Teacup in Graphite plus New Still Life Update

I didn't feel like starting a painting last night so I sketched instead. I loved this angle a lot it gives the cup more of a regal felling because you're looking up at it. It took about an hour or so, I'm not sure. Artists know that time sort of disappears when you're in the zone. I think the rim it too blent but I loved doing the handle, that's the best part of the cup for me.

I'll be starting a new still-life featuring the teacup with cookies and pieces of orange. It won't be huge because I plan on doing gradually larger paintings as I progress.

6 Hour Pose, June 9th Day 2

Ugh, that face! I need to redo it somehow but otherwise I'm pretty happy with it. The gesture is great, and although the face is too small, it's ok. The skin tone could have been cooler but it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I'm happy with the values and the overall feel of it. The model is really great, really friendly and she was helpful with giving me some feedback. The pose ended yesterday but the model kindly offered to allow me to take photos and that's really going to help me fix and complete somethings like the leg on the left and redoing the head.

You know what I keep thinking I've sort of got that "Lucian Freud palette" going on which I've never liked. When I was going to university, the few figure paintings that were displayed had that same palette of colours with that greyish background. Then I realized that a lot of that is due to the studio set up. They've got white walls and there's usually never any other background and so you end up with a lot of mid-tones. That's also due to the fact that there's never dramatic lighting.

For my first figure painting in about 3 years (yeah...) I'm proud of it and I'm going to take what I've learned and make the next one even better. But when this one is complete, it will be in my portfolio because it definitely has potential.

6 Hour Pose, June 9th Day 1

Day 1 went much better than I was anticipating. I expected to have to finish the colour and whatever else I wanted to do today but when I got there I found out the same pose is tomorrow. That was a relief because I was able to really take my time. Started out with the imprimatura last night, which was a gamble because I really didn't know what the colours would be but looks like it's working well.

I was measuring quite a bit so the drawing took longer than I wanted but it seems to have paid off. I used raw umber plus flake white for this stage and that worked well because flake white is nice and warm, also translucent so it looks very subtle. The hand was a nice suprise. I was putting it off but when I got around to it, it looked really good. The face turned out fine in the end, but I don't think I'll be getting into the eyes, just some colour maybe and highlights.

Provided everything dries tomorrow, I will be glazing in some colour and scumbling as well. I don't know how far I'll be able to take the colour but I would like to build up the paint more in certain areas. But right now it's got this quality I like about it, sort of a Flemish thing and I think I want to keep that as much as I can (keeping in mind that it is a sketch at the end of the day). That's it for now, and hopefully my painting hasn't been stolen from the studio...

Study of a Tea Cup, Oil on Canvas (Part 2)

Ahh yes, highlights! It's nearly done, just need to glaze that reflection down, get it a bit warmer. I have to say, that tea cup has been a joy to paint, I really love it as a subject. I'm still searching for supporting objects to paint with it and make a larger composition. Perhaps a peeled orange, which I've always wanted to do well. I could add the small tea plate in there...maybe a whole tea set. That might be a bit cliche though so I'll have to work out something more interesting. But I think I will play around with background objects a bit more to add depth and I think that will make things more interesting by giving the eye a lead-in to the painting. Hmmm...Anyway, the design on the cup was a lot less difficult than I thought it would be and it looks great. I'm happy with the sense of form I was able to get and I actually did end up glazing in some subtle colour! I was a bit apprehensive about the colour working out but I gave it a try and I love it. I haven't really glazed colour in years so this is encouraging. Looks like I'll be using a grisaille to start every still-life from now on. 

Study of a Tea Cup, Oil on Canvas (Part 1)

I was always eying this tea cup as a subject so I decided to do a study of it to see how I liked it. I'm letting it dry now, and tomorrow I will be adding more details. I did this one last night in a few hours and I'm starting to really like the grisaille technique again. I really like the imprimatura I used too, I'm probably going to use it for figure painting on Tuesday. Can't wait to add the highlights! I should say the inspiration to do a grisaille again came from the artist Dan Thompson  who has a demo on the American Artist site. He used a grey toned canvas and raw umber plus flake white for his block-in. It looked awesome so I thought I should give it a try and I'm so glad I did. He also mentioned the "calligraphy of the brush", which hit the nail on the head for me. Using the brush not just to fill things in but as a way to create interest in itself (if that makes any sense). So I'm trying to incorporate that into my unfinished pieces to add interest. Stay tuned!

First Painting of the Year

So I've finally gotten down to painting this year. I was sort of anxious about it but I did a quick still-life with roses and it's not too bad. I hated it at first but it's growing on me. Not sure why I thought I was all of a sudden going to be great at painting roses of all things, they're so difficult! Maybe because so many others make it look easy. I am rusty for sure but I'm proud of myself for not giving up on this one and just finishing it even though it's not my best. I think it's important just to finish things no matter what or you never really finish anything. I'll post a picture of it when it's varnished. 

Finally Getting Started

So I've been away for months...well away from this blog anyway. Yeah, not good. I have been working on things on and off, mainly life drawing when I get the chance (and the money). On the left is a drawing I did back in I guess February or March. It was a 6 hour pose and it didn't get finished unfortunately so next time I'm going to take a different approach. I really wish I had more control over the lighting so I could really get those strong shadows, which would speed things up. But...whatever, I need to get back to it. 

Next month, I will be back doing drop-in life drawing/painting sessions. Actually I'm getting really excited about it as I type! Wow. And then I'll be doing landscapes as well, hopefully in 2 weeks. I'd do it now except I'm not going to have enough dough for an easel and the new brushes and all the other things I need until I get paid. You won't hear complaining out of me right now though, I'm lucky I have a job. In the meantime, I'm thinking I'll just go sketch some trees or something just to get familiar with outdoor scenery. I'm really not an outdoorsy person, plus I'll need allergy meds. It is exciting though, I can't wait! This will get me on track and I will definitely be posting progress here. Looks like June 2009 is going to be a good month...