Tissue in Lightbox I

6 x 8, oil on panel

As much as I appreciate my bank of north light windows, the constant white diffused light can get boring after a while. So with some tips from my RISD friend Scott I set up a light box for myself - basically a cardboard box with an incandescent light shining through a hole onto the still life below. You can see the results of my first attempt with the light box here. I'm looking forward to experimenting more with this new setup.

In line with my 2007 resolution to continue my formal art education, I signed up for a figure drawing workshop with Juliette Aristides, who has just published two books about classical drawing and painting. Five full days of drawing! The workshop is the last week of March, and when it's done I'll post my drawings here.

Pussywillow and Bottles

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Pussywillow Leaning

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Apple a Day

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

I've recently been in contact with two old friends from RISD and discovered they have also started exprimenting with the small daily painting practice. Be sure and check out their amazing paintings: Scott Conary and Shawn Kenny.

Tarnished Cup SOLD

5 x 7 inches, oil on panel

Orange Slices in a Dish SOLD

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Champagne Cork

5 x 7, oil on panel

I worked a few hours on a new tissue paper painting today, but it was taking too long, I'll have to finish it tomorrow. I did this one as break from the tissue paper series and really enjoyed it.

This was the cork from the toast at our wedding in Italy last year. Nowell aimed it off the loggia and it sailed away into the dark. The next day he hunted the lawn for it and found it.

Aqua Bottle in Tissue SOLD

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

This is a little square glass ink bottle wrapped in tissue. I love how the aqua glows through the tissue on the right side, so I cropped the composition to focus on this area.

Box Still Life - SESSION 2

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel, work in progress

I think I'll do one more session in black & white, and then start with the color.

Not sure I can manage keeping up with the "dailies" while working on a larger piece at the same time, although I know some artists do.

Two Wrapped Stones SOLD

5 x 7, oil on panel

Process shots:

Box Still Life SOLD

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel, work in progress

My goal for 2007 is to complete 10 larger, more detailed works, 11x14 and up, in addition to several dailys a week. To start off I am warming up with this painting, which is still small, but will be more detailed and will take several days to complete.

A major difference with this painting is that I am using artificial light, so I can paint after dark from life. I have one light source pointing at my still life, and another light source lighting my easel. I have never done this before, so it is an experiment for me. But it's a good way to get more painting hours into the day.

I am starting with a monochromatic underpainting, and will add color with glazing after another session or two. For this monochromatic phase I am using only raw umber, ultramarine blue, and titanium white.

In-progress shots:

Phase 1
Raw umber only, with a medium of 2 parts linseed oil, 1 part turp

Phase 2
Adding in the white and ultramarine. I threw in the highlights on the bottle too early, they are in the wrong place.

Phase 3
Adding more mid-tones. Neck of the bottle is still too long.

Phase 4
More details within the shadows of the tissue, starting to show some of the depth of the composition. Bottle is closer to correct proportions, but still maybe too narrow.

About the composition:
The bottle, the tissue paper, and the box are all elements I have started working with in my daily paintings these last couple months. Before the daily painting practice, I never would have set up this composition. I am really enjoying all of these elements: my little amber pharmacy bottle casts a really great glow you will see when I add the color.

The tissue paper I am really enjoying for the dramatic qualities, I spend quite a bit of time "sculpting" the paper before I start painting. And the box I think makes a better composition - instead of just an object floating in the black, the positive and negative spaces are more interesting. The box also gives a feel of an environment to enter, making a mysterious little space to explore.

This painting is slightly larger than life, and I think a really large painting of a similar composition would be especially interesting; the intimate made huge, a tiny space enlarged. It's the kind of thing I would have loved as a child, imagining myself small and exploring the dollhouse. I never played with dolls, but I loved to make houses for them.

Bottle in Tissue

5 x 7, oil on panelToday's painting has a looser style and a more expressive brushstroke, which adds a lot of movement. But I think some of the transparent feeling of the tissue paper is lost when the paint strokes are more evident.

I'm thinking of starting a large one of these "tissue paper" paintings, and am wondering how to approach it - chunky paint and loose brushstrokes, or soft, transparent glazes without visible brushwork. Stay tuned.

Vase in Tissue SOLD

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Thanks everyone for your comments and emails, I am glad people are enjoying my process shots and notations about my materials.

Brushes:
I created this painting using round brushes, I started sketching with size #8 and spent the second half of the day with size #2. I also used a #14 filbert to smooth out the background.

