Daily Painting Practice- Texture can be rough... or smooth... But it's always hard

Glass is a funny thing to paint. Not funny in the ha ha sense. Funny in the way it tricks the eye of the viewer. At least my eyes get fooled. The light and color can be intensified in some areas of the glass and completely unchanged  from the background in other areas. There are reflections and distortions to deal with. And of  course highlights.

I take it back. Painting glass isn't funny at all.

 One good thing you get  from attempting to paint glass. You  really have to decide on your background early in the process.. And for those of you that have read this blog through the years, you know how I struggle ( procrastinate really) with backgrounds.  The photo above shows my  progress in tinkering with the background. I'm playing with  shadows and thinking about a splash of sunlight.  All I have settled is the direction  of the light and the tone of the background will be light not dark.

I  transfered my drawing back over what I had painted. to see some of the detail.  I'm having trouble deciding if  the composition as it stands now will hold my attention long term. The detail  won't do it by itself.  I think it needs more.

 There we go.  Some texture! The surface of the background needed to contrast with the surface of the glass. My studio  doesn't have white bricks so my reference for the brick background  is  a house a few blocks from my studio. Now that I have  the idea  sketched out  and the basic colors. Let the fun begin!

Daily Painting Practice- Surviving art gods - or life without my computer(s)

It has been quite a while since my last post.  I have several good reasons and even more excuses. But as always I look for the lessons in everything. (that's my positive spin on the events of the last month)

I am beginning to think that the  ancient Greeks/Romans/Celts/Norseman or any other early civilization that blamed things on the gods had good reasons. I think these gods still exist and are especially employed  to  pick on the lowly artist in his/her basement.

First this whole economic downturn thing:  Totally  created to affect  my sales and weaken my resolve to continue painting.. ( OK a few billion other people are affected too, but it was aimed at me).

 Then whoever the god is that oversees  computers. I hope we meet in Hades. First they give us  a place to store our images  and records, then they  entice us into the world of blogging and finally they create sirens to lure us into listening to music on the web. ( you think naming the company  Pandora was a coincidence?).
Then they take it all away.

 Oh, I know what you are thinking. Just go to another computer. But you can't fool the gods! Noooo. They play with your mind. They make you think the second computer is safe and working just fine. Then little by little they eat away at its ability to connect with  remote devices and the programs you  need begin to  disappear. You are left in a nether world of   black screens and  blinking cursors. They even  make it so your backup drive isn't formatted to  reconnect to your newly purchased .... third computer.

My third and final tirade is to commiserate with the poor guy these gods  had  pushing  a boulder up a mountain  all day only to have it roll down again just as he neared the summit ... he did this for eternity.  That was just a warm up for these art gods.. They  gave me the task of painting peonies. As soon as I get close, I am forced to repaint them. over and over and over... until she who must not be named steps in and ends my misery.

click on the image to enlarge the painting

Too Tired to give it a name

20"x20"

oil on canvas

I've come out of hiding now that we have a fourth computer. I don't consider myself to be a superstitious artist but I did rearrange the studio to face west and I did  pour a circle of  turpentine around the easel and I only clean my brushes on Sundays.

Daily Painting Practice- For Miyako completed

click on image to enlarge

For Miyako

24"x30"

oil on canvas

Completed!!!!
 Just in time too. Today was the  final day to enter it in the Artist  Magazine  cover contest.
 These simple backgrounds aren't as simple as they  seem.  I must have  gone over  this one  at least 10 times. But  I am calling it done... it's official... I signed it... really, I'm not doing any more... Somebody stop me!

Daily Painting Practice - something for Japan

I'm almost there. About 98% complete. The cloth still needs work and a few other areas need to be sharpened or cleaned up. Can't help continuing to think about the Japanese people this week. Especially while I work on this painting .
I came up with a name for the painting in the process. It seems appropriate to make this painting a tribute to all of those who have and continue to suffer in Japan,and to all who are working to put their lives back in some kind of order. I find it helps me to remember that beauty can be created even after such horrible events and that  is one of the best parts of our human nature.,, to make beautiful things and share them with others.

 click on the image to enlarge

For Miyako

work in progress

24"x30"

oil on canvas

here are some detail photos.

daily painting practice - Prayers and Thoughts for the people of Japan

Maybe it is my subject matter but I am sitting here in my comfortable studio painting this piece and  I can't stop thinking about what the people in Japan are dealing with.
They need more than our prayers and thoughts though that maybe the first thing we usually do. Find a group and or organization and donate today.
Then  in a month  do it again. As we have seen in the past, these  disasters tend  to get far worse  before they get  better....so do what you can....

