Wednesday Portrait Session 3

This is the third, four-hour session of a drawing I started two weeks ago on April 5.

I have finally, just in the last hour of the session, started applying values. I am struck by how much easier it is to make tonal decisions, once I have already made so many decisions about proportion and placement.

Still, despite my hours of attempting to be precise, I have still managed to set the right eye slightly higher than the left. I think it's a minor adjustment, but I am glad I am not any further along with the tonal rendering.

The more charcoal on the page, the more there is to erase.

As you can see, the model has a very striking face. When I asked she said she is half Peruvian, plus a lot of other nationalities including Greek. Something about the deep shape of her chin, and the sculptural quality of her top lip, gives her a classical look.

In other news, construction on the art shed has not begun yet, but I am assured that building will start very soon. In the mean time I'm having fun picking out my skylights. It will be tiny studio, barely 6 feet x 16 feet, but with THREE north-light skylights. I can't wait.

Wednesday Portrait Session 2

This is a continuation of the drawing I started last week. I will flesh it out to a fully toned drawing as the weeks go on, but for now I am still working on capturing the proportions and the shapes in line.

I am itching to start in with the values: The far side of her face is in complete shadow, and the reflection under her chin is especially interesting. But I am trying to be disciplined and not rush ahead.

I erased and re-drew every mark several times today. At one point I wiped out all the features completely and began again. It's a real luxury to have the time to focus on accuracy. Eventually, it would be nice to learn to be both accurate and fast. Someday.

Wednesday Portrait Session 1

I've started attending a drawing group that meets Wednesdays, and yesterday we started a 6-week pose. This is the first stage of the drawing I'll be developing over the next 6 weeks. I spent the first session with the techniques I learned at Juliette's workshop last week: concentrating on angles and proportions to make an accurate armature for the drawing. It's not there yet, but I'll be working on it for at least another session or two before I start the "fun part" - adding values. I'll be posting my progress weekly.

As for the rest of my art progress.... plans for the studio are moving along. I have found a contractor to build my art shed and building should start next week. I'm hoping to move in by the end of April.

In the meantime, I am setting up a temporary studio in our as-yet-unfurnished dining room. But the light is all wrong and it's not a very inspiring space, and I'm still surrounded by boxes. So I'm having a hard time breaking it in.

Juliette Aristides Drawing Workshop Day 5

Charcoal & graphite on cream Rives BFK paper
Approx 19 x 22 inches

I have completed my week-long drawing workshop at the Bay Area Classical Artist Atelier. You can see the progression of my drawing and my posts about the week starting last Tuesday.

I finished my week-long drawing with an hour to spare, time I spent fiddling around and making small adjustments, which is always the fun part. I am really happy with it, even though I am more aware now than ever of what I need to do to learn more.

I really enjoyed the workshop. I think because so few people study this way, there is a real camaraderie. People have been sharing drawing tools, offering advice and being generally supportive all week. By the end, we were all exchanging email addresses and planning when we might see each other again at future workshops.

Juliette was a great teacher, her approach for executing a drawing is a method I have never been taught before. My drawing has some proportional errors still, but it is by far the most proportionally accurate figure I have ever drawn in my life. And I feel like I have new tools to apply to every drawing I do, whether in this highly detailed manner or a looser style.

Juliette Aristides Drawing Workshop Day 4

I have a lot to do tomorrow to complete the drawing, I'm a bit nervous about getting it all done in one day. The hand is what worries me the most - the contour drawing I did of it yesterday is just wrong. The model has long fingers, and I measured and measured, but I still exaggerated the length of her hand. So I'll have to completely redraw it tomorrow. Between that, the feet, the unfinished knee, and an overall polishing, there's easily 5 hours of solid work left.

I have started working into the charcoal with graphite pencil. It evens out the tones and I can get more detail, especially in the face. Pencil goes on fine, but charcoal frays the fibers.

A couple classmates have commented that I'm using the charcoal like graphite, I guess because there's not many rough charcoal strokes. It's mostly because I am battling with the paper. It has short, absorbent fibers, which fluff off the page with any amount of rubbing, so anything but the lightest touch makes the model look "hairy". Slightly frustrating, but it's all part of the learning process - I've learned to never use this paper again for charcoal.

I am still thinking a lot about what kind of artist I would be now if I had had 10 years of classical instruction already. And about what kind of artist I'll be ten years from now.

