Triliums step 3

I worked on the dark negative spaces between the plants today. I added some interest with negative painting in some of the areas and I am thinking it needs more connections between the plants to create more movement. I will be able to add that using the greens of the leaves at a later point in the painting.

Triliums step 2

I went over the drawing correcting the lines and working out the final positions for all the flowers and leaves. I then started adding some brown in background areas to check on the negative areas and overall design. Now that I know where it is going, the painting itself should come along a little quicker. However, the fact that I am working all weekend will hold things up again for a short while.

Finished Perfume Bottle

I was able to finish the painting of the perfume bottle today. It will be donated to a fund-raiser to raise money for our art club. I now have to mount it on an 8 x 10 canvas to match the other donations.

Perfume Step 3

I only had an hour to paint today so I concentrated on the darkest darks as well as making layers of reflections in the white table. I am not copying the refracted colours in the bottle exactly. Instead, I am learning that broken, sharp edges give give the appearance I am looking for.

The other thing that will be interesting is that the whitest part of the painting will be the refracted light on the table just under the bottle, not the direct sunlight like you would imagine.

Perfume step 2:

I corrected the drawing lines and have done a couple of hours of painting on this one. The darks have to get much darker and there are lots of details I have to put in closer to the end.

The light blue areas are the masking fluid which preserves the white areas of paper until the end.

Starting 2 paintings

I finally have time to get back to my painting. I've really missed it but life has a habit of getting in the way. I have three paintings to do in the next month so I have to make time for my art. :) I have to work tomorrow but I should be able to do a lot in the next two days.

The first one is 8 x 10" and is a commission for a co-worker. It is hard to make out from the outlines, but it is a picture I took of her Trilliums. I had to move a few blooms as well as leaves around in photoshop to make a good composition without looking artificial. The photo of the drawing isn't very good because I had to boost the contrast to see it here.

The second one is a still life of a perfume bottle in bright sunlight. It is also 8 x 10" and will be donated to our art club's sale to raise money for the club. Every member is donating one or two small paintings.

It's been awhile since I added to this area. That's not usual, (I am usually posting every day or two), but life has been getting in the way of my painting. I have been spending my time matting a pile of small reproductions for a craft show coming up as well as picking up extra shifts at work. I have a couple of paintings planned but haven't started drawing them out yet. I hope to have more to show here by next week.

I am also shipping two paintings down to the Blue Canoe gallery in South River for a show (Our Winters in the Near North) Oct 24 through Nov.