I always paint with two brushes at a time of the same size and shape - well, I paint with one brush and hold the other in my left hand, with the palette. I switch back and forth between the brushes constantly, occasionally giving them both a good cleaning in my Silicoil jar of turps. One brush is reserved for lights, and one for darks, which helps me keep my brushes and colors clean.

Colors:
I tend to settle on 3 so-called "primaries" plus Titanium white, even if I start out with more colors laid out on my palette. Today I used: Cadmium Yellow Deep, Permanent Violet Medium, and Ultramarine Blue (all Rembrandt brand). I also used Sennelier brand Phthalo Green Cool, which helped capture the bright green light shining through the vase - better than Ultramarine & Cad yellow mixed together would have.

Process shots:

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4

Phase 5 - Final Painting

Tissue Wrapping

8 x 8, oil on panel

I do realize the subject of this painting is somewhat obscured; as my husband pointed out, "I like it, but no one is going to know what it is." So, just so you know: This is a piece of tissue paper wrapped around a clementine fruit.

I was attracted to the subject for the dramatic feel of the twisted paper, like a frozen wave or cloud. A full value range of lights and darks and a full hue range of warm and cool colors are represented, presenting an interesting challenge to paint.

I'd like to do a series of large compositions over the next year, so maybe this will be a study for a larger and more refined painting.

Process shots:

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4

Phase 5

Phase 6 - Final Painting

Maple Leaf in a Bottle SOLD

6 x 6, oil on panel

New Brushes

I had a great time playing with my new round brushes, I got a much more expressive stroke even with fine detail, and I was able to keep layering without carving away earlier colors. I think you can see the looser brushstrokes if you click for the larger picture. Why didn't I try rounds before?

I used only size 1 and 2 rounds for this painting and didn't fall back on my comfortable filberts, even though it takes longer to spread paint around the larger areas with the rounds. I'm glad I did, I like the effect.

New Colors
I'm really loving the cad red med (PR108) for it's saturation and transparency, no chalkiness when mixed with dark colors, and has a lovely stain when mixed with lighter colors (aka yellows). But I went back to my normal cad yellow medium (PY35), the new cad yellow light (PY154) I find frustratingly weak, although maybe it will be good for very subtle tinting like warm highlights. I like the new quinacridone rose too, but am finding I prefer my old permanent violet medium if I had to choose just one cool red/magenta.

Oh no.... strangely, both my cool reds have the exact same pigment code (PV19) marked on the back of the tube, and both tubes are Rembrandt brand, and yet Perm. Violet Medium is a dark cool purple and Quin. Rose is a brighter cool red. I really don't understand that. Something in the paint besides pigment is defining the color? This color thing is complicated.

New Lamp
I painted in daylight today, but photographed the work with the new lamp as the only lightsource and wow, I am really impressed with the color. I used a daylight white balance setting on the camera and then didn't have to do any color correcting at all once I got the digital image into Photoshop, the colors were right on. Also the sheer top-down angle really reduced the glare factor. So I can shoot right on my painting easel and dismantle my "photo-studio area". So that's made this lamp worth it's $88 price tag right there.

Victorian in San Francisco SOLD

5 x 7 inches, oil on panel

Yesterday I met my friend Lisa for a sketching date in a cafe. She works as a professional animator and often draws in cafes, so we both brought our sketchbooks to the Grove on Fillmore.

It's her favorite cafe but I'd never been, and I have to say, it's pretty much the ideal spot: Good food, cosy atmosphere, and waitstaff who serve and bus without making you feel like you should go; we occupied a choice window table for close to 4 hours.

So the sun shining through the windows of the building across the street caught my eye and I did a drawing of it. I just love how the late afternoon light shines in one set of windows and out the other.

I had a lot of fun with the sketch and thought the building would be fun to paint, so today I went back alone with my little oil kit paintbox and did an onsite color study (which I won't post here, it was terrible). I also took some photos and thanks to my new "daylight" lamp (see yesterday's post), I was able to continue working after dark.

Process shots will be uploaded soon, having technical difficulties with Blogger tonight!

Pencil sketch done yesterday, Dec 18

Painting Phase 1

Painting Phase 2

Painting Phase 3

Final Painting

Leaf with Ring Box SOLD

5 x 7, oil on panel

It's done! I only needed two more hours on it, I could have finished it the day I started it if the sun didn't set so early. (See below for the process shots done a few days ago).

I decided some of the background brushstrokes were too busy & distracting so I smoothed it out a bit, and made the background cooler to contrast with the warm leaf. I also increased the value contrast by making darks darker and lights lighter, and I refined the top side of the leaf.

