This is the third of the four 'Small Scale' paintings to get finished, and there's some music to go with it - Brian Eno's 'The Secret Place'. The album, 'Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks', was playing while I was immersed in the cloudwork, and this track cut through and resonated. I quite liked its cold emptiness with a hint of 'hidden bulk'.
The composition is near as dammit a transcription of the source location – in Iceland, taken from google streetview. I think the hill has been stretched vertically slightly, and there's been some adaption of the foreground to make it read better. The distant rock on the right is actually much nearer to the viewer than described – it was drawing too much attention to itself, though, so I moved it back with a bit of grey haze. Now, instead of being small and near, it's big but far away.
Now, the title: A Nimbus is a cloud of any form – like Cumulo-nimbus or Nimbostratus - that has rain, snow, or hail falling from it, and an Inselberg is an isolated mountain or hill. This one is Hjörleifshöfði - which should really be in the blog title, but I felt some pity for the staff at the gallery who'll have to type that out and possibly be asked how to pronounce it. Not being a cruel man, I settled for something more prosaic instead. If it helps, though, the 'ð' is pronounced like the soft 'th' in 'then', 'there', 'other' and 'smooth'.
Technical-wise, this piece is done in the usual sequence of pencil, acrylic wash, then oil. It was the third to get started, and just about painted itself – which was a relief. It suffered the same uneven priming as the others, but I didn't worry too much and just got on with it. My cheap soft nylon blending brushes had suddenly begun to be less effective – no idea why, perhaps they are stiffening up or hadn't been cleaned properly – so I used my good round Badger hair blenders in the sky. I had got out of the habit of using them, but the results were so positive that I forked out for some mid-size Badger flats from the same supplier. Badger hair is narrow at the base and bellies out before the point, so it has a natural splay. It's very tough and resilient, but surprisingly soft, and produces a very fine fade or blend when lightly touched into the wet paint.
It's the hair used for classic shaving brushes. My Dad's first job was as a barber's lather boy - preparing customers for their shave - and it was a nice thought to be using the same material. Apparently Badger hair brushes improve with use, rather than deteriorate. Which is good news, even though I'm not sure what that means.
I am quite pleased with this little piece. The composition is strong but very simple, and was quite liberating to paint. I like the subtle blue tint on the denser Nimbus just above the mountain, and the Raw Umber glaze that glves the low band of light a slight tarry look.
That's all four of them taken down to the gallery now – The Open Eye Gallery in Dundas Street. The show – the annual 'On a Small Scale' - will mainly be on-line, but it'll be open to view subject to social distancing. It should go live at the beginning of December. Because there are so many tiny paintings on show the staff will be quite strong on limiting the numbers in the gallery at one time, so it might be best to get an appointment first.
I'll post the last one of the four come December, but it'll be up on the 'On a Small Scale' section when that goes live if you can't wait. See if you can spot it...
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