Week 1...
This week I began my first painting in class; one I planned to do in acrylics. I thought of what inspired me, and realized, having only drawn human form before, I wanted to paint it. I was interested in facial features and staying somewhat close to realism, though I liked the idea of "loose" painting, with mounds of color jumping on a canvas. I wanted to incorporate the beauty of abstract, colorful art with that of classical art. I chose to paint a close-up of actor and comedian, Zach Galifinakis, which I planned to paint with a palate of warm, red and orange hues.
This week I began my first painting in class; one I planned to do in acrylics. I thought of what inspired me, and realized, having only drawn human form before, I wanted to paint it. I was interested in facial features and staying somewhat close to realism, though I liked the idea of "loose" painting, with mounds of color jumping on a canvas. I wanted to incorporate the beauty of abstract, colorful art with that of classical art. I chose to paint a close-up of actor and comedian, Zach Galifinakis, which I planned to paint with a palate of warm, red and orange hues.
Week 2...
As I completed the background of my canvas, I began to outline the features loosely of my subject, and I realized as I added more and more color for highlights and lowlights, it seemed more fitting to incorporate cool hues of blue and purple, with red undertones. Adding more and more layers to the face, I began to grow less "married" to the picture i was referencing, and grabbed bigger, more bristled brushes to enhance my abstract design. I learned a lot about color and value, as to how they relate to one another and that color can never be wrong as long as it is in the same value correct to the original image. This was the most important lesson i took with me in completing the painting.
As I completed the background of my canvas, I began to outline the features loosely of my subject, and I realized as I added more and more color for highlights and lowlights, it seemed more fitting to incorporate cool hues of blue and purple, with red undertones. Adding more and more layers to the face, I began to grow less "married" to the picture i was referencing, and grabbed bigger, more bristled brushes to enhance my abstract design. I learned a lot about color and value, as to how they relate to one another and that color can never be wrong as long as it is in the same value correct to the original image. This was the most important lesson i took with me in completing the painting.
Week 3...
By this point I have completed a pastel-ish blue undertone for the face, and I moved on to add more dimension in lights and darks. Once I had the angles/shapes/curves of the face implied, I worked in more detail on the focus of the face (eyes, nose, lips) and added more dimension to those features. When I got further into this phase of the painting, my strokes became less abstract and more realistic in relation to the natural features. I added the final touches, and finished the portrait with a warm red/violet color scheme that contrasted slightly with bold blue hues.
By this point I have completed a pastel-ish blue undertone for the face, and I moved on to add more dimension in lights and darks. Once I had the angles/shapes/curves of the face implied, I worked in more detail on the focus of the face (eyes, nose, lips) and added more dimension to those features. When I got further into this phase of the painting, my strokes became less abstract and more realistic in relation to the natural features. I added the final touches, and finished the portrait with a warm red/violet color scheme that contrasted slightly with bold blue hues.
Week 4...
This week I began working with oils (a fear of mine previously) and mimicked the works of old world painters. I painted pears from life in about a day, learning how to use the medium I had been so afraid of, and now love! Working with oils was very therapeutic and I absolutely loved the light it had the ability to capture. Id like to continue working with oils and improve my skills so that it can be my strong suit. Following, I began a bigger project in which I mimicked the work of modern painters, who used acrylics to paint still life. I set up my own subject- fruits, bowls, etc.. and began sketching out on a black canvas. This sketch allowed for my underpainting to be sort of like a coloring book, and I will use this to create dark edges around various parts of the subject.
Week 5
After getting through an underpainting, I started to lay on some color. This is where things got tricky and I grew very frustrated because I realized that modern painting isn't really appealing to my eye, and I had trouble breaking away from the tendancy to blend colors, rather than just leave broken strokes, given I was working with very rounded objects. I also ran into trouble reaching colors I wanted, though learned new ways to achieve hues without dulling them down. This way I began brightening the painting, adding thick layers that created texture and attempted to break up my strokes a little more.
After getting through an underpainting, I started to lay on some color. This is where things got tricky and I grew very frustrated because I realized that modern painting isn't really appealing to my eye, and I had trouble breaking away from the tendancy to blend colors, rather than just leave broken strokes, given I was working with very rounded objects. I also ran into trouble reaching colors I wanted, though learned new ways to achieve hues without dulling them down. This way I began brightening the painting, adding thick layers that created texture and attempted to break up my strokes a little more.
Week 6...
