one, at which point you will repeat this process again. We as busy people have no problem paying for things that we use for enjoyment, and art should be no different. Taken care of, a painting should outlive your grandchildren, and for a one time cost that (from local artists) averages less than one cell phone 2 year stint, I'd call that a good purchase if you enjoy the painting every time you look at it. (not to mention the investment value!)

Float Framing your studies

At one point or another, every artist has started a quick piece on a basic study board (or cheap paper, bad canvas or such) and quickly regretted the decision, as they like the result they are coming up with. For this exact reason, I set out to find a way to showcase such works in a frame that was cheap, and allowed you to switch the piece in and out of the frame so that if you sold the work, it could be simply given away and framed without major alteration. Behold, The Magnetic Float Frame!

This VERY BASIC frame is made by cutting a piece of plywood (I used maple so it looked nice) to whatever size you like, drilling holes into it that don't go all the way through, and epoxying small neodymium magnets into the grooves. I then stained the pieces with basic wood stain (these above are Cherry, below is Walnut), and finally, scotch taped other magnets to the back of my paintings. Because magnetism creates a very strong inward force, the painting will stay up with only 2 3mm length magnets, but can easily be slit off of the frame sideways with a little pulling. A great solution to a problem I've wanted to fix for some time!

Outdoor color Palettes for winter

Since many people love painting with lots of colors, but often get caught up in too many tubes to choose from, I thought I'd share three different color palettes that I've found to be quite successful in capturing different effects in the winter.

But first: What is a color Palette? A color palette is a term that refers to all the colors you have available to you to work with. By limiting the colors you are "allowed" to use on a painting, you help bring everything together in the composition. It's really helpful for working as well, because you can find value very reliably.

1. The Ultra-limited winter palette:

Believe it or not, this study was painted only using three different colors.

1. Cadmium Red

2. Cobalt Blue

3. Titanium White

This palette is great for really intense effects. You are basically starving yourself to a warm, a cool and white for creating neutral values. This is very similar to painting in black and white, but still gives you the ability to show light and warmth. The red and blue mixed together get you your darkest areas. 

** if you want, you may use this color palette but also add to it a purple of your choice, and a lighter blue, such as Cerulean Blue to give it a bit more complexity. Personally, I like it just like this.

2. The High Chroma-Dark Palette:

1. Titanium White

2. Naples Yellow Cool

2. Yellow Ochre

4. Inatherene Blue

5. Diox Purple (not needed)

6. Burnt Umber

7. Lamp Black (not needed)

8. Purple Madder

This color palette makes great use of value differences. The highest chroma, or density of pigment intensity/saturation exists within the yellow ochre for the light, but for the dark colors, 3 of the four are very high chroma. This means that your dark colors will have incredible depth to them, especially when reflecting light. This is a critical detail in winter, as much reflection will always be happening due to the lighting on snow.

This study was painted with the above palette. Although the sky looks complex at first, a closer glance reveals that it is in fact quite simple, but the dark tree masses are in fact very complex with color and chroma (an effect created by using high chroma darks). 

3. The High Chroma-Light Palette:

1. Quin Red

2. Naples Yellow Warm

3. Naples Yellow Cool

4. Titanium White

5. Inatherene Blue

6. Burnt Umber

7. Cerulean Blue

8. Cadmium Yellow Deep (not needed)

This third color palette is used when you want your darks to be lower in chroma (less saturated with color), and for your lights to be more dense with chroma. The high chroma dark available is the Inatherene Blue, but other than that the other darker colors are low chroma. However, the light colors have Naples Yellow Warm, a higher chroma version of Naples Yellow, as well as Quin Red, a very high chroma red. In the corner, I also have included Cadmium Yellow Deep, which is an option to add. This is a battleaxe of a color to add, so do so sparingly. The painting below was done with the colors above, but without Cad Yellow Deep.

As you can see, the sky holds much of the depth to this one.

Oil Sketchbooks- The greatest thing ever invented.

