Log Slice Painting

In 2019, the artist was given a commission to do an oil painting of selected wildlife on a slice of a log. As projects go, it wasn't very big or public, but there was something special about the idea behind it. The woman's deceased husband was fond of wildlife and of collecting exotic pieces of wood. To honour his memory, she wanted a woodpecker painted in oils on this particular slice. Shown is the underpainting in raw sienna, and the finished result. Like many of James's paintings, there is a lot of attention paid to surface preparation before the painting begins. This log was first oil primed to seal the wood, then skim coated twice with bondo putty, sanded and sealed, then primed again with gesso, and finally sanded to achieve the texture of polished agate.