This week I kept at my still life... adding color, painting over color, creating new colors, and furnishing the surroundings. I had become so concentrated on my subject I had neglected the background, and once I added that it really started to come together more. By the time the wall's background was finished, I had reached a color tone that I really liked, and was able to play off of that with my golden yellows/purples in the draped cloth. My bowls also came to life and I experimented a little bit with brush stroke (rectangular, weaved strokes) on the smaller bowl. I also was able to reach good form/color on SOME of my apples.
This week I kept at my still life... adding color, painting over color, creating new colors, and furnishing the surroundings. I had become so concentrated on my subject I had neglected the background, and once I added that it really started to come together more. By the time the wall's background was finished, I had reached a color tone that I really liked, and was able to play off of that with my golden yellows/purples in the draped cloth. My bowls also came to life and I experimented a little bit with brush stroke (rectangular, weaved strokes) on the smaller bowl. I also was able to reach good form/color on SOME of my apples.
Week 7...
I was finally able to see the bigger picture by now, and had to keep playing around with my color/form on several of my fruits... the pear was possibly the hardest image to achieve, and at this point I still had not reached a finished image of my pear. Other fruits began to come together though..slowly but surely. This week was essentially a repeat upon repeat of laying down/testing color and mastering form.
I was finally able to see the bigger picture by now, and had to keep playing around with my color/form on several of my fruits... the pear was possibly the hardest image to achieve, and at this point I still had not reached a finished image of my pear. Other fruits began to come together though..slowly but surely. This week was essentially a repeat upon repeat of laying down/testing color and mastering form.
Week 8....
This week I decided to make some changes.. I felt that my larger bowl needed a color change in order to better contrast with my palette, and I went for more of a rose color with shades of purple in the darker areas inside the bowl. With some inspiration from Mr. Rosage, I was able to allow the shadows to come through in purple hues along the edges of the fruits in that bowl. Many of my apples had become completed by now (with exception of the lights), and I added some color variations to my bottle. I also made an artistic decision to add subtle hints of a cadmium red (one of my favorite colors) to play with my subject. A stroke on either of my bowls and a small one on the bottle would create harmony.
This week I decided to make some changes.. I felt that my larger bowl needed a color change in order to better contrast with my palette, and I went for more of a rose color with shades of purple in the darker areas inside the bowl. With some inspiration from Mr. Rosage, I was able to allow the shadows to come through in purple hues along the edges of the fruits in that bowl. Many of my apples had become completed by now (with exception of the lights), and I added some color variations to my bottle. I also made an artistic decision to add subtle hints of a cadmium red (one of my favorite colors) to play with my subject. A stroke on either of my bowls and a small one on the bottle would create harmony.
Week 9...
My fruits came into their own this week and I added the finishing touches (stems, lights) and completed my bottle...which eventually turned into an olive oil bottle because I liked the form of that better. With the forms of each of my fruits being corrected and finished, my piece was very close to finished once I turned the lights on. Adding the pops of cadmium red really worked with my subject in terms of the look I was going for, and they serve as sort of an eye-catcher to draw focus on the painting. By the end I really enjoyed the color scheme and the lights working with my painting, and though I probably achieved less of a Cezanne style than initially working for, it was well- blended to suit my style of painting. The texture in a few of my apples (from all of my painting over and over after not reaching a good color or form) created a good focal point in the second third of my painting.
My fruits came into their own this week and I added the finishing touches (stems, lights) and completed my bottle...which eventually turned into an olive oil bottle because I liked the form of that better. With the forms of each of my fruits being corrected and finished, my piece was very close to finished once I turned the lights on. Adding the pops of cadmium red really worked with my subject in terms of the look I was going for, and they serve as sort of an eye-catcher to draw focus on the painting. By the end I really enjoyed the color scheme and the lights working with my painting, and though I probably achieved less of a Cezanne style than initially working for, it was well- blended to suit my style of painting. The texture in a few of my apples (from all of my painting over and over after not reaching a good color or form) created a good focal point in the second third of my painting.
Week 10...
