Drawing Cloth and Fruit (challenge)

Here's my bowl of fruit and cloth drawing from one of Jen's (RookiePainter) still life photo:

I'm fascinated with drawing right now.  I'm learning to look.  With the small amount of time I have during the weeknights, I find I can do a drawing in under two hours.

I started out drawing the horizontal line in the background.  Then I drew an outline of the front of the bowl and then drew in the outlines of the fruit.  I sketched in the cloth and double-checked the overall placement of the objects.  I added a few details, used an HB pencil to darken the outlines, and then started the shading.

I've been starting out with my 5H pencil to shade all the dark areas.  Then I use 4H and 2H to darken certain areas of the drawing (that's away from the light).  I go all the way up to 3B for the really dark shadows.  I use my blender stub to smooth out the contrast areas and soften edges where needed.

I drew this using my Prismacolor Turquoise Art Pencils (5H through 3B) on textured Bristol paper.

Drawing Cloth (challenge)

A few days ago, I came across an interesting art site/blog.  Jen over at http://rookiepainter.blogspot.com/ is running an art challenge.  She posts a new picture/challenge every three weeks.  Many artists have produced some brilliant artwork in pen, pencil, acrylic, watercolor, and oils.  I'm starting out as a silent participant.  I've gone through her blog and picked out some photos from previous challenges to do my own practice drawings.  When I start to feel a bit more confident, I plan on becoming an active participant.  

Here's my drawing of a cloth still life:

I used Prismacolor Turquoise Art Pencils (5H through 2B) on textured Bristol Paper.  I used a blending stick to blend the values and to soften some of the edges on the cloth.

Thanks to Jen (RookiePainter) for her creative still life photography and allowing others to create their own work of art.

Painting a Still Life Video from YouTube

This artist is phenomenal.  It's interesting to see different approaches to painting.  Grab a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy this video:

A New Easel and a New Painting (WIP)

I started another pear study.  This time in brown.  I'm still using the Holbien paints.  I'm getting spoiled.  I don't think I can go back to the W&Ns.  I didn't get to finish this study in one sitting as we ended up opening our presents and then had to get ready to go over to my sis-in-law's house for dinner.   

I ended up placing my mixed palette and my brushes in a Masterson Air-Tight Palette Seal.  I snapped the blue cover all around and I'm hoping the paints and brushes will remain moist until I'm ready to paint again...hopefully in the next two days or so.   I will report back the results later.  

I think I'm going to call this painting 'Chocolate Pears'.  My palette looks like a range of dark chocolate to milk chocolate.  Yummy!

Chocolate Pears on my new easel

My hubby bought me a floor standing easel for Christmas!  While I was painting upstairs, he was downstairs putting it together.  There was an included leaflet that contained diagrams of the easel, but no instructions.  He mentioned it was a bit tricky.  He did a great job!

Now, I have two places to paint.  Here in the main level, there is plenty of daylight I would like to take advantage of.  So, I think I'll paint here during the weekends (in the corner between two windows).  I'll be able to use my large glass palette (pre-cut glass from Home Depot) for the larger canvas.  

My new Mabef H-frame easel!

I'm looking forward to another long weekend to paint!

My Grisaille Study...Pears & Using New Paints

I've been spending some time doing research on underpaintings.  I've read that beginners should learn to paint the indirect method or grisaille versus the direct method (alla prima).  I haven't been too happy with the results of my direct method painting.  I decided a new adventure was in order.  I do enjoy challenges.

I spent four hours today in painting bliss.  I turned on the radio and dialed into a local classical music station.  I got into my painting zone and had some fun.  Here's the result after four hours and eight paint brushes later:

Pear Study (WIP)

I am quite happy with the results.  At the last minute, I decided to try out my new Holbien Duo Aqua Oils. Out of the tube, the paint was buttery and consistent across the colors.  The Ultramarine blue had some excess oil as it came out of the tube.  No worries.

I started out using my normal W&N Artisan Yellow Ochre mixed with a bit of thinner to create a light wash.  I did a quick sketch on the canvas paper taped to a hard board:

Quick sketch with a yellow ochre wash

I painted in the values for the pears as well as setting up the background:  

Painting the gray values on the pears

I continued painting the values for the background:

Painted background values

I blended the values on the pears:  

Here's my palette of colors.  I used Ceramic White, Ultramarine Blue, and Burnt Umber.  I mixed the Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber to get a dark gray color.  Then I added white for the next two values.