Juliette Aristides Drawing Workshop Day 3

Today was the third day of my week long drawing workshop with Juliette Aristides, and the second session of the drawing I started yesterday.

The photo above was taken about halfway through the day. You can see I completed the contour drawing of the hand and lower arm, which I left blank yesterday. The rest of the day I spent filling in the values.

I'm much more comfortable with this part of the process, I tend to think on tone instead of line naturally. But this process is still far more detailed than I usually work.

Instead of developing all areas of the drawing at once, like I have always been trained, we're being told to work on sections at a time - there's really no other way to do it. I am using vine charcoal sharpened to a fine point, almost as thin as a pencil point. And the paper is big - lots of space to cover.

Juliette instructed us to start by focusing on the core shadows (the darkest, middle part of the shadow as it falls across a curved surface) before we start filling in midtones and transitions.

The shot below is from the end of the day, you can see I've started filling in the midtones.


The hardest part of this drawing is by far the knees. They face almost directly at me. I haven't captured them believably yet, but I have two more days to try. It's tough anatomy to work out, lots of small edges of bones and tendons making their shadowy mark on the surface of the skin.

The hand is going to be hard, too. It's further along than yesterday, after I erased and redrew it about 8 times. But the tonalities will prove whether I have drawn a hand, or merely a rubber glove full of sticks and marbles.

Sorry for the bad photos.

Juliette Aristides Drawing Workshop

Approx 19 x 22 inches, vine charcoal on paper

I'm back! After weeks of house buying, packing, moving and unpacking, this week long workshop has begun just at the right time to get me back in the groove of daily art-making. Good thing, because between our cat going up the chimney, the hired movers pulling a no-show the day of the move, and being constantly surrounded by the smell of corrugated cardboard (which I hate) I've had just about enough of moving house.

We are working on a week-long drawing of a model in a single pose at this workshop with Juliette Aristides, along with some smaller exercises. Today was Day 2, but I started over with better paper than what I'd started with yesterday. The drawing above is the result of about 5 hours work today.

The approach is inspired by a traditional classical 19th century atelier method of learning to draw. So we're starting with a very careful line drawing as a base, attempting to get all the proportions as accurate as possible.

This method feels completely foreign to me. I am used to attacking the page with fistfuls of charcoal and battling it into submission by scrubbing away with an erasure to find the form. By contrast, this method feels more like spearing a fly with a needle - tiny strands flung over and over, hoping to pin some accuracy to the page.

I am enjoying myself, though, and so far I am happy with the drawing. I am looking forward to starting on the shadow values tomorrow, I feel much more comfortable with value than with line.

Juliette is a calm and patient teacher, she she teaches regularly at an atelier up in Seattle and seems very comfortable with leading a class. I found out from her bio that she is exactly the same age as me, which is daunting to say the least. But I try not to dwell on how much time I have lost and focus on what I am capable of learning today. Well, I try not to dwell on lost time, at least.

Juliette was talking today about how it used to be the norm for an artist to spend ten to thirteen years in formal study before they attempted to make unique work. I wonder what my work would be like now if I had spent that much time in formal study?

Would I have more or less of an idea of what makes a work "unique"? I am not sure "unique" exists. The most slavish copy has some of the artists' hand in it. And most "unique" work looks only like a typical product of the times a mere decade later.

I have learned that what I make never follows any sort of intention, whether to be unique or not. I make what I make, I can only do what is interesting to me. I have no control over whether it is culturally valuable or not. The only thing I do have control over is whether I make something today or not. And even that is tenuous at best.

A Short Break

After years of dreaming of owning my own home, it's finally happening -- Nowell and I put an offer in Monday, and yesterday it was accepted! We close in just two weeks, so things are moving very fast - and we'll be moving very soon.

I'm hoping to get my new studio set up and functioning as soon as possible, but in the mean time things are going to be a bit insane so I'll probably not be posting many paintings for a few weeks. (I even tried to crank out a little Daily while we were waiting to hear about our offer, but my brain is just not capable right now of the focus that requires!)

Soon I'll be back in my routine and you can expect to see daily paintings and larger works posted more regularly. I'm also looking forward to my upcoming workshop with Juliette Aristides next month, which is sure to be inspirational.

Thanks again for all your support and encouragement since I started my Daily Painting endeavour.