Recently, I began making plein air sketching a huge part of my art life. I am often the crazy guy sitting in the corner of a Starbucks, or out on the bench painting something. People always stare, but are rarely rude. In fact, they usually just want to look at what I'm painting. After I show them, they smile, or comment on how nice it is to see an artist working outside, (and if it's not a good painting, they laugh), and then continue on their way. Because oil paints are such a wonderful medium to work in, and because I love to paint in oils outside, I was delighted to discover Cottonwood's Outdoor Plein Air Oil panel sketchbook:

These things are like artist gold. Seriously; how often do you come home from grocery shopping, try and take all the bags in with one trip (you do every time, don't lie), and end up with bruised fruit? This is how artists feel when transporting oil paint to a location- never enough hands to carry a panel to paint on as well as a painting easel and paints. With a small addition of two rubber bumpers for a chair under the cover to keep it from touching the panel on top, I had found the perfect way to transport my work. 

Cottonwood is well regarded for their sketchbooks for pencil and graphite- These panels are no exception. Although they are not full canvas, but just panels designed for sketching on, they hold paint remarkably well and feel like the real deal to the brush holder. I suspect with some gesso on the back, they could be sealed to last, if you ever painted something you wanted to keep on them (again, they are a sketchbook, so longevity is often outweighed by portability as Cottonwood's primary concern).

Here are some paintings I have done in my Cottonwood Oil Sketchbook:

                            

"First Snowfall I" oil study. For Sale

"Winter's Glow III" oil study. For Sale

Watch me paint this entire study from start to finish here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e2d3PSmrx8

"Spring I" oil study. For Sale

"Winter's Glow I" oil study. For Sale

"Winter's Glow II" oil study. For Sale

In fact, you can see a little bit of how I painted something based on this study here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFGBQEeyBNk

Oils or Acrylics-Why Not Both? (part 1- acrylics)

OK- quick quiz? can you identify which of the following paintings are oil and which are acrylic? I've put the answers at the bottom of the post!

Let's face it. I love acrylic paints. My pseudoname is, after all, ACRYLIC Alexander (although it's really just because it's catchy, and my last name is impossible to spell). Acrylics are a cool medium, that, in my opinion, get a ton of crap from people that is often unfounded. After having talked about this with a lot of my artist friends, I've come to the conclusion that Acrylic paints get a bad name for 3 main reasons:

1. Acrylic paints are new (not even 100 years old) and were, (until the last 30 years) considered largely to be an amateur and student-rate paint. They weren't made to last, and didn't really garnish the respect that "high art" oil painters or traditional watercolorists had (after all, both of these mediums have been around for centuries.)

2. Acrylic paints function similar to oils, but are water based and dry fast (losing the transparency of watercolor and the density of oils). Why buy half-decent paints that are "like" great oils? Aren't they just one step better than kids paint for posters in school?

3. People like oils- why branch out? They're similar enough, and oil paintings are more collected, sell for more, and earn an artist a better respect of reputation.


Now the three things above are mostly untrue. In the 1940's, there were fantastic American photorealism painters that were working in acrylic (although everybody sees their work and assumes it is in oil because of it's grandeur). And of course, today you can buy top of the line acrylic paints that will survive just as long as any oil painting and will hold their vibrancy. And finally, does being an oil painter mean you can't ever sketch in pencil? what about pen and ink? watercolor? of course you can (and should!)  Yes, Acrylics are not oils, and nor are they watercolors, but they do have some great unique characteristics that deserve their own credit. Also, the truth is that you can produce some GREAT products using acrylics. In fact, ALL of the above pieces are acrylic, and not oil!

Now, let's start by identifying some of the UNIQUE characteristics of Acrylic paint (as opposed to oils)

Acrylic Paints are:

1. Water soluble (unlike oils, they use water to dilute) This means they can be used strait from the tube, watered down to create a thinner coat (much like turpentine in oils), or with any acrylic medium.

2. Generally a little less dense than oils. This DOES NOT mean they have less color density, but rather a more uniform and less dense binder (a plastic resin). This means that acrylics will generally allow for much more paint to be mixed on the canvas without muddying up, as opposed to oils. ALSO, this allows you to do multiple dry glazes (also called 'drybrushing') over sections.

