almost there...

This is what we have done so far on the still life. As you can see we are pretty close to being done, but we still haven't attempted the silver vase and the peaches. Yesterday I finished the small blue bowl (but as I look at it now I see some things that I want to adjust to it-i guess that is why this blog is great!) and I also finished the far right rose. I think it turned out pretty good for a rose. Roses are definitely very hard to paint. The way we did this one was use the wash that we put in at the very beginning of blocking in color for our lightest color of the rose. We actually didn't use any white at this point. Because if we just used darker colors then the lightest pink/red it would then make the light pink lighter and therefore we wouldn't have to add any lighter colors with white. But if you needed too, if your wash was too dark, you could use shades of light pink and red. This is just one way to do flowers, but I think I would like to use this process again! We'll see how the rest of the roses turn out...

Gilcrease Museum

Last week, my painting class met at Gilcrease to view the American Impressionist Exhibit. It was pretty saweet. There were over 100 paintings from many artists. One of my favorite things from Impressionists paintings is the fact that when you look at one up close it is very unclear, but within the strokes of color and different styles of painting, one can see an abstract for of art. But when you walk away from a painting, it is clear, and you can make out figures and all kinds of details. Just the simple gesture of one stroke can change the way an object is depicted. I love this fact. My hope is that when I finish an impressionistic-style painting I can see interesting details accidentally made. And far away the image can become a beautiful painting of an interesting subject. Another thing that I enjoyed at the exhibit where the variations in mediums. There were several prints as well as sketches, besides oil painting and watercolor. I love to dabble in all sorts of mediums and styles of art, so this was interesting to see from famous artists. I also loved the variety of sizes in which the pictures were in. I think great art can come in any size- from the smallest thumbnail sketch to a giant canvas of colors. Overall I loved the experience, and I plan to attend the exhibit again with my mom. I always have loved museums and I hope that in the future I take advantage of the museums in my city.
Here is a link to the Gilcrease website to find of more details: http://www.gilcrease.org/

Sill Life of Painting II

This is the first step in my still life in my painting 2 class. The first steps we take in getting the image alive on our process, is getting the objects drawn on our canvas. We have the freedom to place the objects anywhere we want. At this time we are also able to decide where the focal point should be and if we are also able to take some artistic creativity with the painting. it is important at this time to make sure you are making the objects proportional and symmetrical. because if not your painting might not look natural at the end. so many may think this is an usual process which should not take that long. but it is a longer process than expected and one should take just as much time on this as on putting the color in.

This is the next step that we did in my painting class. basically what we did was just get color on the canvas. this is to give us a good base to paint on in the future. we worked on the books quite awhile so that they would look as if they were sitting on the same table as the other objects. most of the other things are just painted in and will not look like this in the end. with this step done we are able to start the next step with a good base and good proportions! Here we go! woo!

Finished Paintings

The Still Life










Tomats
Black Like My Soul

Blocking in Color (2nd Day of Painting)

In our class, on the 2nd day to paint, we basically blocked the main colors of our paintings. This is an abstract way of thinking so one shouldn't focus too much on details. Since basically this wont even be the color you will see in the end.
At the left is Margie's painting at the end of class. She told us to basically fill up all of the white spaces and to get color on there. This is also a time where you can play around with focal points and positions of objects.

I am pretty happy where I am with my painting at the moment, considering the time we've spent on it. I hope I can learn a lot more about painting as we continue.

The First Day of Painting

It was the 2nd day of class and our first day to paint together! We decided on what we wanted to paint as a class and came to the conclusion of a impressionistic painting of a still life.
But first things first. We all had to prepare our 16 by 20 canvasses. Just by gessoing the canvas (picture to the left) with a thick paintbrush creates a great texture to begin with. When you do this, you don't want to paint perfectly straight lines. In order to get a great texture one must paint in a criss cross action on the canvas, just by making little x's.

Before we got to class thrusday afternoon, Margie, our instructor, set up a lovely still life. (shown at the right) This is not the perspective in which everyone paints, but this image gives you the idea.

One of the most important things before you begin painting is setting up a good work area with a good perspective. This is where you will be standing for the next period of time as you are painting, so make sure it is a good location and an angle that you like. I am more to the back of the class and to the left of the still life. I choose this area because I really love the black vase at the back of the still life. This will be a problem down the road but we will get to the when it comes. I didn't enjoy the white pitcher as much, just because the shape and design are not pleasing to me so i choose to only put half of the vase in the right of my painting.

Next is making sure you have all of your materials close to you. At the left is a picture of some of the tools that we started out with. Most of the beginning of painting a picture is trying to place the objects on your canvas at the right size and angle. Going clockwise from the top you can find two different types of view finders, an assortment of paint brushes, and a Plexiglas angle finder. As well as these tools, i had a wax paper palette to put paint on, an old cloth, and mineral spirits at my side.


Finally, we get started! Well, at least our instructor shows us how to put a nice wash on the canvas before we do anything else. Notice in the image at the right, how Margie is holding the brush at the very end. You don't want to make specific strokes at this point, so this allows you to be lose with your strokes. This will give you a nice uneven wash to begin with.

Next, we put the basic shapes of the still life into the painting (picture at the left). At this point, one should not even be able to recognize anything in the painting! Just work with the placement of the objects and where they overlap and touch one another. Also I had to figure out where i wanted to put my focal point and what it would be. Margie told us a trick to do this and it worked out nicely. Our little secret! I made the black vase my focal point at the left of my painting. With a nice wash it is easy to erase anything you don't want on the canvas.

At the right is a close up of how Margie used the end of her paint brush to measure a symmetrical object. This is an easy was to check points if you are uncertain of how its looking. This can be done when you are darkening the edges of the objects and shapes that have been placed in painting. This is when you really figure out if the composition is working and what needs to be done to make it work.

This is were we left off at the end of the period so the next class should be exciting! Maybe I can figure out why the white pitcher looks so fat in my painting...
...or maybe I like it that way. That's the great thing about being an artist, you get to decide what you want to keep or change in your painting. All you have to do is make sure the viewer believes what you are saying is true! : )