Gourds

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"Gourds"

6 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

My wonderful wife loves decorating around the house according to the seasons. She put these gourds on the dinning table a while ago and of course it caught my interest. This painting was done quicker than normal, it took me 2 and a half hours to complete. 

The first image, top left, is drawn with a dry brush approach just using raw umber. The second image, top right, I filled in the whole painting with local colors of each area. I filled in the gourds with its local colors and started with big form modeling. This is my area of focus which is the reason I went a little further in the initial stage.  The third image, bottom left, I worked with smaller forms after big form modeling was complete. The fourth image, bottom right, I approached painting the wooden board the same way I did with the gourds, first painting in the darks then the lights. 

Thank you for viewing, hope you enjoyed. Cheers!

"Mixed Tomatoes"

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"Mixed Tomatoes"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I'm finally back after such a long hiatus, I've been working on larger paintings and also ball point pen drawings.  I've decided to slow down a bit with these alla prima's and concentrate a bit more on my personal art work.  I felt as if these alla prima's started to become my identity as an artist and their sole purpose from the beginning is to just be practice paintings, in which they are.  I'm diving into larger more allegorical paintings, which means they do take longer to produce and I will not be devoting as much time to these alla prima's.  It's hard to not paint these little guys every day but I have to force myself in order to really produce a body of work that truly speaks as to who I am as an artist.  I plan to still produce one or two a week of these alla prima paintings after all I do love painting them and learn so much every time I finish one.  

On a side note I'll be teaching again this week coming up on the 22nd of March figure drawing at the Bloomington Art Center.  You can check out their site here and sign up for my class!

You can still sign up for my "Pink Roses" lesson!

"Chestnut Crab Apples"

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"Chestnut Crab Apples"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Crab apples are neat looking to me they seem to be a mini version of an apple.  Their textures are not shiny and smooth as a regular apple, but do have to overall shape to them.  What also attracted me to paint these guys where their stems, I found for the majority of them to have so much character.  They have a gestural feel to them which to I really enjoy painting, although the stem is not the majority part of this painting it does have a secondary role to it.  Textures to me are important in a painting they definitely make the object you'r painting come to life.  To understand how to paint texture is extremely important in order to advance as a painter.
I also wanted to mention that a good friend of mine told me about her having issues leaving comments on my blog.  She gave me instructions on how to fix it which I did and it should be working now with no problems.  I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for continuing to visit my blog! 

I started with the drawing stage which unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of, but I used a bit of raw umber on the brush and no mediums.  After the drawing is complete I stated the background and the general colors of the crab apples.  The colors I used for the background were cobalt blue, naples yellow and titanium white.  For the crab apples I used naples yellow, and cad.red light.  Then I start on the first crab apple by concentrating on turning the form or big form modeling, not worrying about details just how the light wraps around the form.  The colors I used in this stage were raw umber, cad.yellow light and cad.red light.

Then I went back into the darker values and stated their specific forms, in order for that to work the big form has to be correct.  I did the same with the lighter values, stating their specific forms to work with the surrounding values.  When done without the first crab apple I repeated the same process with the second one.  I also stated the cast shadows which are important since the darkest values affect the overall tone of the crab apple.

Then I stated the lighter values with their specific forms and took the second crab apple to a finish.  As you can see with previous pictures I've begun to state the stems, just giving a hint of where they'll be placed.  After the second crab apple is complete I start on the third one and repeat the process.  I also use the same colors as I did with the first crab apple.

Once the third crab apple is complete I state the overall color of the wooden base and after I start on the darker values with their specific forms.  The colors I used in this stage were raw umber, ivory black, and cad. orange.  

Then I stated the lighter values with their specific forms by using titanium white, cobalt blue, naples yellow and burnt sienna.  In order for the lighter values to have worked with the overall tone in the wooden base the big form modeling had to be correct.  In order for the details or small form modeling to work the big form modeling has to be correct.  Essentially your big form modeling is setting the stage for the finer details, its imperative to get this stage right for the small form modeling to work.  When painting intricate details such as these crab apples it can be challenging to get the big and small form modeling right, it may take a while which is just fine as long as you understand the process and know that it works.  I hope you learned and enjoyed this one, thanks for stopping by.

"Vase & Peppers"

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"Vase & Peppers"

6 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

This painting is another version of the first peppers & vase, I wanted to have more of a whimsical feel to the painting.  The composition definitely gives it that with the traditional triangle approach, having a good flow between the objects through composition can strengthen a painting.  I also liked playing with the colors and their subtle values.

I started with the usual dry brush approach using no mediums and just a bit of raw umber on the brush.  After the drawing is complete I stated the background first to get more of the overall value feel for the painting.  

After the background is complete I stated the vase first concentrating on big form modeling, this stage is the most important for me.  Its crucial to get this stage right in order for the rest of the form to work, making the light wrap around the form and believable is important to state first.  I spend the most time at this stage getting it right and turning the form, I keep the paints fairly thin, I can build up on it once I get more of the smaller forms stated.  After the big form modeling is complete I start on the darker values and stating their specific forms.  

I do the same with the lighter forms and take them to a finish.  As you can see stating the smaller forms in the darker and lighter values goes much quicker once the big form modeling is working correctly.  I also start to state the top cover of the vase and working on its big form modeling stage, once thats complete I state the darker values and its specific forms.

Then I state the lighter values and its specific forms.  Once the top is taken to a finish I then start on the wooden base and state its local colors, just stating the basic colors and how light affects it.  I'm not worried about details at this stage just wanna get a general statement of how the light is going across the form.  Then I state the lighter values and its specific forms.

Once the wooden base is completed I start on the first habanero pepper, again stating big form modeling first.  Stating the local colors and making the form turn, not worried about details at this stage just a general statement.  Then I add the darker values and its specific forms.

I do the same with the lighter values and take the first pepper to a finish.  I repeat the same process with the second habanero pepper.

The first pic shows after big form modeling stage I started to state the darker values and its specific forms.  Then I state the lighter values and its specific forms, after doing this the painting is complete.  I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did, if you guys have any questions just email me or leave a comment.  Thanks for stopping by and viewing!