“Ray Bans” 6×6″ oil on Gessobord. Thanks to this lenadementieva of dA for reference photo.
I’ve been nursing this painting along for a few days. I considered it an interesting color studyâI thought the reference photo (used with permission, of course) had so many fascinating colors, warm and cool, and a blue or green cast to them. I am not sure that this photo of my painting adequately captures what I was aiming for, though.
What I saw in the reference photo was a lot of cool pink cast, with some greens and blues in the flesh, especially the highlights. This photo looks like it has more orange in it. I see more subtle cool pinks in the painting.
Ah well, you can’t win them all!
It’s been a long, long day so I’ll leave this post brief for now, possibly adding more later.
“Cat in the Grass,” 6×6″ oil on panel. Thanks to valeaves of dA for the stock photo!
This painting has been simmering on the backburner for about a month. I set it aside after doing the first stage, worked on some other paintings for a while, and finally decided to complete it.
The green background (grass and foliage) gave a green cast to the cat’s fur. Quite a challenge! Without the background color of grass green, the colors bouncing off the kitty would not make any sense! This is a beautiful tortoiseshell/calico kitty with clear, green eyes that reflect the green of the background.
The Brush.
This painting was the one that caused the damage to The Brush. I have a favorite paintbrush, entitled “The Brush” because it is THE go-to brush that I grab often during my painting. It was so loved, so relied on, so adored, that its beautiful handle snapped off in my hand as I was working on “Cat in the Grass.” There’s still enough of a handle left so I can continue to use it, but it’s also starting to show wear elsewhere. (I guess I am hard on The Brush. I do wash my brushes religiously, but I guess something about how I use The Brush is contributing to its gradual demise.)
The Brush is probably just a simple sable Bright (size 6) but I have bonded with this specific, particular brand of brush, so I’m afraid to deviate to any other type, because maybe it’s not quite like The Brush. My source for The Brush is The Italian Art store, their own label (which I’m sure is actually made by some other brush maker and stamped with The Italian Art Store’s name). So since I am hard on The Brush, I must order duplicate The Brushes, so I am never without a supply!
“Big Green Eyes – Cat Head” 6×8″ oil on linen panel. Thanks to hiddenyume-stock for the photo I used as reference!“Intense Kitty Head” 6×6″ oil on panel. Thanks to FurLined for the stock photo used as reference!
I’m doubling up on the cat heads for this post. Lots of cat head painting going on. I’ve been enjoying it very much!
While it might not be evident by looking at the paintings, I was trying a looser hand with both of these pieces. I often used a bigger brush through most of the painting process. One of my teachers, Adam Clague, imparts the wisdom to use a paintbrush that “seems too large,” because that’s just the right size. I think he’s on to something! đ
Though I did get into the details a lot too (which I don’t think is necessarily bad) I think that “less is more” and I don’t want to paint every little molecule of detail. Some artists do that exceedingly well and beautifully, but it just isn’t the direction I’m heading in.
I also enjoyed capturing the various colors observed in these kitty heads. Who knew that a simple white ruff on a cat’s chest could contain so much color? It truly is amazing. I do so love painting these kitties!
“Ivory Skin & Black Lace” 12×12″ oil on panel. Thanks to La Esmeralda Stock on dA for the reference photo I used as inspiration!
My latest effort. This was done on the “Artist” panel by Ampersand. A good panel, classified as “budget,” but also still archival. I have a lot of these panels. It has a dovetail slot in the back, so it can be hung as-is on the wall, or slapped in a frame. I love the dovetail slot feature, which is why I’ve stockpiled a lot of these boards. They are about 3/8″ to 1/2″ thick (I think 3/8″) and the sides of the panel are painted a complementary color, so if they are hung unframed, the edges of the board look finished (somewhat reminiscent of “gallery wrap” canvases, which can also be left unframed).
I enjoyed this painting and think the model is very striking. She’s great fun to paint. So dramatic! Her skin is so pale and light, I confess I had trouble capturing that adequately with my color mixing. I think I made her a bit more “pink” than she was in the reference photo, but hopefully she’s not too ruddy or flushed. (All monitors are calibrated differently, but on my computer display, she doesn’t look too red-skinned.)
“Splotchy Kitty Head” 5×5″ oil on Gessobord. Thanks to Nikkayla on DeviantArt for the stock photo I used as reference!
Another month, and some new works! Yes, there has been a lapse of paintings for this blog. It was a busy few weeks. But I’ve still been hard at work, painting!
