"Roses"

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"Roses"

9 x 12 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

The weather is definitely getting cooler as October draws to an end.  Halloween is right around the corner and day light seems to be leaving quicker.  With this painting I wanted to capture the feel of colors that seem to be transitioning from fall to winter.  White roses are beautiful in any color setting, it can get tricky due to its nature of absorbing it's surrounding colors.  With any subject you paint it radiates its surrounding colors, its even more with white roses in comparison to a regular object.  Learning to control its hues and temperature is key in order to make white roses believable.  You can argue that is true with any object your paint, with right roses one has to be even more careful with these observations.  

I hope you enjoyed this painting, thank you for stopping by.     

"Green Vase"

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"Green Vase"

6 x 6 in 

Oil on Canvas Panel

Today I saw this vase around the house and saw how much I liked the way it looks on these wooden panels.  There's no particular explanation why I chose to paint this just the sole purpose of getting inspired by what I saw at that moment.  It's great being able to pick up the brush and just paint what you see, I was not planning to paint today but I did see this vase and how the light was hitting it and just had to.  There's beauty in everything we see I know it sounds cheesy but its very true, it can be the most mundane thing and it still has some beauty to it.  It just matters how one perceives what he or she is looking at.  

I started with the usual dry brush approach of using just a bit of raw umber on the brush for the drawing stage.  After the drawing stage I stated the local color in the vase by using viridian, cadmium yellow and raw umber.  When stating the general colors I am also stating the big form modeling, i'm not stating the extreme values of the darkest and lightest values just a close approximation to get a base down.  The extreme shifts of values I leave towards the end of smaller form modeling.

Then I start stating the middle to darker value within the vase, this is where I start stating the darkest values to get the point across that the form is turning.  Then I state the lighter values with their specific forms, this stage I also state the highest value or highlight to tie it together. 

After the vase is done I moved on to the background and stated the base and background together.  I used ultramarine blue, raw umber, naples yellow and titanium white for both.  I hope you enjoyed this simple and quick painting, thanks for stopping by and viewing.

"Orange with Blue"

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"Orange with Blue"

11 x 14 in

Oil on Masonite

This is not an alla prima painting, this is a painting I did some time ago and just pulled out of the closet.  I really do love the color balance the orange and blue create with the dark background, gives a great composition to the painting.  This painting does come framed as well.  I really like finding these paintings after painting so many of the alla prima's.  This painting was a bit of a challenge due to the surface, masonite can be very slippery to paint on.  Usually I like to create a couple of layers of paint to get the look I'm wanting for the final painting, of course when I mean a couple layers its between drying times.  I do prefer painting on more of a textured base so the brush and paints have grip to them, but painting on masonite definitely humbles you as a painter and makes you see your weaknesses right away.  Thanks for stopping by and viewing hope you liked this one!

"Roses"

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"Roses"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

These roses I gave to my wonderful girlfriend, she just got a promotion at her job and wanted to surprise her.  She brought it home after a while which I'm glad for, seeing how beautiful they are I had to paint them.  I've been painting fruits on marble for a while and wanted to re-visit flowers, painting marble is fun but you have to be very meticulous with every section of it or its not going to look right.  It's great practice as mentioned in previous posts but I do need a little break from painting them so much.  These roses are beautiful in shape and color, each pedal has its own value scale that can be challenging after so many.  I feel after painting marble for a while I can tackle on anything, funny thing is I said the same thing when I finished painting peonies.  I'm finding when painting new objects that it has its own characteristics, you have to just break it down and simplify it in order to better understand what you'r painting.  

I wanted to remind everyone again that I will be giving a live demo at the Uptown Art Fair, it'll be on August 5 which is this Friday from 1-5 p.m.  It'll be great to see you guys there!  I will also be teaching a still life and figure drawing workshops at the Bloomington Art Center, if anyone's interested you can now sign up for the classes.  Click here to sign up!

I started with the usual dry brush approach using no mediums and just a bit of raw umber on the brush, I went a little further with the drawing to get more of an accurate placement of shapes.  When the drawing was complete I stated the background using ultramarine blue, naples yellow and titanium white.  

Then I started on the roses all at once after the background was finished, I stated a thin layer of the middle value to give a base I can paint from.  Then I started stating the darker values with their specific forms, i'm slowly building up the paint and keeping my edges soft.

Then I state the lighter values and their specific forms and take the roses to a finish.  With the darker and lighter values before I state their complete tones, I start with a middle value first and lightly build to the final value I'm going for.  This allows me to keep control through out each stage.

Then I state the two little flowers on the sides and repeat the same process as I did with the larger ones.  The colors I used for the flowers where quinacridone magenta, cad. red light, ivory black and titanium white.  Then I start to paint in the leaves, I start with a thin coat of the middle value.  Painting the middle values first allows me to have a base where I can easily go lighter or darker.  

Then I stated the darker values with their specific forms and when that was complete did the same with the lighter values.  The colors I used where ivory black, viridian, ultramarine blue, cad. yellow and titanium white.

I used the same colors for the vase and also the same process, as you can see with the first picture just stated a middle general value.  Again when stating this middle value keep the paint thin so you can build up to it, its the age old rule thick over thin.

