You may not believe this but all four suits are different colours, and yet, I painted all four with black and white paint on my brown underpainting. The tricks are the amount of paint added to the medium and if I mix the grey first before applying to the canvas. It always amazes me how you can make blue from white and black.
Yesterday I took just black paint and medium and did some of the grisaille work (first photo). Today I’m work on grisaille and colour both in the clothes (second photo); basically it’s just black and white with medium for the grey suit. I put on a thin layer and work grey into the black shadows. I put the tiniest dab of purple into the tie, but other than that, it’s all black and white in this suit so far. The result is that the figure pops out of the darkness.
My underpainting in burnt umber and medium is done, although I am thinking about adding some more cash to the empty space on the table. What do you think?
I got this little drawing (7 x 9″) framed this morning for a group exhibition about gentrification and displacement put on by City Repair, an organization that facilitates artistic and ecologically-oriented placemaking through projects that honor the interconnection of human communities and the natural world. The show opens Thursday, June 8th from 6-9pm at 1006 NE Emerson St, Unit A, Portland. Come on out!
It’s coming along nicely. I’m still just using burnt umber and my medium comprised of 40% linseed oil/60% mineral spirits.
It took three hours but this face looks just like my brother-in-law and he seems sufficiently terrified.
I know it doesn’t look like much, but I’ve already done half the work just to get to this point! I’ve honed my idea, I’ve organized models and props, I’ve done the photo shoot for reference photos, I’ve made a stretcher and stretched the canvas, and finally, I’ve got the reference lines, which are definitely the hardest part. This initial drawing is the most crucial stage for me. Because I use the white of the canvas to show through, thereby creating highlights, I have to make sure that the lines are in the right place. There is no painting over mistakes later! The proportions have to be exact, as do the lines of the face that render expression. It’s a lot of pressure!
I’m so excited about this! We did the photo shoot last night for the next allegory in the series, this one being ‘The Allegory of Climate Change.’
I can’t wait to get the frame made and get to work!
