Certain Uncertainties Revisited - The Completed Painting

I love this painting.  If you've ever seen the movie "The Thomas Crown Affair" with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, then you probably know the one I am speaking of - "Certain Uncertainties" - the original is by artist Christian Vincent.  This one here is my painting, inspired by the original with a few changes.  For instance, I added a knee to the woman on the bow of the boat where the original had it cut off. 

The original painting hangs in the stairway of Thomas Crown's home and the camera pans over it as he and Rene Russo have a saucy lovemaking scene on the stairs (seems to me that would be terribly uncomfortable).  Anyway, I just completed my representation of this painting, the original of which is a very large 60 x 90 inches.  My painting is a little more than half that size, give or take - 36 x 46.

Sometimes I start with a toned canvas, but most of the time I stretch my own heavy cotton duck canvas, prime it with white gesso, and start the sketch from there.

I immediately begin by laying in the darks and playing with mixtures to get the tone I want.

I work around the entire canvas with a very thin layer of paint, using medium and mineral spirits to thin the oil paint as I work.

The key for me here is just to get the feel of the painting.  I am laying down thin mixtures of paint and large masses.  Detail and accuracy are not important.

Moving right along, My mahl stick attached to the canvas, I begin to work on smaller details and hone in on the right values and colors across the painting and how each color relates to the one next to it.

Speaking of which - meet my palette.  I have a glass palette sitting on top of a blank cotton duck canvas.  I keep all of my oil paints in air-tight jelly jars.  They are the best for keeping paints from drying out and out of the tubes.  Plus, what I don't use that is still pure on my palette can be returned to the jelly jar.   Oil paints are expensive and I hate waste.

Almost finished.  All that was left for me to do was make some minor corrections here and there.

And here it is - the finished painting.  Months in the making, but, of course, that's because I have family and other responsibilities on my plate.  However, I think my friend, Neal, will find it was worth the wait.