"Apple"

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"Apple"

6 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

This delicious apple caught my eyes because of its colors that blended so well with each other.  I really like the subtle transitions these two colors create in the middle values.  I also wanted to mention that this canvas panel was provided by a great artist and friend Elaine Stolt, she toned it with golden number 6 grey acrylic wash.  I was a little skeptical at first painting on it due to the uneven wash, but I ended up really liking how it meshed well with the painting.  

I started the drawing stage with a bit of raw umber on the brush and scumbled the drawing on.  When the drawing was complete I stated the big form modeling first, I painted the general colors that wrapped around the form.  This stage is important to capture the light and make it turn with the form, when done correctly the details easily come afterwards.  The colors I'm using is cad. red light, naphthol red, cad. yellow pale hue, viridian, and ivory black.

Once the bigger form is turning and I have the general colors turning with it I then narrow each section down.  I first start with the middle to darker values, I add the smaller forms making sure they're working well in the value stage with the bigger form.  The bigger form gives me all the answers I need as far as values go, when I apply the smaller forms I need to make sure they're not to distant from what I stated with the bigger forms.  I also do not apply thick paint in the beginning with big form modeling, this allows me to control the consistency and layer as much to get the look I'm going for in the final stages.  I then shift to the highlights, applying smaller forms and making them work with the other forms I've stated.

Once the apple is completed I move onto the base, I apply the general color tone and how the light shifts.  Once thats completed I then start to add the smaller forms and make them work with the values that I've already stated.  At this stage I'm in the middle to darker values and slowly moving to the lights.  The colors I used are yellow ochre, cad. yellow pale hue, raw umber, ivory black, and titanium white.

Then I added the lighter values and highlights, again making sure they're working in correspondence to the values I stated with the bigger form modeling.  I decided to leave the background alone because I really liked how it looked in contrast with the painting.  The gestural feel and how it somewhat balances the design of the apple made it an easy choice to leave it alone.  I hope you enjoyed this one, thanks for stopping by and viewing!

"Cauliflower & Brussel Sprouts"

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"Cauliflower & Brussel Sprouts"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

This cabbage and brussel sprouts stood out to me when I was at the grocery store, their unique shapes and soft colors attracted me too them.  Cauliflower in itself has so many intricate shapes to them, trying to paint it was more than a challenge.  I really do love the soft and subtle colors the brussel sprouts show on their skin, I believe these two subjects go well together for this painting.  Another aspect to this painting I was trying to tackle was emphasizing on modeling the lights.  Concentrating on bigger and smaller form modeling is a great way to capture the essence of light wrapping around the form.

I started with a dry brush approach for the drawing stage using minimal paint on the brush.  Then I started on the cauliflower itself first concentrating on big form modeling, at this stage I'm just worried how the light's wrapping around the form with general colors.

Then I hone down in the shadow sections adding smaller forms that correspond to the bigger form modeling.  The smaller forms have to work with the lights from the bigger form in order to make the overall light believable.  It's a tricky idea to understand but its quite simple overall, once you can see the general colors and light wrapping around a form then colors and details become easier to understand.

I carry the smaller forms or details tot he lighter section of the cabbage, I'm going back and forth from the darks to the lights and adjusting what needs to be.  Then I start adding the leaf that came with the cauliflower, doing the same as I did with the cabbage stating the bigger forms first.    

I then move onto the brussel sprouts and do the same.  What I'm trying to show is how important it is to model the bigger forms, if you can get that right in the beginning then the details or smaller forms become easier to illustrate.  The smaller forms have to work in conjunction with the bigger form modeling in order for it be believable.

Then I add the wooden block and start seeing the painting come together.  I add the colors really thin stating the lights from light to dark. 

Then I start to state the shadows and middle to darker values, which in turn I start to describe more of the details.  Then I start on the lighter values and tie them in with the middle to darker values.

I go back into the cauliflower and state the middle to darker values giving an atmospheric mood, this also emphasizes the light and turning of the form.  Then I go back into the brussel sprouts and do the same as I did with the cauliflower.

Once thats completed I move onto the background and use naples yellow, cerulean blue, and titanium white.  This is the completed picture of the painting, I'm glad I kept painting away at this painting.  It was tough to finish in certain areas due to the subject matter, but like I said I'm glad to have stuck it out and finished it.  I'm really happy with the finish result and hope you enjoyed the process.  Thanks for stopping by!

"Creme Brulee"

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"Creme Brulee"

5 x 7 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I wanted to stay on the subject of painting pastries and desserts.  Other than trying to paint there textures I do love eating them when I'm done, it's a guilty pleasure but worth every bite.  What attracted me to paint this dessert was its subtle color shifts in the brulee, I've been wanting to capture more subtle values and how to render them.  The deep reds that are in the raspberries where also an incentive to paint, I did miss painting them especially after painting golden raspberries.  What I try to achieve when I paint is painting light and texture on the subject, to me thats fun part of painting.  

