I managed to get a couple hours in today on this one. I deliberately kept the background a little loose. Hyper Realism would be cool, but would take far longer than I am willing to spend on this. Plus, I’m not really fond of painting landscapes; I much prefer interiors, but I thought this painting would be cooler if the playground were on fire.
I’m working on the hands right now, trying to get the stretch just right. Now that I look at this photo of the painting, I can see things in the face that I don’t like, such as the shadow on the chin, so I’ll have to go back to that. Hands and faces have so much expression and they really make or break a painting, so I better get it right.
I’ve started a new little painting of Nico fighting a dragon but this time I have drawn it out in pencil instead of drawing with burnt umber paint and medium. The pencil smudges and shows through the oil pastel I apply afterward, but I think I don’t mind. It still looks okay. Now onto the hard part…
WIP: I finished these three characters today. It’s so close to being done but the final painting will have to wait till Monday. We’re off to Seattle for the weekend. Have a good one!
I’m working on grisaille today and have only used titanium white and ivory black. It’s a little know secret that black and white make blue when painted on underpainting, but I didn’t think it would turn out so blue! It’s perfect.
Work in Progress: I’ve got my entire underpainting done in burnt umber and medium, and now I move on to grisaille. I’ve got a week till my deadline so I need to get this puppy done fast!
I really want to enter the Betty Bowen Award competition through the Seattle Art Museum for a big prize and I need six images to submit. I really need to get a hustle on this one because I want to submit it and the deadline is Aug 1st!
I tried a new technique; the one used by Titian. I have to say it’s a pain and don’t think the figure is stronger because of it. Perhaps it takes years of practicing this to get it right! Titian was known for putting scumbles on glazes on scumbles on glazes, and so that is what I have done here with this portrait. I think I have about ten layers in all.
As usual, the underpainting is moving very slowly. My underpainting shows through in the final painting, so I am cautious at this stage about the decisions I make, sometimes going back to a figure the next day and adding more burnt umber. Just like cooking, you can always add more of an ingredient, but it’s hard to take it out!
When I first started using Caravaggio’s painting technique, one thing that was difficult was making the shadows dark enough; beginners are inclined to lay down less paint on a white canvas because the contrast seems too stark, but it’s the subtleties in the shadows that bring the work to life. For this guy’s shirt I painted the canvas with burnt umber and then took a brush dipped in mineral spirits to take paint away, rather than add it.
