Thursday, September 30, 2010

step 2


I have added the woodgrain in the table (a long and tedious process) and added a first wash of lighter wood cover over all the table. There will be more washes of colour there that will soften the effect of the woodgrain. For some reason the table is showing up less yellow than it is in real life. Probably because of the rainy day again.
I also added another dark wash to the background shadows.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

A Needed Break step 1


I have a deadline of just 3 weeks to get this full sheet painting done. This is the second time I've painted it. The first time was years ago as a commission (this was my photograph and still life set up). I'm painting it again because I like the light and the composition. It will be in a show where the paintings have to be on 140 lb paper (half the weight I'm used to painting on) so they can be rolled for shipping. The lighter weight needs a lot of getting used to as it buckles while wet, although, so far, it is flattening out again as it dries.

I have drawn it out, added masking fluid where needed and put in the first background wash where a lot of the shadows will be. I have also started painting the drops of condensation on the lid of the tea pot. This painting will be a lot of tiny dots and lines of paint.
The photo is dark because it's a very dark and grey day outside today. It's hard to get a good photo when most of the paper is still white.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Weekend workshop




This last weekend I taught another two day workshop on painting reflective metal and glass. Most of the participants had never used watercolour and some had never painted before. I was very proud of the work done over the two days. Here is a photo of the class hard at work and one of their paintings at the end. They have the instructions for finishing them at home.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Deadlines are piling up

Hi everyone,
Sorry to be so long between posts. I have been out of town at an art association meeting. Two of my paintings were juried into the show and both received awards. :) I am now starting a real deadline crunch with two workshops to be taught, two paintings to start and finish, and multiple committees that I am on with work in progress all to be done in the next month. I will try and post here as I can but it might not be as often until things settle down again. I will definitely post finished paintings at least.
Thanks for your patience. Why is the fall always so busy for art related deadlines?

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Lianne step 1


I am starting this portrait for a few reasons... I have a deadline for the Portrait Society of Canada for an online portrait show, I took the reference photos for this portrait a long time ago and have been trying to get to it, and I am experimenting with a slightly different version of painting a dark background with a portrait so it blends into it better.
I started by going over the whole background as well as her shirt with a grey wash. I then added a darker wash over the background only. I will keep going darker on her shirt as well but I wanted to see where edges were for now. The yellow light on the right of the painting is from my desk lamp. It is grey and raining right now without enough light to get a good photo with natural light.