Two More Oils

I feel bad about not posting for a while.  Life gets in the way sometimes and art has to take a backseat.  I have been dabbling with oils and gouache here and there, but mostly just experimenting and practicing mixing colors.  It will take a while getting used to mixing, but it is fun to see what you can create.

The first painting was done a few days ago.  I have no idea why I didn't post it.  Maybe it's because I don't like it.  I guess it's okay, but I felt lost when painting it and just couldn't do what I had in mind.  Oh well.  This is a learning experience and we get what we get.  It is painted with Windsor & Newton Artisan WMO's and is painted on a 9 x 7 canvas board I purchased at a dollar store.  Where else would you find something that size?

The second painting was done after watching Larry Seiler's last class where he discusses different palettes.  He mentioned a split complementary palette and mixing a dark, medium and light in each color and each mixed color.  I used ultramarine blue, cad red hue, cad yellow light and titanium white.  The green came from mixing blue and yellow... you get the picture.  It was nice having all your paint premixed and ready to go.  I could just grab whatever color and value I needed without much thought.  It could be that you might stay in the right brain mode because of the premixed paint.  It was sort of like painting with pastels, just not as many choices, which I find makes things easier.

Anyway, same paint as the first, but this is painted on a 5 x 7 canvas board.  I see white showing through.  The first time I didn't prime the surface.  Both were painted from my own reference photos.

Thanks for looking.

#34

#35

Doug

My First Oil Painting

I bought some Windsor & Newton Artisan water miscible oils about a year ago and other than doing a few black and white studies, this is my first ever oil painting.  I know some people don't consider WMO's to be true oils, but using them straight out of the tube, I can't see any difference.

After watching Larry Seiler's video, it was only a matter of time until I would give oils a go.  I am glad I did.  It was fun!  Holding a brush in my hand seems different than holding a pastel.  Both are used to put pigment onto a surface, but I seem to loosen up more with a brush.  More freedom?  I don't know, but I will be using oils more now that I have broken the ice.

This is painted with Windsor & Newton Artisan Water Miscible Oils and is painted on an 8 x 10 canvas board.  The photo reference is from the Image Reference Library at WetCanvas.com.

Thanks for looking.

#33

Doug

Gouache, Golly, Gee

I bought the download lesson's from Larry Seiler's webinar.  It is great to be able and sit back and listen to Larry's wisdom about painting.  The more I listen to the lessons and read the lesson notes, the more I realize how much I didn't retain from listening live.  Included in the package is a painting demo titled "Last Light Impressions."  I watched it last night and enjoyed it immensely.  I woke up thinking about painting.  Not only painting, but painting with a brush.

There are so many options at my fingertips.  I decided to do a small landscape using gouache.  I will save the oils for another day.  The gouache was still wet in my sta-wet palette from a week ago, which is nice to know.  Artist quality paint is not cheap, so finding ways to extend the time that the paint is usable is very beneficial.

Last week I primed some cold press watercolor paper with Art Spectrum Colourfix Rose Grey primer, thinking I could use pastel on it.  Maybe two coats wasn't enough, but I didn't like how the pastel went onto the surface.  In the past I have used a watercolor under painting on Colourfix, so I figured it could be used for a gouache painting.  It is nice starting a painting on a colored surface.

This is way out of my comfort zone.  I tried to keep it loose and just thought shapes.  I think the sky turned out okay, but I don't know about the rest of the painting.  Maybe because it is different from what I have done in the past.  Anyway, painting #32 is 5 x 7.

Thanks for looking.

#32

Doug

Starting the Second Quarter

Painting #31 seemed so far off a month ago, but here we are, thirty paintings to the half way mark of the challenge.  And the third day in a row I painted.  It feels good.

A couple of months ago I purchased some new pastel paper called Art Spectrum Suede.  It feels smooth to the touch, but I was surprised at how much pastel it took.  It will take a while to get used to it, but I think it could become another favorite.

I lined the light box with black paper and it made a big difference.  It was easier to see the reflective colors and I could see the shadows better and both of those things are important.  Maybe I will take a photo and show off the 'pour man's light box' in the next post.

This is painted on 5 x 7 blush colored Art Spectrum Suede paper using a variety of soft pastels.  Thanks for looking.

#31

Doug

My Mug

No, it's not a self portrait.  It's my favorite coffee mug.  I have a ton of them, but this one usually finds its way into my hands at some point during the day.  It has been around for a long time and I have painted it before.  It is always a challenge, because is is so dark and has a shiny finish that catches light and color.

I set the mug up in my new, primitive light box.  It is just a cardboard moving box with a hole cut out on the side to let the light in from a clamp on desk lamp.  I have to paint the sides black, because there is too much light bouncing around.  It could drive a person nuts trying to figure out where all those reflections are coming from.

This is a soft pastel painting and it is painted on 5 x 7 Wallis Belgium Mist sanded paper.  Painting from life is fun.  There are so many things a camera can't pick up.

Thanks for looking.  Here is number 30.  Wow, a quarter of the way through.

Doug

Larry Said There Would Be Ugly Paintings

And he was right.  I had this vision in my mind for the past two days and I just had to paint this reference photo from WetCanvas.  I even knew PanPastels were going to be used on Uart 800 grit paper.  It was going to be a beaut!  Then I started painting.

Oh my.  I must be getting immune to embarrassment.  This is a dog, but it is another painting on the journey and it just proves to me that I love painting, because I can't wait to paint the next one.  I can already see it in my mind.... lol

It is painted on 5 x 7 Uart 800 grit paper and it is painted with PanPastels, soft pastels and pastel pencils.  Thanks for looking.

Doug

May Spotlight Challenge

I am a day late getting started this month.  I had to get going and the Spotlight Challenge over at WetCanvas Pastel Talk was a great place to start.  This month's theme was "edges," an important part of a painting, but often over looked. 

When you think about it, landscapes don't have many hard edges.  Trees, grass, water, clouds and clear sky don't have hard edges.  If a tree has hard edges, it will have that 'cut out and pasted on' look.  Just softening those edges will give the painting a more realistic look.  Softer edges can give a more painterly look as well.

This is painted on 5 x 7 Uart 400 grit paper using Terry Ludwig pastels.  It was started with a gouache under painting.

Thanks for looking.

The Gouache Under Painting

Doug