This week I was able to start two 8x10 palette knife landscapes in oil. These were among my favorite projects- I absolutely loved working with the palette knife and playing around with oils at the same time. I began by squaring out a section of two paintings in order to come up with an image/composition I liked, and then began creating a loose no-tan of each on the canvases with acrylics (the field scene being in deep reds and purples, and the marsh scene being in yellows and pinks). Then I began with my palette knife in oils, using a technique that allowed for a lot of rough, linear texture within my trees and meadows. I had to build upon my color, adding depth to my meadows and changing values to give an idea of distance in my mountain/ horizon line. When some paint dried, it left me a lot of room to come back and develop my texture. A great finishing touch was the cadmium red I used to allude to poppies. My second canvas I had to build upon on my own, and creating the marsh scene required a lot of work within my sky- this I wanted to create with scattered, less rough texture, and I added the rough texture into my marsh. My favorite aspect of this piece was the water/stream running through the marshes, in which i could really use to keep the pink under-painting to serve as the reflection of the sky along the water. Both of these wound up being two of my favorite pieces. I could do 30 more.
This week I was able to start two 8x10 palette knife landscapes in oil. These were among my favorite projects- I absolutely loved working with the palette knife and playing around with oils at the same time. I began by squaring out a section of two paintings in order to come up with an image/composition I liked, and then began creating a loose no-tan of each on the canvases with acrylics (the field scene being in deep reds and purples, and the marsh scene being in yellows and pinks). Then I began with my palette knife in oils, using a technique that allowed for a lot of rough, linear texture within my trees and meadows. I had to build upon my color, adding depth to my meadows and changing values to give an idea of distance in my mountain/ horizon line. When some paint dried, it left me a lot of room to come back and develop my texture. A great finishing touch was the cadmium red I used to allude to poppies. My second canvas I had to build upon on my own, and creating the marsh scene required a lot of work within my sky- this I wanted to create with scattered, less rough texture, and I added the rough texture into my marsh. My favorite aspect of this piece was the water/stream running through the marshes, in which i could really use to keep the pink under-painting to serve as the reflection of the sky along the water. Both of these wound up being two of my favorite pieces. I could do 30 more.
Week 11...
I started on my graphite/acrylic project, only beginning on some of the graphite before I took a quick break to do a plein- air scene of Tryon Palace in oils on a small canvas paper about 12x8. I began by getting a no-tan of my subject in a neutral blue/grey, and followed up by lathering in a washed out burnt sienna. I loved the shapes and the looseness I was able to create with this one, and none of the images are very hard or detailed, and I loved the "fuzzy" look I achieved. I added my greenery and hedges (my favorite part). Final touches consisted of adding the lights, the flowers within the hedges, and then a statue within the doorway of the garden. This piece helped me to understand the value of a less- detailed piece...a plein-air painting! Then I got back to my graphites and made a creative decision to add ivy leaves onto my original idea.
I started on my graphite/acrylic project, only beginning on some of the graphite before I took a quick break to do a plein- air scene of Tryon Palace in oils on a small canvas paper about 12x8. I began by getting a no-tan of my subject in a neutral blue/grey, and followed up by lathering in a washed out burnt sienna. I loved the shapes and the looseness I was able to create with this one, and none of the images are very hard or detailed, and I loved the "fuzzy" look I achieved. I added my greenery and hedges (my favorite part). Final touches consisted of adding the lights, the flowers within the hedges, and then a statue within the doorway of the garden. This piece helped me to understand the value of a less- detailed piece...a plein-air painting! Then I got back to my graphites and made a creative decision to add ivy leaves onto my original idea.
Week 12...
Now that I am left with my 18x24 mixed media piece, I have completed all I have done in graphite (a figure hunched over on a tree stump, thin branches reaching out of his head, ivy growing around the roots, and a small lemon on the edge of the stump). I then finished a turbulent, black acrylic wash around the graphite (WHICH WAS A NIGHTMARE), and began randomly placing natural items like branches, twigs, weeds, and leaves around the paper and set them with mod-podge. This is a more personal piece, and not one of my favorites aesthetically, and the living pieces I glued down will soon wither and die, but it serves its purpose. I think I will call this piece The Nightmare. Don't know yet.
Now that I am left with my 18x24 mixed media piece, I have completed all I have done in graphite (a figure hunched over on a tree stump, thin branches reaching out of his head, ivy growing around the roots, and a small lemon on the edge of the stump). I then finished a turbulent, black acrylic wash around the graphite (WHICH WAS A NIGHTMARE), and began randomly placing natural items like branches, twigs, weeds, and leaves around the paper and set them with mod-podge. This is a more personal piece, and not one of my favorites aesthetically, and the living pieces I glued down will soon wither and die, but it serves its purpose. I think I will call this piece The Nightmare. Don't know yet.