The Stairway

So, it has officially been over a week since my last post! I know, I know, I am sorry! Trust me, I feel worse about it than you do! Anyways, for this post, I thought that I would share a painting that most of my family and friends are familiar with since it has been a long, long process finishing this piece. One reason for the lengthy process is that most of the piece has been made with very thin oil glazes using galkyd lite (as I have mentioned in previous posts). I started this painting a while back as a submission for a gallery review (which didn't end in my favor, but it was a great experince). Months and months later, I keep telling myself "since it's almost complete, I am going to finish it," and well... NOW I AM! Most of you would recognize this painting about 15 layers back, so take a second look if you remember it! -Josh Grabowski

...the marketplace...

This work-in-progress painting is a 24"x48" acrylic on masonite board. I plan to eventually paint in oil colors and use the acrylics as a very detailed underpainting. Acrylics have a very fast dry time and are much easier to use  (this could be merely  an opinion, but I think that many artists would agree with me) without hassle of difficult clean up and the you can use the easiest, most-available medium of all: water. The best part about using water-based acrylics as an underpainting is that oil paints can be applied on top of them with ease, but the same does not apply with acrylics on top of oils... remember last time you tried to mix oil and water? Probably didn't work out the best, right?! -Josh Grabowski A special thanks needs to go to my good friend Stacey Marek for the picture where this painting has originated. Thank you for sharing your pictures from your trip! They have been so very helpful!