Work in Progress

30"x24"

oil on canvas

Daily Painting Practice - orchid still life

Last post I talked about painting over  and into old paintings to hopefully improve them  and then try to sell them again. I had a few comments and emails asking how do I go about this. Well, I just paint as if I am continuing the process. I don't varnish my paintings any more so there is nothing to remove. Other than using spray-on retouch varnish ( a few coats) to protect the painting before shipping to the gallery, my last step in painting is usually brushing on a thin coat of Liquin as my last step, this way I can always  paint over or correct at any time.

Now onto something new

 This one has several interesting challenges for me as a painter. (why make it easy?) Mainly, the challenge is all about the textures of the objects and how they each catch and reflect the light differently.

My mind understands that the wood or cloth (in this case a silk scarf) is made of  different material than the porcelain figurine. My mind tells me the whites of the orchid should reflect the light differently than the hard surface on the  porcelain....but does my brush understand this? ... too soon to judge


I think it was Gandhi who said "Be the change you wish to see"
If he was an artist he might have said, "see the surface you wish to paint."
In others words,  it helps to think like a sculptor when you paint. imagine you are touching the surface of the object. How does it feel in your hands? How does the form and texture feel?

 

White Orchids

- work in progress-

24"x30"

oil on canvas

That type of thinking helps me  when all the textures start to visually blend together.
Now if someone could just tell me , How does the light in the air feel?

Daily Painting Practice - One Painting finished One just starting.

click on the image to enlarge the painting

The Book Seller's Favorites

14"x18" oil on panel

Completed...titles and all. Now on to the next... no time to rest in an artist's life.
More Mums...

blocking in stage . Trying to decide on what do with the background and what  needs to be on the table. I call this my "compose as I go along" kind of painting.... I live dangerously.

I'm adding flowers (just paint smudges) to the bouquet and playing with ones on the table.

There was going to be a white table cloth but  I changed it to a wood table top.

Needs  something on the table.

Just the thing. In real life the cup is a little larger. I scaled it down a touch... We artists have the power to change the world....well, at least within our own studio walls. Not a bad beginning.

Daily Painting Practice - Did Vermeer wear glasses?

How close to your work do you get? My nose gets paint on it.
Thank you to all who added their comments last week. One hundred percent thought the titles should be painted in... easier said than done.
 Did you catch the broken glasses I am wearing.  ($1.50 magnifying glasses from the  grocery store). I am scratching into the paint with a  quill pen.

This is Norman Rockwell's "Art Critic". I have been caught  numerous times by art museum guards getting my nose too close. Now, thanks to Googleartproject and several museums around the world, we can all get  our noses closer than ever before.GO TO
http://www.googleartproject.com

Then visit the Rijksmuseum and scroll down to a still life by Jan van Huysum(click the link)

http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/rijks/still-life-with-flowers-and-fruit-59
 keep zooming in to find the bugs crawling all over the painting.
I love this site.I can't believe the detail!....and I don't need my glasses.

Meanwhile back at the easel...I've started adding  the titles. The one leaning on the left was supposed to be "The scarlet Letter" but I don't think it goes with the painting so I am looking for  a different one... Any suggestions?

By the way thanks to  Amy Mann's comment last week. She spotted that the mahl stick Rembrandt is holding was at a perfect 90 degree angle to the book. I agree it was too distracting. Imagine the nerve I have  changing Rembrandt's work...

One more title!...then clean up and I think ...finished.

Daily Painting Practice - continuing Rembrandt's shelf -making progress and changes

 Making progress. I added the candlestick holder  to the composition.It holds the burnt match  nicely and I think it ties the  bottom together... I still painted a match on the table for fun.

 Worked on the glass and started sharpening  some edges, and softening others. Working on Rembrandt a little too.

Now the big debate going on in the studio is whether or not to put titles on the books.

Daily painting practice - the long journey - completing a painting of mums

click on the image to  enlarge the painting

Mum Mum Mia

24"x36"

oil on canvas

Well, here is the final. Completed just in time to enter the Salon International  Competition. ( today is the last day to enter)
Painting this has been quite a journey.  Here are all of the progress photos again, for those of you too lazy to go back through the older blog posts.

It all started with a trip to Mary's house and her lovely flower beds.

 I had planned on doing a lot of individual  still life paintings but my  still life arranger/wife  suggested this.   So I  did a color study.
(I guess she was rrr rrrrrr ...right)

There were many more steps than these photos show.  (some backwards)   Some steps were on top of  others and redone several times. But over all  I am pleased with the result. Remember, it's all about  the  process ....(I can  say that now that it is over and I am breathing again) . Time for tea!

Daily Painting Practice - Half a week's work - Painting mums

This was a short but busy week in the studio with guests and a holiday thrown in.  I started  several paintings  though and thought I would post half of what I have been  working on. ( I'll save the other half for another  post)

 No this isn't another 8"x8" flower painting. This is a detail of the  24"x36" Mum Mum Mia painting I posted at the beginning of the month.

