Lions 6

more lions....

now to study Lions...

This is 42x32 oil on linen study of lions.  I have been taking pics of it everyday that I work on it. I'm working similar to the horse studies and just plunking down the images.  They will overlap and intertwine.  I'll post more of the progress shots later.

horse studies

This is my current study of horse anatomy.  I'm learning animals.

sanguine

day 4 (32x23)

 

day 3

day 2

day 1

Kites

I've been painting enormous kites for a party.  4 in total - they are painted on Tyvek - the material used to wrap houses - it is very good to paint on.   Just regular house paint and a black sharpie oil paint marker for materials. Tyvek is very strong and durable, takes the paint immediately and doesn't rip either, so it can take some abuse.

You can see the skeleton of one of the frames next to me.

here are a couple shots of them in progress:

 

the 4 kites are:  fish, gorillas, jaguars, and hares.  

I'll follow up with more pics as they are finished and mounted to their frames.

Plein Air Adventures - Melville's Hills

Cloudy days present consistent light, but not direct light, so everything is lit equally from all over.  Not necessarily ideal, but I want to do it learn what to expect.  I set up off of Holmes Road, overlooking a field and the mountains that inspired Herman Melville to pen Moby Dick (seriously)  it wasn't supposed to rain this day, so I figured I had 4+ hours to get this done.

This is what I spent most of the time doing.  sketching the composition in Cobalt Violet.  I do this so I don't have to worry about my "drawing" while I'm painting.  I do this first and then add color later so that I'm not suddenly moving mountains out of the way half way through the painting.  It also gives everything a nice warm tone (and looks great in shadow areas)  I really pushed my content together horizontally to fit my panel (16x20)  As you can see from the photos above, there were quite a few things I left out of the painting (trailers and random debris), and a few things I added (notably the foreground)

I snapped this just as it started to rain.  Oil paints don't really care if it is raining - oil and water don't mix.  but I got wet.  and a wooden easel doesn't like to get rained on. note to self * keep rain gear in the car.  I was able to work for about two hours on location before the sky opened up.  heavy rains.

brought it home and worked on it for a couple hours the next day because it didn't stop raining for 3 days.  all in all, I think this one came out pretty good.  I'm painting thicker and more confidently.  my mixing has gotten better too

Combining Creation

I had intended to paint a picture of a diving helmet. I painted a rough version of it, but got bored of it.  I wasn't learning anything.  It was a little too complex for a study, and not very fulfilling as a painting. I borrowed it from a friend who is a diver. It was fun to play with though.  I put it on. it weighed a ton

 

At the end of a full day of painting, I looked at what I had done, and felt nothing toward it, so I scraped the entire canvas down, but there was so much black and yellow on the canvas, that it stained it green.  So I let it dry and used this as a base coat for a new painting. 

I am very interested in the way certain painters handle their paint and application.  I've been reading about the limited palette Sargent was known to use (yellow ochre, black, vermillion (cad. red in my case).  Ivory Black is very blue, and when it is placed near warm colors, the blue is even more apparent.

I opted for the Sargent portrait of Lady Agnew and Michelangelo's God from the Sistine Chapel - combined into one image. I liked the beauty of the Sargent face and the technical virtuosity of his strokes.  A beautiful face and I have painted it before. I can see how much more competent I have gotten since painting it the first time over a year ago. I wanted a profile to accompany the young girl, and opted for another favorite of mine. Michelangelo.  I originally was planning on the Delphic Sibyl - to have two pretty faces 300 years apart, but the strong profile of the old face seemed even more fitting.

This was purely an exercise in using a limited palette.  It forced me to work on my drawing too.

Painting Skulls

I've been reading a great book called Alla Prima by Richard Schmid which is having a tremendous effect on my work and working methods.  In essence, "alla prima" (which translates to "in the first") is a way of working directly with a subject in one setting.  I have been using this technique while doing my landscapes too.  It forces you to make decisions about everything from color to shape to drawing to edges.  It is not about just working quickly, but rather working smarter and more directly - to start with your first stroke being "perfect" and working out from there.  To put down a stroke that is the right color, value and shape and leave it alone.  It is a great book for any realist painter.

So I have been painting smaller canvases to improve my eye and to work with thicker paint.  Schmid says that most problems in painting are not color related, but drawing related.  I agree.  Sargent said a painter should feel as comfortable drawing with the brush as they do with a pencil.  Something to strive for.

Falling Water

I finished my first painting in almost 2 months.  "Bash Bish Falls"  48" x 32" oil on canvas.  I had no desire to finish this one when I initially started it (March) because I couldn't find a reason for it.  My mind wasn't into it.  I stayed away from the studio for this entire time and occupied myself with new media and materials - like welding - (pictures might follow of these explorations).  I wanted to do more than a "landscape".

It seemed like I had given up on it, or at least I had lost interest in following through on this idea - I was starting to consider what I might paint over it.  All I had was a loose drawing on the canvas from when I visited and a slight indication of some rocks.  I wasn't sure I could pull off the composition I wanted.

I was out for a walk last weekend and went to see a gallery show, I was overcome with a bit of a "creative rage" and knew I had to make something of this image- or at the very least make a horrific mess -  and break through this creative block.  There really was no choice.  It was my duty.  I left and went directly to the studio.  I completed 90% in a two day furry.  I think it is the legend of these waters that propelled me through.  I see her legs.

Bash Bish Falls is a waterfall in the SouthWestern corner of Massachusetts.  The story states that a native woman (a Mohican Indian named Bash Bish) who lived here was sent to her death over the falls for adultery.

I find the surging water powerful - especially in the Spring when their is so much volume. The last time I was here was in 1999 and I did a small sketch in roughly the same place.  I think I've come a long way since then.  I know I understand quite a bit more now.