This is the finished painting after adding the lighter values with their specific values.  I really do enjoy painting flowers, it really pushes me to try new things with my technique.  I thoroughly enjoy experimenting new approaches with my technique, I don't think one can never be to content with their own skill level.  If I was then I wouldn't be pushing my self and always trying to get better, and to me thats half the battle.  I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did, thanks for stopping by and viewing!

"Ranunculus"

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"Ranunculus"

10 x 8 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Todays alla prima painting is of ranunculus, these beautiful flowers resemble peonies to me even though I know there not.  I went to my favorite coffee place in town and met up with a couple friends which I'm glad I did because I ran into these beautiful flowers.  They were sitting right on my table and instantaneously I fell in love, the movement within the petals and rich colors made it more of a reason to paint.  I thought I was going to be done with painting flowers for a while and suddenly changed course again after seeing these beautiful flowers.  That's one of the reasons why I love doing these alla prima's, you never know what your next painting might be and if you do it can change in a split second.  Inspiration comes from everything I see and what moves me is what I enjoy painting the most, I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

I also wanted to let you guys know that I've finally published the video of the portrait demo I did at dick blick last Saturday, thank you to everyone that was able to show up I greatly appreciate it and had a lot of fun.  I have the video on youtube you can see it by clicking here.  

I started with the usual dry brush approach using no mediums and a bit of raw umber on the brush, again not spending to much time on the inside of the drawing just stating the general shapes.  After the drawing is complete I start on the background the colors I used are ultramarine blue, naples yellow and titanium white.

After the background is complete I state the general colors and keep all the edges soft, I'm not concerned with details or the darkest values just the general statement of colors.  I keep the paints really thin at this stage this creates a base for when I put more paint it'll glide easier and blend better.  Then I state the darker and middle values and their specific forms, I start narrowing down the shapes at this stage still keeping the edges soft and subtle.  The colors I use at this stage are quinacridone magenta, viridian, cad. yellow, titanium white and ultramarine blue.

Once the darker and middle values are close to completion I start on the lighter values and their specific forms, I'm able to take the whole section of the flowers to a finish when painting this stage in.  I'm constantly going back and forth between values and adjusting them to their specific look that's why I get to a close finish with the darker values, when I paint the lighter values I can really take the whole area to a finish.  After the flower section is complete I start on the vase and also darken a bit of the lower section of the background to have more of a fall of light.

I sharpen a bit of the edges on the vase and add highlights which brings that section to a finish, then I go back to the flower and tweak certain highlights and shadows.  I'm glad I was able to run into these flowers today and paint them, I had fun doing so and learned something new.  I hope you enjoyed this one, thanks for stopping by and viewing!

"Apricots & Vase"

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"Apricots & Vase"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I wanted to continue using apricots in another painting since I think they are fun with their body shapes.  I decided to include a vase which was challenging to paint, to paint a glossy surface is fun and challenging as stated before.  What I liked about including the vase is the reflections it shows, it kind of shows you a background and tells more of a story.  It was neat incorporating this vase into the painting and hope to do more of these in the future.

I started with the usual dry brush approach for the drawing stage using minimal raw umber on the brush and no mediums.  After the drawing was complete I started stating the apricots all at once, I started with their general colors and also turning the form.  At this stage I'm not really interested in adding details just the generalization of colors and how light wraps around the form.  I also like to keep the paints fairly thin at this stage, remember putting a lot of paint in the beginning can make your colors look muddy when applying layers in the finishing stage.

After the big form modeling stage is done I start stating the darker values and its specific forms, the big form modeling stage to me is the most important stage to get right.  That stage sets the ground work for the details or smaller forms to work right later on, its easy to rush to the details in the beginning since thats what catches are eyes for the most part.  If you take your time and really understand the overall concept of form and values then details become much easier in the later stage.  After my darks are completed I then add the lighter values and its specific forms.  

I know I'm not done with the apricots but I've taken them to a stage where I'm comfortable to leave it for a while, I then start with the vase.  I use a thin application to cover the general values, when thats completed I start to add all the key notes in the vase.  I'm building up to my values with the vase I don't want to add an extreme value just yet, I like to make sure the surrounding tones are working right before giving it the finishing touches.

After the middle and darker values are working then I add the highlights and take the vase to a close finish.  Then I add the background to soften the edges of the apricots and vase, remember don't forget about your edges they are so important to the painting.  When adding the background I push the edges of the vase to lose some sections, its fun playing around with them and seeing how far you can push the edges.

When the edges are completed I move onto the wooden base, first I just concentrate on the general colors making sure the form is turning with the lights.  Then I start on the dark values and its specific forms.

Then I finish the base by adding the lighter values and its specific forms.  Then I went back to the apricots and finished them, it was difficult to finish them before stating the base since the surrounding values effect the values of the apricots.  I usually don't like doing this my approach is to finish each section as I go, but I guess sometimes its alright to get other areas finished and come back to it later.  I really like the finish look of this painting, as stated before the vase was a challenge and different than what I'm used to.  Its good to get out of your comfort zone and try new things at times, thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoyed.