Edina Art Fair

"Peonies"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Back to the easel into producing more art work for the Edina Art Fair.  The fair will be from June 5 -7. Last year was my first time showing and it was a lot of fun participating in the event. The amount of people I met and got feedback from was immense. I recommend anyone who has never been a part of one to do it, it is a great experience.

It is that time of year that peonies bloom for about two weeks. It's a short window but I want to take advantage of it. They are one of the most beautiful flowers to paint. Peonies are always a challenge to paint in one session because of their intricacy, but is one of the main reasons I am attracted to paint them. 

You can see with the process shots above I went with big form modeling of the lights for all three Peonies. I was not interested in details until the hue and chroma were stated overall. I was working from general to smaller forms. Starting right away with details will hurt your painting. Work with larger shapes then working into smaller shapes. Which is the same as doing big form modeling first then completing the painting with smaller form modelling. Edges are also another key component with this painting. I left some edges blurry to push the middle main Peonies forward. I stress to my students how important edges are, they will either make or break your painting. Transitions from one value or chroma to another depends greatly on the edges and how fluid the transition is. 

I like to paint peonies from life as you can see all their true colors. Which goes with anything you want to paint, photography looses a lot of the colors and distorts the picture. I do use at times photography if I have no option and will paint into the night. I always prefer painting from life with natural light when I am able to. This is another painting I am doing for the art fair. Peonies open their pedals so quick, by the time I was getting closer to finishing this painting the white Peonies that I painted was already half way blooming. 

Thank you everyone for stopping by and viewing my paintings, cheers!

"Mixed Tomatoes II"

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"Mixed Tomatoes II"

8 x 10 in 

Oil on Canvas Panel

I wanted to continue the play on colors with these delicious tomatoes, I especially wanted to have an array of colors with an interesting composition.  The textures in their skin is extremely subtle along with their color shifts.  I felt for the most part I was painting mini balloons, never painted balloons before and now have an idea on how to do so.  With this painting I wanted to revisit big form modeling and implore that idea further.  I've stressed in previous posts about the importance of big form modeling and with this posting I'll do the same.  Playing with so many elements at once is challenging but delightful after seeing its completion from start to finish.

I started with the usual dry brush approach using no mediums and a bit of raw umber on the brush.  Once the drawing is complete I state the general colors of the tomatoes all at once, I do this to get unity out of the group of, this also lets me create a base to move my paint around and have that unity from beginning to end.  In this stage I am not concerned with big form modeling or details just the general flat color of the area.  The colors I use for this section are cad.red, cad.orange, cad.yellow medium hue.

After the general stage is complete I then start on big form modeling, this stage I start adding different colors that help turn the form with its light.  Still not worried about "details" or small form modeling just on how the form is turning away and into the light.  It's important to state that this stage is crucial in order to have a successful completion to your later stages.  I also stated the background in this stage to tackle the edges further.  Big form modeling is essentially laying down all the ground work for you, the smaller forms later or the "details" will lay in perfectly if the big form is done right.  With big form modeling I don't lay in the highest highlight or darkest value just a middle of the two to get the form turning.  Then on the next frame you can see that I laid in the smaller forms with the darker values and lighter values.  I like to break them up into two sections starting with darker then lighter values.  These sections work just right with the big form modeling, of course there is some areas that need fine tuning in order for the smaller form model to work right, but for the most part big form modeling lay's out the blueprint for each section you'r painting.

Once the tomatoes are complete I then start on the wooden base by approaching it the same way as I did with the wooden base.  First laying in the general colors and then doing the big form modeling or a fall light across the board.  Again not worried about the grainy textures in the wood just on the general light moving across the form.  This stage I am not applying the lightest or darkest values, I get close but stop since I add those details with the finishing touches.  Then on the next frame I state the smaller forms by first applying the darker values with their specific forms.  For this stage I used primarily burnt umber, raw umber titanium white, naples yellow and cerulean blue.

Once the darker forms are complete I state the lighter forms and take the wooden board to a finish.  I can see after adding the overall value of the base that the tomatoes started to look lighter in the darker areas, which is normal if you add a darker element next to it.  I went back into the tomatoes and darkened certain sections in order for them to work with the whole painting.  I hope you enjoyed this one and really had an understanding of my concept when I paint.  I appreciate you guys stopping by and viewing, till next time au revoir! 

"Senior"

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"Senior"

8 x 6 in 

Ball Point Pen

I've always loved drawing it was my introduction into this crazy art world and always find refuge when I need to escape it all.  I especially love drawing in ball point pen rather than any other medium, there's something about its permanent quality that attracts me and motivates me to fully concentrate with every mark I make.    I saw this picture in a publication a while ago and was immediately drawing to the simplification of tones and beautiful textures in the skin.  Not really into politics to make this drawing a political statement, just wanted to try to render it the best that I can.  Needless to say this is not an alla prima drawing, it took more than a day to complete I actually did not jot down the specifics on how long it took, it did take me a while though.  I hope you enjoyed this one!  

Detail.  

"Italian Sundae"

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"Italian Sundae"

8 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I wanted to take a break from painting fruits and vegetables, figured this dessert was a good start.  I really enjoy passing the bakery isle in the grocery store it has so many goodies that are just great to look and eat at.  Out of the many times that i've passed it this time I could not walk away from this italian sundae.  From the presentation to the way the cherry just sits on top, almost like a bow sitting on a perfectly wrapped present.  To paint this dessert without eating it first was a challenge to say the least, temptation should of been the title to this painting.  