 The  white mums will be my  focal point so I started there.

 After beginning with the focal point  I decided  to move to the left side and go around the  painting making a color map.

 I like how each group of mums has its own color and character. In a funny way that  helps me paint each area with fresh eyes.

 So around I go adding  just enough detail in this first phase without  getting carried away but keeping my  main  focus on  values and muted  colors.  I have only  worked on the  left side. (had to  take  breaks to eat my  Thanksgiving meal  and then  there were the left overs , visiting, and the apple  pie and ... you  get the picture.

Daily Painting Practice - Spice Jar Complete

click on the image to enlarge the painting

Spice Jar 

 (temporary title)

20"x20"

oil on canvas

Just finished the Spice Jar painting. Can't progress any further without muddling with the paint. That's a clear sign it is time to quit and sign it. I had a lot of help with this one from the gang of four. ( my critique club). My favorite part was the texture in the wall. My least favorite part ( because I painted it over 11 times) was the orange. Over all though I like the painting for the mood and sense of place.
OK, on to the next one!

Daily Painting Practice - Mock Orange Still Life

Step 3- ( I skipped showing steps 1 and 2; transferring drawing and going  over it with Liquin and dark paint)  Let that dry overnight. Step 3: I started scrubbing in some very thin paint with a very dry brush.

Step 4:  I am establishing some color in the darks. Still keeping the paint thin. I want to make the  vase  feel solid.  You might notice that I only use the drawing as a road map.  I paint  over the  flowers with  half tones though I can  still see some of the drawing  poking through.

Finally, I can start the real fun... the blossoms. These Mock Orange blossoms I clipped from a neighbors hedge row. They last one day after cutting then drop off to the floor. But while they are alive they look beautiful.

I am trying to keep my mind on the light as it travels across the different forms and I keep going back to work on the vase. lighter, darker, more color, muted color... on and on it goes.

 Mock- Orange  

 work in progress

8"x8"

oil on  panel

 
Now  for the background.... I know, I know, some days I seem to  approach these paintings in  reverse order. I cooled the painting down a bit.   Next steps,  finish background,  clean up details,  go through check list... get approval from the gang of four and sign it... OH... and think of a title. Any suggestions?

Daily Painting Practice - Stand Back From the Still Life

Click on the painting to enlarge the image

Has no Name Yet - work in progress

20"x20"

oil on canvas

Remember this one? I could name it "resurrection" because I think it has come back from the dead. (several times).  I like how it has developed though, and as you can see, I have been having lots of fun with the texture of the wall in the background. ( not so much fun with the texture of the  orange.)
One idea behind this painting was all about painting different textures.  But now, I am at a familiar spot in the painting process... the  "Stand Back from the  Still Life!" spot.
I was  reading one of my  favorite art blogs, Art and Influence, written by  Armand Cabrera. His latest post is titled "(Bouguereau Quotes Part 2".)
 There is one quote from Bouguereau I can really relate too. (especially now)

"Starting a picture is very pleasant, for you always believe that this time you’re going to create a masterpiece; you take pains, and little by little the painting takes shape, the effect comes through. You feel marvelous sensations. When it’s done however things are different. You want to touch up the arm, the movement of the body doesn’t seem graceful…and you end up doing nothing for fear of having to redo the whole thing completely."


I get that feeling a lot. The best way I have found to get past it is to  take very small steps. First take a tiny section. ( perhaps the  light side of the orange)  Analyze it, look at it critically.( go back to  my last two posts) and fix that  part. Then take another small part and fix that area.  Keep moving and  you will soon have gotten yourself past  your dilemma...

Of course you may end up right back where you started... needing to step away from the painting!

Daily Painting Practice - Why do they call it "Still Life"

Why do they call it "Still Life"? Who came up with that particular phrase? I'm not criticizing, just curious, because I enjoy "still life" painting that has some tension or reference to movement. It might be movement of the viewer's eye through the composition, or perhaps it's the tension of abstract forms of light and dark, or movement indicated by light passing over objects.

When I started with this arrangement I wasn't pleased. No movement for the viewer. No movement translates into no interest.

I thought adding a branch from a flowering quince might help. Also, I like the stronger abstract forms in the painting if I strengthen the band of shadow at the top of the painting.

 Look at this detail. There is also movement during the painting process. I am moving between cool colors and warm colors, between thin washes of muted color and thicker paint  and more intense color.

click on the painting to enlarge the image

Studio Still Life - Work in Progress

20"x20"

oil on canvas

Speaking of moving. I am going to remove the design on the outside of the plate. That white patch is too distracting to the "Still" part of the still life.