Click this picture to see an animation of the process:

I bought some new paint colors today from the recommended palette on handprint.com. I could immediately tell a satisfying difference in the reds: quinacridone rose (PV19) and cad. red medium (pr108) instead of my old alizarin and cad red deep seemed like more intense color out of the tube and remained saturated when mixed with other colors. There was a real "wow" feeling when I started playing with them.

The yellow (P154, called perm. yellow light in the Rembrandt line of paints) I didn't like so much- felt really "weak", like I had to use a LOT to make an effect and it seemed chalky when mixed with other colors - "reduced chroma" the handprint site would say. But I'll keep playing with it, and maybe try some other yellows he recommends. I also bought a new green (PG7) but I am scared of green... after having a primary palette theory drilled into my head in art school, I feel like I should mix my own green, but I'll try it. I need a whole lesson on using greens I think.

I also bought a full-spectrum light that clamps to the easel and shines on the canvas, if it works (although I'm doubtful) maybe I can continue painting after the sun goes down. And I bought several new round brushes - Kolinski brushes are my favorites. Looking forward to experimenting with my new toys this week.

Leaf with Ring Box - Work in Progress

5 x 7, oil on panel, work in progress

Yesterday Nowell and I had lunch with our good friends Jaimee and Sean. Jaimee is about to have her first baby any minute now, and both our husbands are off work at the moment, so we took the opportunity to have a nice lunch all together on a weekday. We all enjoyed the good food and company, and the excitement and nervousness of a new baby coming; the feeling that everything is about to change.

It's been overcast all week, but yesterday was warm and sunny, so after lunch we walked their dog to a nearby park where I collected a handful of leaves to paint. This is one of the leaves.

I would like to work on this for another session so I'm not uploading it to eBay yet. My process shots are below:

I want to continue tomorrow or Monday because I want to try for more detail. Also, I have to work on colors more: The top of the leaf is supposed to be bright red while reflecting the cool white light, and I'm having a hard time making it look pale, cool red (pink?) while also contrasting sufficiently with the the warm underside.

I'm struggling with brush strokes these days. I've noticed that when the paint gets thick, each brushstroke from a Filbert shaped brush is shaped like a trough, with thick new paint on the outside edges of each stroke, but the center carving into the paint below. As light as I can touch the brush to the surface, I can't seem to stop this from happening. So I am going to try using Rounds soon.

I'm starting to wish I had a teacher to answer all my questions. Suggestions and tips from fellow painters would be welcome. What brush shapes do you use?

Handprint Color Theory

I just have to post about Handprint, a fascinating site about color theory.

This site, written over several years by Bruce MacEvoy, is a detailed description of his personal exploration of color along with his analysis (and debunking!) of the main traditional color theories. Each theory is described in detail and tested methodically. It's meant for watercolor but many of the philosophies seem applicable to oil paint.

Tin Ring Box SOLD

6 x 6 inches, oil on panel
This is a tiny engraved box smaller than one inch across. Since the subject is small and monochromatic, and the painting itself is small, I expected to spend an hour or two on it. I ended up spending four hours!

My goal was to experiment with loose, interesting brushstrokes that also describe an accurate and precise form. I find ellipses to be one of the most challenging shapes to draw with accuracy. You can see from my process shots below how the shape wobbles and falls apart and comes back together at the end:

Phase 1

I started with a Raw Umber oil sketch on an acrylic toned panel.

Phase 2

I started fleshing out the basic forms with a gray-green I mixed from cadmium yellow, ultramarine blue, some magenta, and some white. It looks murky because I am trying to keep everything soft and indistinct while I work out the proportions and placement - not very pretty, but easier to change things if I need to.

Phase 3

This is the fun part - I start swirling in some details with a light green gray to finalize the drawing phase and establish the full range of values. The paint is not very thick and the the red panel beneath is still showing through, but the basic elements are all in place.

Phase 4

I find that almost every painting I do has a "crisis period", and here it is. I lose control and I get a little panicky trying to move it back towards the painting I see in my head. Here the painting has dissolved into wobbly ellipses and pasty shadows - the result of a dirty brush and losing the structure of the drawing while I focus on the details. How much prettier my process would be if I could just jump from Phase 3 to the final painting. But as much as I hate it, the "crisis phase" is always a learning experience.

Phase 5, final painting

Ok, I managed to pull the painting together to a place where I am happy with it and it stands as a finished piece. The ellipses are precise and convincing while the overall style is loose and dynamic. I lost some of the most expressive brushstrokes of Phase 3, so I still have to work on that, but it's been a good exercise for me. I compare this to my previous monochromatic still life, Vase and Creamer done just 7 weeks ago, and feel I have already learned a lot through my Daily Painting practice.