I started with the drawing stage by using a bit of raw umber on the brush and no mediums.  Once the drawing is complete I started with the cherry and cream part, I first painted the middle to darker values.  I start pretty thin at this stage to judge what type of texture I'm going for.  If it's a glossy look I want to put more paint on, if its a rougher feel I'm going for then I want minimal paint to start with.  Each section and area will have a different look and texture to them, the key is trying to figure it out with your brush.  

Then I painted in the lighter values and brought the area to a finish.  It's important to understand I don't move from an area until its completed, I put all my concentration to get it right in that stage so I don't have to go back.  I then move onto to the chocolate and cream area, first I lay in the middle to darker values.  Since this section is pretty soft in texture I want to start out with thin paints, I start out by laying my strokes very light in pressure almost like how one would draw with a pencil.  I like to slowly build to the texture and value I'm going for, I don't like to put the strong highlight or really deep dark first.  I prefer to gradually build the values first this allows me to control the transitions and textures.

Then I paint the darker darks and add more of the smaller form details.  After that stage is complete I paint the lighter values and bring this section to a finish.

 

I continue the process with the chocolate covered waffle top.  First just laying a thin application of paint to cover the areas I want it to be real thin and go a bit thicker where I want more contrast and focus.  Then I painted the darker darks with their specific forms, still being conscious of the pressure and amount of paint I'm using.  

I then brought this section to a finish by adding the lighter values.  For the bottom half of the waffle cone I repeated the process, this time I laid in a general color and did not go as thin as I was.  Since there's gonna be intricate lines I need a good base to paint on top of.  The paints I stated in this stage was to show how the light was moving across the form in a subtle way.

Then I added the middle to darker values with their specific forms, and did the same with the lighter values.  This area was tricky to paint because of the lines and how easy it can flatten the whole form if done wrong.  That's why I preferred to paint a base of the general color first so I can have the lines blending with the base in certain areas, it's easier to have it work with the overall form having the base there.

After that section was complete I stated the background and base, as you can see I added some of the chocolate chips on the base as well.  There's another topic I wanted to discuss with this painting that I was attentive from the beginning to end, it is "Edges".  Edges as I've mentioned before make or break your painting, from the outer edges of the subject or figure your painting to the edges within the brush strokes.  Having a soft and subtle edge from the beginning of laying the paints down can give me a soft look, I can then have a crispier edge in other areas which would create a great focus.  Experiment as much as you can with its properties and see how far you can push your paintings with it.  I hope you enjoyed this delicious dessert painting, thanks for stopping by and viewing.

"Blood Oranges II"

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"Blood Oranges II"

6 x 8 in 

Oil on Canvas Panel

Today I wanted to paint these beautiful blood oranges again but this time with a red cloth.  As I've mentioned in previous posts I really enjoy trying to capture the texture of things, today was definitely one of those days were it tested my abilities to do so.  From the wrinkles of the cloth to the soft subtle tones in the oranges and to the grainy wooden board.  All of them unique in their own way but meshing well together.  I was also able to mix my older approach to my new one of course shifting things here and there, for the most part I was pleased the way they worked together.    

I started with the usual dry brush approach just using a bit of raw umber on the brush and no mediums.  Once the drawing was established I painted the background and the back section of the red cloth.  The colors I used for the background were ultramarine blue, titanium white and naples yellow.  For the red cloth I used naphthol red, cad. red, raw umber and ivory black.  When working in the cloth section I start by just laying in the values with their appropriate colors to match the hue.  I keep the transitions soft and make sure to not have any hard edges, this is my beginning layer and want to keep it as thin as possible.  

Then I start by adding the darker values and their specific forms, by doing this I start sculpting into the initial layer.  Once the darker forms are about complete I then paint in the lighter values with their specific forms.  By now I start to see the section coming to a completion, I start going back and forth from the darker values and pushing it to compliment the lighter values.  

Then I repeat the same process with the red cloth in the middle ground.

Once that section is complete I then move onto the first blood orange.  I start by painting the big form modeling in which the light is wrapping around the form.  Laying in a close approximation were each value scale should go with the right chroma to compliment it.  I also make sure to keep this stage of the painting thin, making sure the form is turning and it looks dimensional.  The colors I used for this section were cad.orange, cad.yellow pale hue, naphthol red, raw umber and ivory black. 

Once the big form modeling is complete I start to state middle to darker values with their specific forms.  When adding the smaller forms in this section I am able to use the initial layer that I stated in the big form modeling stage, this helps my blends go smoother and quicker it keeps a unified look.  It also allows me to go thicker and textured if desired to do so, it gives me the control i'm looking for within each section.  Once that section is about complete I start on the lighter values and highlights.  By the time I get to the end of this stage I am able to go back to the previous section,  I alter some values and chroma's that I didn't notice when the lighter values were not painted.

I repeat the same process with the second blood orange.

Once the blood oranges are complete I then start on the on the wooden board.  First painting the fall of light by keeping the values and colors generalized.  At this stage i'm not looking for details just a generalized information of the light and color.  I also make sure to keep this stage as thin as I can, doing so makes it easier to build layers and keep control.  The colors I used for this stage were raw umber, titanium white, ultramarine blue, cad.orange, and ivory black.

Then I paint in the middle to darker values with their specific forms, I start narrowing in the smaller forms by adding its specific characteristic.  I do the same when adding the lighter values and highlights.  After this stage is complete I go back around and see if I need to push anything or if I've missed a certain part.  I go back into the background and grey it down a bit, I thought it was competing with the foreground for the most part.  Well this painting definitely was a longer one to explain with each of its intricate sections.  It was so much fun painting them and also being able to explain each section, thank you for stopping by and viewing.