The Jumper Ring Upperville, IV

Art Detail Information:

• Artwork Title: The Jumper Ring Upperville, IV
• Artist Name: Gail Guirreri
• Art Type: Painting
• Medium: oil
• Material: canvas
• Height (inches): 48
• Width (inches): 24
• Depth (inches): 1
• Current Location: Artist Studio
• Purchase Price (dollars): $2,900.00
• Stock: In Stock
• Refunds: Non-refundable

I started 'The Jumper Ring Upperville, IV' in 2024 but did not finish it until May 2025. I was commissioned to do a large canvas in very specific palette late 2023. I've never really narrowed myself that purposefully. For most of my painting years the paint made decisions for me. The commission took me a year of color therapy. First I just had to find the colors. I had to wander from my bright palete into unknown territory of softer colors to find a specific grey and brown. Though I had not yet reached the perfect grey, this canvas was part of that process. I started with a lovely PR102, transparent mummy, mixed with a super strong blue, turquoise green PB16. I had also added lead white to my studio, specifically for the large commission. I played with that in this piece and was hooked on lead white.

The first layer in this painting that sat for a year had a good bit of heavy palette knife work. I took a workshop years ago with Sharon Yates and she surpirised us with a palette knife only day. I was lost but curious. Trick with palette knife is to get good knives. Cheap ones will not give you the right feel.

So, two colors, good knife and lead white. That first painting under the current was simple and did relfect the air that one feels at Upperville in the main jumper ring. There was something missing and in order to show it I decided it needed a few drawing adjustments anyway. I needed an 'I don't care' canvas to kick start me into a painting frenzy.

Making adjustments comes easy to me now after a few years of teaching regularly. I decided the background needed to be added. The sun is always so bright off the large sand ring. I love painting compositions from these photos I take mainly because of the light. I could not get depth without finding a yellow. My personal least favorite color is now one of my most important colors to pick. There are so many yellows and they behave very differently. First couple tube mix attempts, ugh. Genuine Naples Yellow Light PY 41 called me and perfect. Its a subtle non invasive bright yellow. Mixed with my blue, made a good bright green thought that was not what I was after. Thank goodness for one of my favorite modifiers, PR 102. Mixed in with lead white knocked that green right into place. It's very natural and fits in the light well. I added it to a few of my greys just to add another level, but only a few.

It was completely satisfying to add the background. I kniffed in most of it. The dried heavy texture of the first layer added dimension to the second layer of knife work. The natural ripples in the tent painted themselves. Painting with a knife takes quite a bit more paint than the brush and I rarely mix enough to go as far as I think I want to go. In this and most cases that is a happy accident. Why fill a white tent blowing in the wind and sun with one color when 5 or more batches add dimension that I could not have planned.

Many artists control their color and values perfectly all the time. I control my palette so I can let go of many decisions and allow my inner self and the paint to move faster than my concious critical thinking could argue with. Ones best painting comes from this zone. I'm tickled with the end result.