Moving Along
So this is where I’m at with this painting as I start this morning. The skin on two of the figures is done and the others will go fast today. Next up: clothing.
Skin Glaze and Final Touches
Today I have done the final skin glaze on these two lovelies! I start by making a glaze from yellow ochre, vermilion, and titanium white mixed with a medium made up of 60% linseed oil and 40% mineral spirits. Then I add more red into the cheeks, nose,etc, then white for highlights. I go back in with a very fine brush and do the lines in the eyes, brows, nostrils, and lips again. Steve and Nicole do not look exactly as they do in real life, but it’s pretty close.
Call For Models
I’ve got a new idea for a painting, or a series of paintings: I want to create a modern battle scene in a bar. It’ll have the dynamic, swirling energy of Leonardo’s drawing and you’ll be able to distinguish the people brawling as the Right and the Left, given a few subtle clues like clothing, Make America Great Again hats, etc. It will be titled ‘The Allegory of Facebook.’
I’ve got the location settled; now I just need the models. Any takers in Portland??? I’ll buy you a drink!
Looser Style = Faster Painting
I’m moving right along on this painting today. I’m using a looser style with more medium mixed into the paint and I’m no longer spending time blending fabric folds with my fingers.
Complex Hues When Painting Shiny Wallpaper
Today I have decided to lay down some colour because working on skin can get really arduous and boring after a few days. I decided to go with a beige/blue because it is the actual colour in the photo I’m working from. The shine on the wallpaper is quite complex and the hues have to look just right according to the light. I thought that if I changed the colour to say, red, then I would be unsure as to how to control the hues in a different colour. Perhaps it would have worked, but I guess I’m playing it safe.
Painting Your Spouse
I’ve heard that self-portraits are the hardest to paint because you see yourself differently than others see you, but you know, I think painting your spouse is harder because they think that they appear in a certain way to you and then they can be disappointed when it doesn’t turn out as they expected. Hopefully we won’t get in a fight about this – ha!
Art Fair Application Work
There is a deadline in February for entry in the Art In The Pearl art fair held on Labour Day weekend and I have a million ideas for several new series of paintings, but I haven’t done the model photo shoots yet, so I am trying to get another big one in the Royals series done in time for the application deadline. This is my family and I – I love this image and have been wanting to do it for some time now. I wish my studio was bigger though, as this painting would be great at 6 x 8′ instead of 3 x 4.’
Forever Finding My Voice
I have a little time to experiment – I’m trying to find a style all my own and it keeps eluding me. All (good) artists steal from others and put it together in new ways to make something different, so that’s what I am trying – I use Renaissance oil painting techniques, but modern figures. I perpetually feel like I have something on the tip of my tongue and I just can’t put it into words/image yet. This painting isn’t what I want to express, but I’m going to keep working on it because I’m learning what works and what doesn’t.
Experiments in Style
I have been working on some new ideas lately, like mixing different styles together to create something new, although I admit that I don’t quite know what that new thing will be. It can be a little scary to experiment as one finds themselves outside of their realm of comfort and things could go horribly wrong. They could also go amazingly right. It remains to be seen.
Tonal Values
I had my basic outline when I started (first photo) and then I simply took burnt umber and medium to complete the underpainting today. The underpainting is always the hardest stage because I am putting in all the tonal values and it’s easy to slip up. Even as I am writing this I am going back in to fix up the values in some spots.
