Using Copper Oxides in a Painting

It's nice to finally be abe to work outside. I started a new painting, inspired by the pine forest. In this painting, my challenge is to use homemade verdigris or malachite, both of which are copper oxides. Since those minerals require a highly potent ammonia (read: rank-stankerously filthy smell), it has to be done outside.

Mala is investigating the stink!

In case I ever want to do this again, I'm experimenting to see which treated copper plate provides the most pigment. Here are the coppers I prepared:

• immaculate plate, in other words, the control;
• engraved marks with a blade;
• bent and wrinkled;
• sanded with fine paper.

I made the sky over a few days. Right, now I'm working on getting a copper pine-needle carpet going for my landscape. If everything works out according to plan, the malachite will be sprinkled on top to give it more depth. 

While I'm waiting for the washes to dry, I varnished this piece of wood, and another miscellaneous object I found in the forest. It could be some sort of farm machine part, I don't know. You'll get to see it eventually. For now, I'm keeping it under wraps. But here's the wood. Yeah, definitely enjoy the wood. At least there's that.