I really enjoy using the artist quality Holbien Duo Aqua Oils.  Used straight out of the tubes, they mixed well.  Consistent creamy/buttery feel.  I noticed I was getting better coverage on my canvas paper with the Holbien versus the W&N Artisan paints I've been using.


Life is good!

Three Pears Pencil Sketch

I thought I was finished with this pencil sketch until a brilliant artist/friend of mine suggested I "up" the contrast a bit.  The more I look at my sketch the more it appears to...not stand out as much as I thought.  The pears are not popping out of the paper.  I'm seeing a pattern here.  This appears to be the same problem I'm having with my paintings.  Not enough contrast.  Not enough "ooompf".

I need to dig out my "soft" pencils or the "B" range and redo parts of my sketch.

I just hope I don't overwork the sketch.  I suppose the worst case scenario...I get to do another one.  Just means more sketching/drawing time for me.  Sweet!

Painted Tonight...Christmas Candles

I did a quick painting tonight.  I ended up using 8 brushes to paint this small painting.

Yellow Ochre wash sketch

Painted in the dark value

Decided to paint the candles next

The finished painting...Christmas Candles

My palette.  The only color I did not use was the blue...which turned out blah!

Three Applies Painting

This evening,  I got a chance to sit and paint for a few hours.  I went ahead and finished my apples painting by adding in the shadows and then painting the white paper towel underneath.

Three Apples (close up)

Rough sketch on the left and the final painting

I'm going to leave the painting as is and call it "done".  I've been learning that the more I touch something, the more I overwork it.  Simple and less is better.

Now, I'm off to look for a photo to paint from.  I've got thousands to look at.  Sigh!

Two More Paintings on Values and Secondary Colors

Here's my third oil painting called 'Secondary Colors'.  This represents the purple, green, and orange colors that are created by mixing the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue.  I then mixed the purple, green, and orange colors to create the background colors.  I also used some titanium white to create the lighter colors.  I have to wait a few days for this painting to dry before I can finish it.

My second painting represents another take on values, but in the color blue.  I used Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White to create the values.  Before I finish this painting, I have to wait a few more days for the painting to dry.  

I'm trying to figure out if I should paint the background first and let it thoroughly dry and then paint the objects.  Currently, I'm painting the objects first and then painting the background.  This method makes it harder to paint in between the objects.

My New Hobby...Oil Painting

I've been interested in drawing/sketching since Jr High when I took the required art class, but I never pursued a career in the arts.  Let alone an education in that field.  In 2000, I picked up watercolor painting. I took a local class that got me off to the wrong start.  One, may paintings were miserable looking and two, my instructor wasn't that good.  That was a short lived hobby.  In 2002, I decided to get back into watercolors and took an 8-weeik course at an Old Town shop.  I studied with a wonderful lady, Karyn, who painted beautiful and lively scenes.  I wanted to paint like her.  My painting skills improved immensely as she introduced me to artist/professional paints and brushes.  That made a huge difference.  I continued painting for another year or so.

Since then, I have taken on additional hobbies like sewing and knitting garments and accessories.  I really enjoyed spending time in my fiber arts.  My short lived painting experiences helped me see a gamut of colors, hues, and textures.

Now, I've taken up oil painting.  I looked around for classes, but decided to learn this new hobby on my own.  The money I would have spent for lessons, was instead used for my new supplies (paints, palettes, and brushes).

My first oil painting called 'Values'

After playing around with the oils, I can honestly say that I enjoy it more than watercolors.  I did a wet-on-wet or single layer painting technique called Alla Prima.  It took only two hours to complete this painting.  

Here's my mini painting studio area:

My painting area.  One of my watercolor paintings is hanging on the wall (upper right)

I got the hang of holding the palette in my hand and didn't feel any fatigue.  It felt natural.  I also managed to hold additional brushes and a paper towel in the same hand.  I do need to get a larger palette once I start painting and mixing additional colors.  

My clear acrylic palette