Tissue in Lightbox II

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Pear SOLD

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Tissue in Lightbox I

6 x 8, oil on panel

As much as I appreciate my bank of north light windows, the constant white diffused light can get boring after a while. So with some tips from my RISD friend Scott I set up a light box for myself - basically a cardboard box with an incandescent light shining through a hole onto the still life below. You can see the results of my first attempt with the light box here. I'm looking forward to experimenting more with this new setup.

In line with my 2007 resolution to continue my formal art education, I signed up for a figure drawing workshop with Juliette Aristides, who has just published two books about classical drawing and painting. Five full days of drawing! The workshop is the last week of March, and when it's done I'll post my drawings here.

Pussywillow and Bottles

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Pussywillow Leaning

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Apple a Day

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

I've recently been in contact with two old friends from RISD and discovered they have also started exprimenting with the small daily painting practice. Be sure and check out their amazing paintings: Scott Conary and Shawn Kenny.

Tarnished Cup SOLD

5 x 7 inches, oil on panel

Orange Slices in a Dish SOLD

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Champagne Cork

5 x 7, oil on panel

I worked a few hours on a new tissue paper painting today, but it was taking too long, I'll have to finish it tomorrow. I did this one as break from the tissue paper series and really enjoyed it.

This was the cork from the toast at our wedding in Italy last year. Nowell aimed it off the loggia and it sailed away into the dark. The next day he hunted the lawn for it and found it.

Aqua Bottle in Tissue SOLD

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

This is a little square glass ink bottle wrapped in tissue. I love how the aqua glows through the tissue on the right side, so I cropped the composition to focus on this area.

Box Still Life - SESSION 2

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel, work in progress

I think I'll do one more session in black & white, and then start with the color.

Not sure I can manage keeping up with the "dailies" while working on a larger piece at the same time, although I know some artists do.

Two Wrapped Stones SOLD

5 x 7, oil on panel

Process shots:

Artistic crisis

Some days, I feel like I will never paint the way I want to.

Like today. And yesterday, too.

Hopefully, soon I will paint something I want to post.

Box Still Life SOLD

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel, work in progress

My goal for 2007 is to complete 10 larger, more detailed works, 11x14 and up, in addition to several dailys a week. To start off I am warming up with this painting, which is still small, but will be more detailed and will take several days to complete.

A major difference with this painting is that I am using artificial light, so I can paint after dark from life. I have one light source pointing at my still life, and another light source lighting my easel. I have never done this before, so it is an experiment for me. But it's a good way to get more painting hours into the day.

I am starting with a monochromatic underpainting, and will add color with glazing after another session or two. For this monochromatic phase I am using only raw umber, ultramarine blue, and titanium white.

In-progress shots:

Phase 1
Raw umber only, with a medium of 2 parts linseed oil, 1 part turp

Phase 2
Adding in the white and ultramarine. I threw in the highlights on the bottle too early, they are in the wrong place.

Phase 3
Adding more mid-tones. Neck of the bottle is still too long.

Phase 4
More details within the shadows of the tissue, starting to show some of the depth of the composition. Bottle is closer to correct proportions, but still maybe too narrow.

About the composition:
The bottle, the tissue paper, and the box are all elements I have started working with in my daily paintings these last couple months. Before the daily painting practice, I never would have set up this composition. I am really enjoying all of these elements: my little amber pharmacy bottle casts a really great glow you will see when I add the color.

The tissue paper I am really enjoying for the dramatic qualities, I spend quite a bit of time "sculpting" the paper before I start painting. And the box I think makes a better composition - instead of just an object floating in the black, the positive and negative spaces are more interesting. The box also gives a feel of an environment to enter, making a mysterious little space to explore.

This painting is slightly larger than life, and I think a really large painting of a similar composition would be especially interesting; the intimate made huge, a tiny space enlarged. It's the kind of thing I would have loved as a child, imagining myself small and exploring the dollhouse. I never played with dolls, but I loved to make houses for them.

Bottle in Tissue

5 x 7, oil on panelToday's painting has a looser style and a more expressive brushstroke, which adds a lot of movement. But I think some of the transparent feeling of the tissue paper is lost when the paint strokes are more evident.

I'm thinking of starting a large one of these "tissue paper" paintings, and am wondering how to approach it - chunky paint and loose brushstrokes, or soft, transparent glazes without visible brushwork. Stay tuned.

Vase in Tissue SOLD

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Thanks everyone for your comments and emails, I am glad people are enjoying my process shots and notations about my materials.

