Spiderwort Painting and Lukas Berlin WMOs

For the last week or so, I've been looking for a subject to paint.  Mostly, I've been wanting to try out my new easel.  I looked through my photos and photo albums and finally came up with something floral...a Spiderwort picture I took several years ago.

I wanted to give my Lukas Berlin WMO paints another try.  Give it a real good test.  I also wanted to try a different painting technique.  Paint the background first and the subject last.

Here is the results of my three hours of painting:

The Lukas Berlin WMO paints are lovely to mix and paint with.  It's creamy right out of the tube.  I used Ultramarine Blue and Lemon Yellow to create the green values (dark, medium, and light).  I did notice that the Lukas colors appear to be brighter than the other paints I've used so far.  

Once the colors were mixed, I did notice that the mixture was still creamy, but slightly thick.  When I applied the paint to the canvas paper, I could tell the consistency was different than the more expensive Holbiens I used in my previous painting.  The Holbien paint mixture glides over the canvas paper without too much effort.  When I used the Lukas, I have to load a bit more paint on the brush to get that "glide" feel over the canvas paper.  There's definitely a difference in the feel of the paint.  Personally, I don't consider to be an issue.  I'm just happy that I'm not working with stiff paints.  

In this first painting session, I did not use any mediums (e.g. linseed oil or thinner).  This gives you an idea of how good this paint really is to work with.  

My green values

Painted the dark value first

Painted in the light value next

Painted in the medium value and then blended the colors

For the next painting session, I will start painting the flower.  I plan on using a Magenta Red color mixed with white to create the Pink values.  

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