BLOG

news, releases, too many commas

Step by Step 2010 – done
Art, Step-by-Steps Art, Step-by-Steps

Step by Step 2010 – done

And it's done! This was a fun piece, and I'm very happy that I didn't ruin it with all the experimenting (there's been a bit of that recently). Unless anything changes, this piece will be part of the Arts Fund Expo at the W Hotel, for this year's Art Basel in Miami. More on that very soon.

Read More
Step by Step 2010 – glazing and more
Art, Step-by-Steps Art, Step-by-Steps

Step by Step 2010 – glazing and more

After I have a solid initial layer on everything, It's time to correct and refine anything that needs it, and start glazing. for this piece I'm glazing with Liquin, mixed with various amounts of pigment. I'll start with darks, gradually pushing my values to where they need to be. i'm using similar colors to what I used in the foundation, but generally much more colorful/saturated.

Read More
Step by Step 2010 – day 6 & 7
Art, Step-by-Steps Art, Step-by-Steps

Step by Step 2010 – day 6 & 7

Now to fill in the painted parts of the figure. I do generally actually paint my models with black acrylic paint so I can portray it accurately, but I often end up changing the placement and quantity in the painting, since I usually have enough reference to improvise. I really love the way the black paint reacts to the harsh highlights -- and if painted limbs are placed correctly, the paint will reflect the flesh tones and really do some neat stuff.

Read More
Step by Step 2010 – day 5
Art, Step-by-Steps Art, Step-by-Steps

Step by Step 2010 – day 5

Finally getting rid of that dark background mess with my light background color. It's hard to see here, but it's a mix of unbleached titanium pale and titanium zinc white , a little burnt sienna and a little raw umber. It makes a sort of "white" -- but with a lot of depth.

Read More
Art, Step-by-Steps Art, Step-by-Steps

Step by Step 2010 – day 3 & 4

More of that fairly smooth sailing -- and a little auto-pilot, as I didn't do nearly as a good a job taking progress shots. my process here is more of the same though, working back to foreground on the torso, same approach to values. amazingly, I'm sticking with my light background idea, and adding in little swatches of background with each adjacent body part, allowing me to play with the edges with wet on wet paint.

Read More
Art, Step-by-Steps Art, Step-by-Steps

Step by Step 2010 – day 2

Now that the first pass on the face is done, the rest of the body is generally smooth sailing. I'll approach the body shape by shape, as if each area created by the sketch is a separate little painting. As I've said in the past, there are probably some huge advantages to working on the entire painting at the same time, slowly bringing all the elements toward the final product together,

Read More
Art, Step-by-Steps Art, Step-by-Steps

Step by Step 2010 – day 1

Lately I start all of my paintings the same way: a light sketch/line drawing in pencil, then a wash to tint the canvas. In this case, I'm covering only the figure loosely since I don't have my mind made up as to how I want the background. This [at left] is a mix of cad red and burnt umber I believe, cut with lots of Gamsol . I've experimented with a bunch of warm/dark color combinations for this initial wash, but it hasn't made much difference. anything darkish reddish brownish seems to work fine for me.

Read More
Art, Step-by-Steps Art, Step-by-Steps

Step by Step 2010 – preface

The idea of documenting the process and my thoughts on a painting from start to finish initially sounds exhausting, and as usual, I'm always wary of providing too much information. Not that I have some top secret painting techniques or anything, but more that it generally feels a little more personal than just posting a finished piece and allowing people to process it their own way.

Read More