After the Thunderstorm, after Arkhip Kuindzhi

Oil on canvas, 10″ x 8″

I made a rough copy of a painting by Arkhip Kuindzhi.

The blue is a mix of ultramarine that I made myself with some titanium white and a little transparent red oxide for the areas with more grey. I used a few drops of burnt plate oil when making it, which is linseed oil that’s been heated to the point of combustion and left like that until half the volume is left. Adjustments to the amount of heat and length of time produces a range of different results. It’s thick and normally used in printmaking, but I read a theory that Rembrandt (who was also a printmaker) may have added some of it to his paint to get the effects he did. The paint I made was very interesting and could be called stringy or ropey. Very different from normal ultramarine from a tube.

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