"Practice Run" original, plein-air oil painting by artist Nancy Laliberte 2/30

"Practice Run"

© Nancy Laliberte

6" x 8" oil on panel

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I started this painting a couple of weeks ago when Wausau hosted the 2013 Midwest Freestyle Championships.Some friends and I met at Whitewater Park in downtown Wausau and painted while the kayakers had a clinic and practiced their craft. My family and I went back a couple of days later to watch the competition, and to give me an opportunity to sketch the kayakers in action. In the freestyle competition, participants have a time limit to perform cartwheels, spins and more while in their kayak. It was pretty amazing!  

In this painting, I threw economizing brushstrokes to the wind, and used as many as it took to capture the movement of the water and action of the kayaker. I blocked in the painting using transparent colors and then built up with transparent and opaque mixes--a technique I learned in Dreama Tolle Perry's workshop that I took last fall. Some areas have a lot of paint and some not so much. I have been experimenting with different ways to start a painting including using a toned panel (usually in transparent red oxide), a white panel, and using the transparent block-in technique. Personally, I like to challenge myself and experiment because I always learn something new.   

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