I started with a dry brush approach to the drawing stage by just using raw umber.  When the drawing is completed I moved onto the raspberries, the colors I used are cad. red light, cad. red, ultramarine blue, and ivory black.  For the beginning stages of the raspberries I wanted to get the value shifts of the colors, I basically thought of it as modeling the bigger form first.  I state the obvious colors first shifting from lights to darks, I'm not worried about stating details yet just getting an overall color shift in modeling the bigger form.  

Then I go back to the darks and start adding darker accents where they need to be and also start to add a bit of details.  I do the same when I get to the lights, I do this in moderation to build up the two areas together.  For the lighter part of the raspberries I us cad. red light, cad. orange, cerulean, and titanium white.  At this point I'm stating the details in each area but I'm still keeping true to the big form modeling, making sure its working with the light wrapping around the form.

Then I move onto the next section doing the same stating the local colors first and the shift of its values from dark to light.  When thats working I start stating more details and make it work with the overall shift.  When I state the local colors and the details I'm making sure I start thin with my paints and build up where they need to be.  The colors I used for this section is cad, yellow light, naples yellow, cad. orange, raw umber, ivory black, burnt sienna, and titanium white.

Then I move onto the cream doing the same stating the local colors first and modeling the bigger form.  I used ivory black, cerulean blue, and titanium white.  

Then just added the details and made them work with the bigger forms.

I then moved onto the rim of the brulee using the same colors and getting the overall color shift, once that was stated I just added the subtle highlights and darks to finish it.

This section is a prime example of what I mean about doing a general statement of colors and stating the bigger form.  Once that was working I then started to add a bit more detail to it, and making it work with the light and how it wraps around with the form.  

When I got to the end of this section I was just adding subtle details and highlights to take it to a finish.  As you can see I always keep true to the overall form and how it works with the light.  Then I stated the base and its cast shadows.

I took the painting to a finish after stating the background, I used ultramarine blue and titanium white.  I was very happy with the completion of this painting, not only because I was done but because I was able to finally eat the creme brulee.  I was also happy because it was nice to get back to basics with big for modeling, sometimes I like to skip these steps and get to a finish which is not the best way at times.  It's good to get back to what works and understand how it can better your paintings.  Thanks for stopping by and viewing, hope you enjoyed this one!

"Solitaires Pastry"

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"Solitaires Pastry"

7 x 5 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Pastries are always a delight to paint, one reason is that I get to divulge into them when the paintings complete.  This pastry stood out to me for a couple reasons, first I really like the gestural cream folds and I also the subtle values.  It was a challenge to capture these subtle values especially between the folds in the cream.  The overall movement of the pastry was what captured me the most, hopefully I was able to portray that in this painting.

I started with a dry brush approach for the drawing stage, I like to keep the lines extremely light incase I need to correct any portion of the drawing.  When the drawing is complete I stated the background first using cerulean blue, naples yellow and titanium white.

Then I started on the chocolate chip stating the middle to darker values, I used ultramarine blue, burnt umber, and ivory black.  I started really thin and built up to the dark opaque layer I'm going for.  I don't wanna start to thick in the beginning this will make the paints uncontrollable and not give me the subtle value shifts i'm going for.

Then I add the highlights with just titanium white and cerulean blue.  I then start on the cream part of the pastry, I start to add the local colors first or the shift of one value to the other.  I wanted to get a general feel of value shifts first with a bit of chroma.  As stated before I start really thin and build up to my level of thickness.  It's a dry brush approach in the beginning layers and build up to the thickness of paints.  

When the values and chroma's are working I then add the darkest values, for the cream I use cad. yellow, titanium white, raw umber, burnt sienna, and ivory black.  I also start to add the details of the dusting on the cream.

Then I start to add the chocolate base to the pastry, I start with the darkest values and move onto the lighter values.  I use ivory black, burnt sienna, cerulean, and titanium white.

Then I added the wooden base I just used yellow ochre, cerulean blue, naples yellow, raw umber and titanium white.  Then I went back to the cream and added more details and also went really thick with the highlights.  This is the part of the painting I love doing, where you can create texture so thick it looks as if it's coming out of the canvas.  I find a lot of joy in creating these textures.  Overall I like the subtle values I was able to achieve, its deceptively simple to do.  It was a great challenge to push myself to keep the values so soft and subtle.  I challenge you guys to do the same, paint an object that has subtle values and try to capture the light and texture.  Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed!

