Studio Sweet Potato

Studio Sweet Potato

2017

Oil on Masonite

10 1/8 x 7 1/2 in

Hello everyone! It has been a really, really, really, really long time since I have done an alla prima painting. I used to do these on a daily basis, I decided to get back on the wagon again last night and went straight for it, 8 hours later I was done! I'm paying for it today being so tired but it was totally worth it. There is something about challenging yourself to finish a painting in one session. You have to consider the surface area you're working on, how oils react to the smooth surface and how you have to manipulate it to come out looking the way you intended it to. There are a lot of bumps along the way but in the end, there is a satisfying feeling that you reached your goal. The other reason I enjoy alla prima painting, it forces you to really pay close attention to your methods of painting. I'm constantly revising the way I paint certain sections and if it works well then I apply it to other areas, due to time constraints it's trial by error and I enjoy the errors. 

This sweet potato I intended to paint many months ago. Initially, I was attracted to it due to the curvy snake-like body, I have never seen one like it. After not painting it for quite some time, roots sprouted from the tip. I kept looking at it every day when I would go to the studio, I knew at some point I would paint it and that point was last night. Usually, after I paint a vegetable or fruit I eat it, this time I decided to bring the sweet potato back to the studio and keep it there. I enjoy having it there while I paint away, I'm intrigued to know how many roots will sprout and how long will they get.  

I went to home depot and got 56 masonite panels cut in various sizes, I felt like a kid on Christmas day, and the best part it was all under 7 dollars (Home Depot cuts wood for free). I gessoed the canvas and sanded it down to a smooth finish, I repeated this about four times until it was right. After letting it dry for a day, I tinted the gessoed masonite board with raw umber and mineral spirits. I let this dry for a day as well.

I started by drawing with raw umber and no mediums. I did not use any mediums throughout the entirety of the painting. It was a minimal amount of paint sort of like a dry brush technique. After the drawing was complete, I started lightly painting it the sprouted roots. I make sure to not put a lot of paint on the brush, the idea is to build up to your key values. Think of it as drawing with a pencil, the amount of sensitivity you have to it determines the value you'll create.

Once the sprouted roots were complete, I moved onto the body of the sweet potato. This was challenging in its own way. I started with the darks and build up to the lights. Again it is important to stress I do not start with a lot of paint on the brush, I build up to the value and texture I am going for.

After the body was completed and I stepped away from it for a bit, I thought I was actually going to bed because I was so tired and it was already 2:30 in the morning, I decided to complete the painting and start on the wooden board.  Pushing through it was great, I am very happy I was able to conjure up some energy to complete the painting.

This was a lot of fun to complete in such a short period of time. I hope you enjoyed this painting and the journey I took to complete it. Thanks for stopping by!

Absence

"Master Copy From Anthony Van Dyck"

2016

Oil on Canvas Panel

11 x 14 inches

I have to start out this post by apologizing, I have neglected blogging for so long. There has been to much time between my last post and now.  So much has happened between now and then, not sure where to start?  I am currently enrolled at MCAD pursuing my MFA in painting/drawing. Going back to school has been challenging after being away for so long. Challenging in a good way, my colleagues and professors push me to get better every day. I am constantly around so many artist who all have different practices and not one is alike, this diversity brings fresh perspectives. I started in late August and can not believe the first semester is almost complete. The duration of the MFA program is two years, excited to see how this experience will influence my work during this journey. 

Since I have given you snippet of what I've been doing I also want to mention that I will attempt to get back into doing daily paintings. I do not expect to produce one every day but attempt to one or two minimum per week. I wanted to get back into having my paintings accessible through ebay as well, which is why I am selling this painting. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings and hope you enjoyed the painting.

Single Peony

"Single Peony"

10 x 8 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Forelle Pear

Sold

"Forelle Pear"

5 x 7 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I haven't painted pears in a while and thought it was time to re visit these beauties. I also wanted to go back on how I painted pears when I first started to do alla prima paintings a couple years ago. It's minimal amount of paint on the brush kind of like drawing with a pencil, you do not want to put a dark hard line with the initial mark. This painting is an exploration of my technique old and new.

I started with a thin application of raw umber for the drawing stage.  I am not worried about details just the placement of major shapes and the lineation of shadow shapes. Then I painted the background in. I usually like to paint this area first, this allows me to now worry about it when I am painting the main object in the painting.

Once the background was filled in I then painted in the wood, I applied a thin amount of paint to cover the base. I think of it as how one would when drawing with a pencil. I do not paint in the darkest darks or lights lights, just an in between value to give form to the object. Then I paint in the darkest values. I still have not applied any lighter values just concentrating on the middle to darker values.

Once the darks are painted I then start to paint in the middle to lighter values. Once the base is at a level I am satisfied with I move onto the pear. The initial stage of painting the pear I apply a thin layer of paint in the shadows, I do the same with the lights. In this stage I am only concentrating on big form modeling, how light wraps around the form. I mesh the lights into the darks to make the form turn, softening edges to show more of the turn. I am not worried about details at this stage just worried on applying a thin layer of paint and making the form turn with generalized colors.

Once big form modeling is working I then start to work on middle to darker values. As I mentioned before I am applying the paints very thin, this allows me to control values the same way one would control a mark with a pencil. I like to build into my darks as well into the lights.  This approach is time consuming but gives you control on how much subtle values shifts you're needing.

Hope you enjoyed this painting, thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Sheep

Click here to purchase through my Etsy store

"Sheep"

9 x 12 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I came across this awesome skull with horns. As soon as I saw it I knew I needed to paint it. I really like the design within the skull and how the horns wrap out from the skull. Keeping the background white gives it a stronger design. Keeping the values compressed was a challenge especially for a painting done in one session.

I started with a dry brush approach with the drawing stage. I make sure the drawing is complete with the proportion working right, I am not drawing every single detail in just the general shapes. Then I painted in the skull by applying its local colors in a thin manner and also applying big form modeling. At this stage all I am worried about is how the light wraps around the form, no details are put in, I like to keep everything soft with each edge. I also do not put my darkest darks or my lightest lights in this stage, I keep it in the middle value stage for the most part.

Once big form modeling is complete I start painting middle to darker value forms. Still keeping the edges soft where they need to be. I do the same with middle to lighter value forms. These two value forms were not as difficult to paint in because the big form modeling stage was worked out from the beginning. If the big form modeling stage is worked out from the beginning then the smaller forms become easier to paint in (theoretically).

Once the skull was complete I then painted the horns in. For the base I applied a thin coat of raw umber. Then I painted in middle to darker values.

After the middle to darker value forms were painted I then applied middle to lighter value forms. Applying this brought the painting to a finish. I really enjoyed painting something different and at a different angle as well. As mentioned before keeping the values compressed was a challenge, but I learned a lot how to try to get a handle on it. 

Thank you for stopping by, cheers!