Surviving Winter

Early Morning Marsh
SOLD

Race Point Dune Path
SOLD 

I've realized my choice of subject matter for the last few paintings is my subconscious longing for winter to end.  More snow is predicted for Monday, so this weekend I'll enjoy the sun (although cold and windy), build a fire, and paint more memories of last summer.

I suppose I could have painted snow scenes, because there was plenty to be found, but I like my little mental vacations.

Learning To Paint Like The Masters - Part 4

Well, I've started my glazing.  This process requires a lot more patience than direct painting!

In the Lobster Pot painting the sky has about 4 layers.  The first was yellow, then a Cerulean Blue (made it too green), then some Ultramarine Blue with white (made it too purple) then a very thin glaze of Veridian Green.  Whew!  The street started with a warm brown, then glazed over with Paynes Grey and white, and some small areas with Earth Green and white  Most of the other parts have one or two layers with more to go. I'm not having much luck on the sunny side of the building.  The top is too yellow and the bottom is too grey.

The tea pot painting has only one layer of glazing.  The drop cloth will next get a glaze of brown and the copper pot will get some red.  Then I'll start on the cup and tea pot.

Learning To Paint Like The Masters - Part 3

Verdaccio is another Italian “old master” technique for underpainting.  Here, I’ve used mixtures of Green Earth Hue (or Chromium Oxide green), Ivory black (a warm black) and Flake White.  I thinned it down using Galkyd Lite but you can also use your “turps.”  You want this layer to be thin, especially if you are going to glaze over this layer. Always remember “fat over lean” when applying paint.  If you glaze with a thin layer over a thick layer of paint, the top layer may crack as the bottom layer dries.   

I still have some work to do on the right part of the sign, but I can evaluate the strength of my composition using just values.  I might lighten the dark window at the top and the sky just a bit.  If my composition fails at this point, it probably won't get much better when I add the color glazing.

Another version of this underpainting is the French grisaille technique which uses neutral or warm grey tones.  Using what I learned in Color Theory class, verdaccio could be better for portraits as the green is a nice complement to the reds of skintones.  Contemporary paintings are often stared with an underpainting using complementary colors. 

Learning To Paint Like The Masters - Part 2

Now I'm on the "dead" layer.  Mixing white with a small amount of the local color, I paint over the lighter parts of the "bruno" layer.  I can make some minor corrections to the bottom layer, if needed.  If the value shifts are related to transitions in the form, use the same paint, but just thinner scumbling so the burnt umber of the bottom layer shows through.  If the value shift is a different object, use a darker value of paint. I broke this rule for the cup because it was solid white and I didn't what any of the burnt umber showing through.

The next step will be glazing with color.  As the glaze will make the dead layer darker,  it is better to err on the side of painting this layer too light.  After I photographed the painting I realized some parts need to be lighter.  Glazing next week.

I'm Not a Morning Person...

Scrub Pine
SOLD 

   but I will force myself to crawl out of bed at the crack of dawn for the right reasons.  Getting great reference photos is the best reason.  While visiting Provincetown, MA last summer, I was on the road before the sun came up.  Located at the tip of Cape Cod, this area is surrounded by ocean and light.

It rained the first three days of my trip, so I had to make the most of the little time left.  For me, early morning light is the most beautiful.  It always seems just a little softer than late afternoon light.  And you get some beautiful shadows.

Well, I finally got around to painting one of those special spots.

10 Steps to Becoming a Better Artist (from Kesha Bruce)

I'm stealing this from Kesha Bruce, so I hope I don't get in trouble if I give proper attribution and you visit her site.

http://www.keshabrucestudio.com/2010/10/10-easy-steps-to-becoming-better-artist.html

1. Make some Art.
2. Make some more Art.
3. Make even more Art.
4. Make even more Art than that.
5. Make Art when you don't really feel like making Art.
6. Make Art when you REALLY feel like making Art.
7. Make Art when you have something to say.
8. Make Art when you got nothin' to say.
9. Make Art every day.
10. Keep making Art.

Learning To Paint Like The Masters - Part 1

I’m taking a kind of “back to basics” class.  We first stretched and primed our own canvas’ and then laid in a ground.  The ground was a glaze using a mixture of yellow ochre and raw umber for a nice warm gold.  I’m now working on the “imprimatura” stage of the painting, using burnt umber.  From Wikipedia - Imprimatura is a term used in painting, meaning an initial stain of color painted on a ground. It provides a painter with a transparent toned ground, which will allow light falling onto the painting to reflect through the paint layers.  Its use as an underpainting layer can be dated back to the guilds and workshops during the Middle Ages, however it comes into standard use by painters during the Renaissance particularly in Italy.

Imprimatura Layer

Next I work on the “dead layer" - the next step of the classical Flemish technique, also called the Gray Layer.  I paint over this layer with white and various shades of gray.  Stay tuned.

I LOVE my new TV, but not for the obvious reasons...

My "Studio"

Today was a very productive day.  I redesigned my studio/bedroom around a TV. 

I while back, I decided to look for a replacement for my old clunky analog TV to 1) get a better screen and 2) get the built-in digital converter in preparation for dumping cable :-(.  At Best Buy, I noticed most had a PC input.  I think I stood in front of a TV about 20 minutes – not deciding which to buy, but trying to redesign my bedroom in my head.  My “studio” is at one end of my bedroom and I was figuring out how I could set up the TV for regular viewing, but most importantly, to use it as a monitor while I paint.  (If you work from photos, I strongly recommend using your computer monitor instead of prints.  The colors are more true, especially in the shadows.)

This morning, I built a stand with some scrap wood so I can put my laptop under the stand and the TV above.  I checked off the “Extend my Windows Desktop to this monitor” option and had one image on the TV and a second on my laptop.  The color was better than my laptop monitor and a thousand times better than working from prints.  I never had so much fun painting!!  With the big screen, it was like plein air painting but without the hassle. 

Now all I need is a little fridge and I have no excuse to leave my bedroom.  Oh, yeah; except to go to work.