"Golden Raspberries"

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"Golden Raspberries"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I've painted these guys once before and titled the painting yellow raspberries, I had someone reply to my blog saying these where also called golden raspberries.  I looked it up and they're right, either way they're beautiful in color and especially harder to paint.  Painting raspberries is not an easy task when you throw yellow into the mix it makes even more of a challenge.  It's good to go straight ahead and face these challenges as they teach us something.  With this painting I wanted to concentrate on the composition and introduce another object, it's a little tin cup that i've been wanting to use for a while.  Glad I was able to finally incorporate it into a painting, you would think it'll be easy to do so but trust me it's not.  I also wanted to take the textures further with this painting, taking more time in each section and honing down how light describes each surface.  To me thats the key, to paint how light effects an object and its textures.

I started with the usual approach of a dry brush technique for the drawing stage, I used just a bit of raw umber on the brush.  When the drawing is completed I moved onto the tin cup and very thinly started to state the middle to darker values.  I leave my lights untouched I like to creep up to them and build the values up.  When I say I keep the paints thin in the beginning I mean I keep them VERY thin, it's practically a dry brush approach at this stage.  This allows me to build up my layers to their correct values and keep the edges soft and smooth.  Think of it how you would render with a pencil, you want to start with a light pressure to the pencil to get the lightest tones and build up to your dark's, it's the same approach I implore with these paintings.  If I need more paint or an area needs to be opaque then I apply more paint, its all at moderation.  

The colors I'm using for the tin cup are ivory black, titanium white, and cad. yellow.  I then apply the highlights to the tin cup with a bit of titanium white and cad. yellow.  After the tin cup is completed I move onto the golden raspberries, I apply the local colors to all of them first.  I want to get a general feel how they will look in the local color stage, after this stage I start taking it section by section.  The colors I'm using for the golden raspberries are cad. yellow, raw umber, cad. orange, and titanium white.

I then start adding the cast shadows to indicate more values, this allows me to push the lights further.  For the cast shadows I use ivory black, burnt umber and ultramarine blue.  I then take the golden raspberries in the tin cup and the two next to it to a finish.  It's difficult as stated before to render yellow raspberries, I don't know what it is but for me I find it a huge challenge to paint these guys.  A great learning experience as well.

Then I take the last two of the golden raspberries and complete them, I'm going back and forth from the middle to lighter values and dabbing the details.  Another thing with my technique that I have been doing lately is that when I start on an area I like to go back and forth with the brush and not pick up the brush.  It's not a dabbing technique its just laying down the brush and moving it back and forth with a very light touch.  This covers the area with a nice lighter value, if you want to go more opaque then press a little harder with the brush.  When I need to get details or specific transitions I then start to dab the brush meaning I pick up my brush with each stroke, this allows me to get finer details and better control.  You can see it here with the second picture, I did this back and forth thin paint application with the wooden base.  The tricky part about going back and forth you can apply too much pressure and lift the paint off the canvas.  It's very tricky you just have to be aware of the pressure you apply to the brush, remember its the same approach as rendering with a pencil.

I added the bottom part of the base and its details, the colors I used for the base are ivory black, cerulean blue, raw umber, cad. orange, and titanium white.  After the wooden base is completed I moved onto the background, I used naples yellow as the dominant color and mixed a little of cerulean blue, burnt sienna, and titanium white.  After the background is complete I stand back and look at the whole picture, I see if there is anything that needs be pushed or softened.  I usually walk away from it when I think its done, then after 20 minutes I come back with a fresh eye and see if it's really done.  Thanks for stopping by and viewing, hope you enjoyed!  

"Master Copy Challenge"

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Cornelis Van Der Geest after Anthony Van Dyck

11 x 14 in

Oil on Linen

I FINALLY did the master copy after Van Dyck, I apologize for taking so long.  I'm glad I did this I learned so much from this technique.  Originally I was going to approach it the way I'm accustomed to painting,g taking each section to a finish and moving onto the other which is technically Van Dyck's method as well.  The difference is that he had an under painting to go from, I in the other hand would just start in an area and not even have an under painting.  It made things harder as far as relationships between shapes, values, and chroma's.  I was also noticing there wasn't a unity of shapes or the whole picture wasn't coming together the way I wanted to, which you will see what I mean in the process pictures.  Originally I wasn't going to show the beginning steps because it wasn't going the way I wanted but I realized that its better if I do show them, you guys can see how I learned from my mistakes and brought the painting to the level I was desiring to do so.  I hope you guys can get something out of my process and if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask.