This cat head painting was a particular challenge, because of all the . . . splotches. Our family calls calico/tortoiseshell kitties “splotched” kitties, because of all the multitude of colors. Well, actually my dad called these type of cats “multi-color.” We can’t just call them “calicos,” now can we? đ
The challenge in this painting was representing the splotches on the surface of the cat, while still representing the form and dimension. I hope I succeeded in that. It certainly did make me think, as I painted!
In addition, here’s a work in progress painting. Hopefully it’ll be done in a day or two. Not much to say yet about this one, other than I’ve enjoyed the drama drama drama of the pose!
WORK IN PROGRESS. “Ivory Skin 2″ (temporary title), 12×12” oil on panel. Thanks to La Esmaralda Stock of DeviantArt for the reference photo used as inspiration.
“Lady with Hat,” 6×8″ oil on Gessobord. Thanks to swiftsugar of DeviantArt for the stock photo I used as inspiration!
I loved the expression and pose of this one. The original photo that I used as reference had an exaggerated “golden” tint to it, which I didn’t want to paint. So I ran the photo through my iPad photo editing app (not iPhoto) and chose an option that took away a lot of the yellow. Then I used the adjusted photo as my reference. It was an interesting little iPad tweak!
There were a lot of golds, greens, and muted oranges in this one. A different color scheme, but a lot of fun to paint! She has a very vintage look to her, her expression and the way her head is tilted.
I enjoyed painting this one, and now it’s time for the next!
“Jason in Shadow” 5×7″ oil on Gessobord. Thanks to Jason Aaron Baca (model) and Portia Shao (photographer) for the stock photo I used as reference.
I classify this as oils, but to be more specific, I used fast-drying oils (alkyds) on this painting. They are one particular flavor of oils and have been around for a while. (Read more rambling from me about them on this post.)
I’m a big fan of Jason Aaron Baca’s stock photos on DeviantArt. So much drama! Dramatic poses, dramatic lighting, what’s not to love? So here’s another little oil sketch based on one of his photos.
With this painting I was working again with trying to capture the light and shadow, and of great interest to me, the warms and cools. He had a lot of cool tones in the highlighted parts of his face. I’m also working on making more pronounced brushstrokes, more strong and visible. I love bold brushwork and want to get more proficient with that! So exciting!
So, another one done. Put a fork in it! Now onto the next oil sketch. I have several in the works!
I forgot to post this painting earlier. It was completed in August. I loved the intense look on the model’s face, but when I compare my finished piece with the stock photo used as reference, I realize that it ended up being more “inspiration” than a literal reference. I changed the expression, the intensity, the contrast, a lot of things. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s still obviously painted from that particular photo, but the jawline, the shape of the head, and the tilt of the head, among other things, were all changed. I don’t consider it a good likeness of the model anymore. But I have no intention of changing it.
What attracted me to this particular stock photo was the expression of the model, as well as all the variety of colors in his faceâthe pinks, neutral greens, and even some pale lavenders. It was a challenge trying to capture all of that in the painting. Not sure I succeeded completely, but I tried!
I used Ampersand Gessobord this time, which has a luscious, smooth, eggshell-like surface. I love it. I don’t always want to paint on that type of surface, but it is one of my favorites. It works especially well with smaller works.
I don’t quite know how to explain why I chose this subject. I liked the expression and thought it was dramatic and evocative, I guess.
“Hooded Man,” oil on panel, 8×10 inches. Credit goes to djwar93 on DeviantArt for the stock photo I used as reference.
There was a lot of time spent on the values, shadows, and some on the colors (which areas were cooler, what areas were warmer?). The expression of the man came together on its own; he seems at times to me to be merely intense, thoughtfulâother times he seems angry and sinister. I’ll let the viewer decide!
This is a first for my blog, and I feel a bit geeky about it. I’m posting this from my studio! I have a nice computer set up here ($100 used Mac Mini–who says that these older computers are obsolete?) and have finally configured it to upload files to my site, scan and edit artwork in Photoshop, read photos from my digital camera, and the whole bit.
Anyway, back to the painting. I’ve fussed with this one for a few days and have to say I’ve very much enjoyed the process. The reference photo used had some lovely skin tonesâwarm and cool, subtle shifts in color, and a calm, and beautiful expression on the model’s face.
I’m also trying to paint a little more boldly and thickly, though I guess it’s not enough yet to be obvious in the painting itself.
“Lady in Green,” 6×8″ oil on linen panel. Thanks to WhimseyStock for the use of the stock photo as reference!
I used a DickBlick linen panel for this painting. I haven’t used this brand of panel before, but I have to say I enjoyed it. There’s something about the texture of linen, and I’ve really warmed to it. This is one of the Blick’s “high end” line of panels, I assume meant to compete with brands like Fredrix’s archival linen panels. I like both brands and will pick whichever is on sale!
