"Circus Plums"

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"Circus Plums"

6 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I wanted to revisit these fun plums and be a bit more whimsical, I also miss painting this beautiful marble top.  Painting these two surfaces together contrast each other nicely.  The tension this composition creates is pretty interesting, the plums seem to be having a hard time holding up the top plum.  You can create infinite story lines with this one, it'll be interesting to read what you guys can come up with?  I've always said if you want to better yourself in painting paint marble, it's so true.  Aside from painting flowers which also excels you in every way, painting marble teaches to control your medium and notice with each stroke the type of textures you'r laying down.  You can easily apply what you've learned to anything you paint, of course you have to conform it to the subject you'r painting.  I miss painting the wooden board I use for the majority of these alla prima's, but painting this marble has given me so much joy and teaches me something new every time.  

I started with the usual dry brush approach using no mediums and a bit of raw umber.  After the drawing is established I stated the background and middle value to the base, the colors I used where cerulean blue, naples yellow and titanium white for the background.  For the marble I used raw umber, ivory black and titanium white.

Then I stated the middle and darker values with their specific forms, and do the same with the lighter values.  Once the front part of the marble is complete I start on top and repeat the process.  

Once the whole marble is complete I start on the first plum by stating the middle to darker values first.  At this stage I'm applying the middle local color of the plum and turning the form, later I start to add more colors once the values are turning with the light.  Then I add the lighter values and take the plum to a finish, I repeat the process with the second plum.

I do the same process with the third plum.  The colors I used for the plums were naphthol red, ivory black, cad. red light, quinacridone magenta, cerulean blue, and titanium white.  

I take the painting to a finish by going in the cast shadows where the plums meet the marble, I tie them together by pushing the darks and blending the two together.  It was beyond fun painting this one, I truly enjoy learning from a painting and this one definitely delivered that.  That's what I love the most about painting these alla prima's, they teach me something new every time.  Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed 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!

"Baby Eggplants"

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"Baby Eggplants"

7 x 5 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I really like the smooth texture and soft value shifts eggplants have, I think they have so much character to them.  I wanted to play with these two baby eggplants in telling a subtle story between them, almost like the characteristics of their texture and shape.  The color shift from a deep red to a subtle violet is to good not to paint, it's always one of those things that attracts me to paint.  To me these guys are an elegant and smooth fruit to paint.

I started with just a dry brush of raw umber on the brush and no mediums for the drawing stage.  After the drawing was completed I started on the first egg plant, concentrating on bigger form modeling first going from darks to light.  The colors I used is ultramarine, quinacridone magenta, naphthol red, and ivory black.  

Then I added the lighter values and highlights just mixing titanium white to it.  I'm not one hundred percent with this stage but I want to move onto the stem, I will revisit this area once more.  Then I start on the stem doing the same concentrating on the bigger form modeling first.  the colors I use is viridian, cad. yellow pale hue, ultramarine, and titanium white.

After the bigger form modeling is working I then apply the smaller forms or details, first starting with the darks and then doing the lighter values.  Then I start on the second baby eggplant using the same mixture as I did with the previous one.  

At this stage when I finish doing the bigger form modeling I go back to the first baby eggplant and finish up the areas I left.  Then when thats completed I go to the second baby eggplant and add the smaller form modeling, which is just little details here and there.  I then start on the stem by doing big form modeling first, I'm also using the same colors as I used with the other eggplant.

Then I add the details or smaller forms to the stem and take it to a finish.  Once the baby eggplants are completed I move onto the top of the wooden base, I start with an overall direction of light and color value shifts.  The colors I'm using at this stage is cerulean, yellow ochre, raw umber, titanium white, and ivory black.

Then I add details on top of the base and also start to add the general colors to the bottom of the base.  The colors I used there are ivory black, raw umber, and cad. orange.  After the general colors are stated I add the smaller forms and take the wooden base to a finish.

I finish the painting by adding color to the background, the colors I used are cerulean, naples yellow, and titanium white.  When painting this area I'm constantly aware of all edges and how soft and hard they must be, remember edges can make or break you'r painting pay close attention to them.  I hope you enjoyed these baby eggplants, thanks for stopping by and viewing!