I started the drawing with a bit of raw umber on the brush, more of a dry brush technique.  I wanted to keep the lines as light as I can so I can easily erase any errors I had along the way.  I had issues with the placement on the canvas and making the design work, but it worked out after a couple tries.  Some people draw the portrait on paper and transfer the drawing to the canvas, I could of done that but decided to just draw directly on the canvas.  

After the drawing was completed I started on the background, doing the first layer of ivory black.  Ivory black is a slow drier, I wanted to lay the first coat down by the time I got to the second phase of the portrait it would of been well on its way to a finish.  I didn't use any mediums with the ivory black.

This is the area where I started to just concentrate on each section and take it to a finish, little did I know how wrong I was.  It started going well, it was looking a little too orangey for some reason but I kept working at it.  I can say the drawing was not completely there either but a good hint of it. 

Then I moved onto the second eye and still hatching away on the drawing while still trying to get the values and chroma's right.  I was sort of liking the way it was going but new it wasn't coming together the way I wanted it too.  The colors I used where yellow ochre, raw umber, burnt sienna, ivory black, and lead white.  The challenge called for the use of this limited palette which was nice and challenging. 

I finally came to my senses and started to do an under painting which consisted of raw umber, lead white and ivory black.  This method is what the Flemish painters used to do, Van Dyck and Rubens famously used this method.  Once I started applying this method I noticed a huge difference in the painting, I was able to get the drawing down better and the values where also being take care of.  I saw that unity in the painting that I was looking for, you can see in this picture how the painting looks in comparison to the one eye that I didn't paint over on the left side of his face.  I eventually painted it over to create more of that unity in the under painting.  I still didn't use any mediums for this stage, I found it better not too it dried much faster and I kept the paints fairly thin as well.  

Then I fixed the eye and also rendered the ruffles area around his neck.  I am really liking the progression in this painting by now, I had the drawing down and also took care of the subtle value shifts.  

After the under painting is complete I started to incorporate colors into the portrait.  I also started to mix in to the colors some refined linseed oil to thin it out and flow nicely along the portrait.  I did the portrait first and left the hair, ear and ruffles area for the last day.

Before starting on the hair I did the second passage to the background with ivory black and a bit of refined linseed oil.  This allowed me to keep the edges soft when working in the hair, and the goes the same in the ruffled area.  I finished the hair and moved onto the ear and took that it to a finish.  The last area I worked on was the ruffled area around the neck, it was fun softening some parts and keep other areas gestural with thick impastos.  The completion of this painting is exactly what I was going for, I learned so much from this exercise and strongly recommend everyone to try it.  Thanks again for your patience and now to the next challenge!  

"Yellow Raspberries"

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"Yellow Raspberries"

5 x 7 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Yellow raspberries is a fruit I never though existed, it was a surprise for me to see them at the grocery store.  I was beyond excitement to paint these guys, it's challenging though to properly show their true colors in a painting.  Yellow is a difficult color to paint it can easily look to glowy or too dark and lose its yellowness.  It's a great way though to challenge yourself to see how you can control its values and properly render this beautiful color.

I started with the usual dry brush approach for the drawing, I didn't want to start out with an underpainting like I have been doing with the others.  Reason being it takes a little longer than usual to finish a painting, I think its a great technique to do when doing a painting that you have more time invested.  I just think for the sake of these alla primas its better just to go straight on with color.  Don't get me wrong though as I said before its better to do an underpainting, it gets a lot of the drawing and value issues out of the way from the get go.  

After the drawing is complete I start on the first raspberry by stating the local colors first, I used cad. yellow, raw umber and cad. orange.  

When the local colors are stated and have the form turning, I go back to the shadows and take them to a finish.  I do the same with the lighter areas by just applying a bit of titanium white for the highlights.  I use the same color scheme for the rest of the raspberries.    

Again stating the local colors first and making form turn first, I also make sure that all my edges are soft in this stage.  When thats completed I go back to the shadows and take them to a finish, I also add the reflected lights to complete the shadows.

Then I apply the highlights to the raspberry and take it to a finish.

The raspberries towards the back are blurred out to recede with the background.  I also state the background to blur the raspberries even more.  I the colors I used are cerulean blue, naples yellow and titanium white.  I go around each raspberry and soften the edges to the level they need to so they can recede as much as I want them too.  

Once they are taken to a finish I start on the wooden base by stating the local colors first and getting a feeling how the light will fall on the base.  In the beginning I went to thick with the paints, which is alright I was able to learn how to sculpt it around to get the look I was going for.  As you may know by now I usually like to go from thin to thick and this was not the case.  I treat my paintings the same way how I draw, by the pressure applied to the brush is the same philosophy I approach my ball point pen drawings.  

This is the finished painting, I went back tot he wooden base and added the lighter values and details in the shadows.  Thanks for stopping by and viewing, I hope you enjoyed!