3. Overall, more opaque than oils. This means that many layers can be greated of one paint over another. Yes, there are certain colors (the red-purples and green-blues) that are still quite translucent, just like in oils, but generally, the colors will dry in layers, rather than allowing the undercolor to show. This is neither an advantage nor disadvantage- it simply means you have different effects to work with.

4. Acrylics change greatly depending on their moisture level. When water is added (just a little via misting bottle), they become considerably less opaque (even than oils) and allow you to do a more 'oil' style glaze (unlike mentioned in point 3, above). The flexibility is great.

5. Acrylics dry dark. Generally, 2 shades darker than the wet color. This is very different than oils, which dry at face value (almost always, excluding alizarin crimson) This allows you to layer from dark to light and get a very convincing shadow effect.

6. Acrylic drying time can greatly be adjusted. Raw, acrylics dry in 10 minutes (5 in the direct heat or winter cold) and fully set (to be varnished) in about 7 hours. With glazing mediums added, the drying time can be increased to around 20 hours (with a fully set time of around 3 days). This flexibility is really helpful when you are trying to blend large areas. There are also acrylic lines made by Golden Acrylics (USA) known as the 'open' series. This series uses a different synthetic binder to give their paints a longer working time, which rivals oils. I have had wet paint on my palette from this series for well over a week uncovered.


Now, this isn't to say that oils should be avoided either- oils have many great things that cannot be as easily achieved by acrylics- The most important thing in my opinion is to be fluent in as many different medias as you can. Remember, oils and acrylics do compliment each other in technique, so any time you practice painting in acrylic, it will only help your oil work as well, and vice versa.


Now- Get out there and try something new!

(1. Acrylic 2. Acrylic 3. Acrylic 4. Acrylic 5. Acrylic) ... now, how many did you think were oil?

List of 25: 25 different ideas for art pieces

Nothing- That good old sign of creative block. You're finally sitting down to do some art- to draw, to paint, to sketch, to write, to make clay, to animate...Whatever. There's only one problem...You have no idea what to do next.

Have no fear! Below, I have taken 25 ideas from a running list of projects I constantly update to dig myself out of this scenario and shared them with you all! Having a 'wing it' list for creative block is really helpful in spurring your ideas forward.

It's also worth mentioning that research holds that the best creative thinking your brain does is right after you start feeling BORED. If you need ideas for creativity, relax and force yourself to sit without the aid of a phone or tablet for distraction. As you start to get bored, your brain may surprise you!


1. Art that is done with mainly cool colors, but the subject is typically in a warm color (such as a bunch of blue and green strawberries)
2. The above's reverse (such as a red and yellow snow scene)
3. Something using one color plus white (called a Monochromatic study)
4. A portrait, but upside-down.
5. A multi-panel work (2-3 panels). The panels cannot, however, be the same shape!
6. A piece that describes your favorite title of a book or movie or play (for me this could be a piece titled, "The Alchemist", or "Hook", but may have nothing to do with either the aforementioned movie or book)
7. A piece out of a scene of your life in which you were really scared
8. A piece of food (such as a painting of your favorite meal)
9. Try and capture a single emotion as art. Such as a sculpture of "Playful"
10. A piece that focuses on a particular shape (either modern or not)
11. A piece in the style of a particular artist (a painting using Rembrandt's color palette, for example)
12. A piece based upon one line of lyrics from a favorite song.
13. A piece that describes a famous person (anything from a still life of Abe Lincoln's hat to a sculpture of Einstein's Ink well and pen)
14. A piece that incorporates words (perhaps a poem)
15. A piece that combines two of your favorite stories in one panel
16. A piece that is backlit (light source is in the background)
17. A re-imagination of a title (such as the New England Patriots as Minutemen playing football)
18. An object in a setting it would never sit in (a fighter pilot landed in ancient Egypt)
19. A funny pun (such as a Board Game made of wooden boards)
20. A piece of a relative that you never met but share lineage, such as a great grandparent
21. Find a complete stranger, ask them the first word that comes to mind, and then go off of that
22. A piece based upon a mystery/horror story/ ghost story you were scared of as a kid
23. A re-interpretation of a fable/parable/nursery rhyme
24. A self portrait of you, but in 20 years
25. Two animals, combined into one (such as a sea-zebra)


Happy Art-ing!

