A Helping Hand

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You don't have to go too far to find a good subject to paint.  For homework, I had to create two paintings of my hand using a reductive method with burnt umber.  My first two sketches were my hand in my lap and then in holding it up in the air, but they were pretty boring.  I wanted something that someone would actually find interesting.  With the timer on my camera and my reflective light, I took about 30 shots.  I spent about as much time setting up the lighting and running back and forth to the camera as I did painting.  Actually, it was more time painting, but the time spent on the setup made a big difference.  I love tonal paintings and I'm always scared that I will ruin a good tonal study with color.  If I don't make a mess of these two, I'll post the finished paintings.

Happy Birthday to Us

I recently found out I share a birthday with Burt Lancaster, Marie Antoinette, Daniel Boone, Cookie Monster (yay!) and Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin.  So to celebrate our day, I had some cookies and created a painting after one of Chardin's paintings.  His paintings often depict common settings, like the kitchen, and have wonderful diffuse lighting.  I picked one of his easier paintings and one without critters.  

Pears, Walnuts, and a Glass of Wine

I can easily get hold of pears, walnuts and wine, but not so much rabbits and birds.  The challenge was trying to get the right lighting.  Chardin's lighting is soft, yet strong.    Below is my version.

Blue Glass
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This was a fun exercise and may try emulating some of his more complex paintings.  As always, critiques are welcome.