Brushes:
I created this painting using round brushes, I started sketching with size #8 and spent the second half of the day with size #2. I also used a #14 filbert to smooth out the background.

I always paint with two brushes at a time of the same size and shape - well, I paint with one brush and hold the other in my left hand, with the palette. I switch back and forth between the brushes constantly, occasionally giving them both a good cleaning in my Silicoil jar of turps. One brush is reserved for lights, and one for darks, which helps me keep my brushes and colors clean.

Colors:
I tend to settle on 3 so-called "primaries" plus Titanium white, even if I start out with more colors laid out on my palette. Today I used: Cadmium Yellow Deep, Permanent Violet Medium, and Ultramarine Blue (all Rembrandt brand). I also used Sennelier brand Phthalo Green Cool, which helped capture the bright green light shining through the vase - better than Ultramarine & Cad yellow mixed together would have.

Process shots:

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4

Phase 5 - Final Painting

Tissue Wrapping

8 x 8, oil on panel

I do realize the subject of this painting is somewhat obscured; as my husband pointed out, "I like it, but no one is going to know what it is." So, just so you know: This is a piece of tissue paper wrapped around a clementine fruit.

I was attracted to the subject for the dramatic feel of the twisted paper, like a frozen wave or cloud. A full value range of lights and darks and a full hue range of warm and cool colors are represented, presenting an interesting challenge to paint.

I'd like to do a series of large compositions over the next year, so maybe this will be a study for a larger and more refined painting.

Process shots:

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4

Phase 5

Phase 6 - Final Painting

Maple Leaf in a Bottle SOLD

6 x 6, oil on panel

New Brushes

I had a great time playing with my new round brushes, I got a much more expressive stroke even with fine detail, and I was able to keep layering without carving away earlier colors. I think you can see the looser brushstrokes if you click for the larger picture. Why didn't I try rounds before?

I used only size 1 and 2 rounds for this painting and didn't fall back on my comfortable filberts, even though it takes longer to spread paint around the larger areas with the rounds. I'm glad I did, I like the effect.

New Colors
I'm really loving the cad red med (PR108) for it's saturation and transparency, no chalkiness when mixed with dark colors, and has a lovely stain when mixed with lighter colors (aka yellows). But I went back to my normal cad yellow medium (PY35), the new cad yellow light (PY154) I find frustratingly weak, although maybe it will be good for very subtle tinting like warm highlights. I like the new quinacridone rose too, but am finding I prefer my old permanent violet medium if I had to choose just one cool red/magenta.

Oh no.... strangely, both my cool reds have the exact same pigment code (PV19) marked on the back of the tube, and both tubes are Rembrandt brand, and yet Perm. Violet Medium is a dark cool purple and Quin. Rose is a brighter cool red. I really don't understand that. Something in the paint besides pigment is defining the color? This color thing is complicated.

New Lamp
I painted in daylight today, but photographed the work with the new lamp as the only lightsource and wow, I am really impressed with the color. I used a daylight white balance setting on the camera and then didn't have to do any color correcting at all once I got the digital image into Photoshop, the colors were right on. Also the sheer top-down angle really reduced the glare factor. So I can shoot right on my painting easel and dismantle my "photo-studio area". So that's made this lamp worth it's $88 price tag right there.

Victorian in San Francisco SOLD

5 x 7 inches, oil on panel

Yesterday I met my friend Lisa for a sketching date in a cafe. She works as a professional animator and often draws in cafes, so we both brought our sketchbooks to the Grove on Fillmore.

It's her favorite cafe but I'd never been, and I have to say, it's pretty much the ideal spot: Good food, cosy atmosphere, and waitstaff who serve and bus without making you feel like you should go; we occupied a choice window table for close to 4 hours.

So the sun shining through the windows of the building across the street caught my eye and I did a drawing of it. I just love how the late afternoon light shines in one set of windows and out the other.

I had a lot of fun with the sketch and thought the building would be fun to paint, so today I went back alone with my little oil kit paintbox and did an onsite color study (which I won't post here, it was terrible). I also took some photos and thanks to my new "daylight" lamp (see yesterday's post), I was able to continue working after dark.

Process shots will be uploaded soon, having technical difficulties with Blogger tonight!

Pencil sketch done yesterday, Dec 18

Painting Phase 1

Painting Phase 2

Painting Phase 3

Final Painting