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...

Investing In Landscape Materials

I realized there's a park in my area worth painting at and maybe it's a good idea to buy an outdoor easel. 

There's only so many choices though and I'm trying to narrow them down. At first my number one choice was a French Easel (full-box, preferably by Jullian). For those who don't know, FEs are wooden easels that can fold up into a box so you can carry it around. They come in a few variations, two of them being a full-box and a half-box. The half-box is slimmer but has much of the same functionality. There's also completely different options available and one them is a Stanrite aluminum easel. It's lightweight (3lbs compared to the FE, which is 14lbs) and much cheaper. The price is also tempting at $80CAN compared to the FE which is about $100CAN more. I don't know why these things are so expensive here in Canada. I guess I'll have to shop online.

Anyway, I really want to get out there and paint because I'm tired of still-lifes and reproductions every summer. I don't have access to a model right now so landscapes seem to be a great alternative. 

OAA 40th Annual Juried Show

I'm pleased to say that my efforts to get myself "out there" this year are paying off. Two of my drawings got into a juried show. One of them won 2nd Best in Show (Best in Show is a painting no doubt), which is great news since it's my first major juried show. I'll get 'em next time though! I'll post pictures of the show this week. And if all goes as planned I'll have another show in July...

Egg Study

I just did this in about an hour. It's my first painting on mylar. It wasn't bad--I definitely need more practice. I thought I'd start really simply by painting an egg in black and white just to feel things out. It's nice to be able to take a brush, dip it in mineral spirits and use it to clean up edges. I don't see myself doing full paintings on mylar, but I'll explore it some more. 

Rembrandt Reproduction on Mylar (Nearly Done)

Almost done! It won't look much different than this. I want to keep it pretty dark because that's how I like it. Just a few minor things to do, and it'll be done.