Studies using different color palettes

Within painting, it is really easy to reach for color. With all of the different colors available to us in tubes today, it is common to get carried away with shopping for colors and then filling drawers next to your brush holder to easily reach for and add to a painting (and I am perhaps the largest culprit of them all!) However, if we over-color our works with bright colors, we end up with a large problem- we start to substitute value and tone for color. CHROMA AND VALUE ARE VERY DIFFERENT THINGS!

Below I have a color study I did today quickly. It was a first pass, using colors I had on my left over from finishing a different painting on my palette (I wanted to use them up), and admittedly, I got a bit carried away with colors without even realizing it. We all paint "clunkers" from time to time- this one sure was a clunker!

Not to say it's awful- admittedly, there are some great parts of it. The problem, is that there is just one color too many. If I had removed either the purple or green, or even the sky blue, the whole piece would have been great. You see, to balance a piece, you should have (traditionally) a balance of strong and weak chroma colors, and you should mix them. A good general rule is the rule of a Triadic Gamut Map (this idea coined by illustrator and teacher extraordinaire James Gurney). In his book, Color and Light, Gurney takes a simple color wheel like this one:

With this color wheel, we make a dot with pen anywhere far out from the center of the wheel (thus picking a strong color), and then two more points closer to the center. Then, we draw a triangle from the three points. Everything within the triangle is a tone which you can get from mixing colors. By limiting your palette, you make it much easier to create tonal value relationships without getting bogged down by complex colors. 

For this study, the triangle for my color gamut would be something like a weak purple, a weak yellow, and a strong cerulean blue. This gamut would get me all of the weak reds and dark purple red black grays that make up my foreground. It is balanced, and compliments the mood of the piece.

In this, a completely different color palette was used. Here, My strong color was Yellow Ochre, with weaker points being in purple and brown. I cheated as well and used a little hint of a low chroma blue, just to help get things dark enough. As you can see, the warm yellows really pop against the cool other colors, and the relationship between light and dark is easily preserved. 

Oil Studies- As a series, and their use

When we paint, we tend to paint multiple pieces that are in series- This is partially because when we finish a painting, all we can think is, "Darn, I wish I had done (insert thing here)!" and then, we go ahead and grab a fresh canvas, and complete said thing. Although some people may suggest you constantly move on and forward with different things as you work on them, I'd like to highlight the benefit of working in series, especially when doing studies. Below is an almost finished piece. It culminates different techniques and lessons learned over the past 3 studies I've done.

No name (as of yet)- 16x20" oil on canvas.

"Evening Glow I" 6x10" oil on panel

In this one, I found a color palette for my sky that worked well. It was my first study, so I played with a few things, but didn't really get brave enough with my warm colors in the low horizon (I think I only worked up to naples yellow cool with a little dab of quin rose.) HOWEVER, in this piece, I played with creating snow using a palette knife- a skill I brought to the final piece. 

"Morning Glow I" 8x10" oil on Panel

Here, I experimented with a little bit more movement in my sky (something I took to my final piece), as well as a cooler shadow foreground (something I did not take to the final piece). Palette knife work here was minimized, and that helped me see that I could use a brush as well. 

"Morning Glow II" 10x6" oil on panel.

My final study, this one was done considerably looser. The tree masses were done using a flat brush and using warm translucent colors unblended with each other. I really liked this effect and color combination, so I used them on the final piece. Also, I went even warmer with my sky on this one (something else I liked), and removed the cool foreground colors. I didn't use any palette knife in this one, but that was mainly because there was no room. 

So finally, after having done those three studies, I had some really basic skills to apply:

1. A color palette (I ended up adding cadmium yellow dark to even more intensify things)

2. Palette knife snow effects

3. warm unmixed masses in the foreground of the sky using a flat brush

4. a playfully blended sky 

I begun on a tighter painting using these skills. The first image at the top of this post took about 3 hours after having done all of the studies.