Here are some sketches and some Portrait group paintings I have done in the last couple of months. Scary thing I have way more. It still amazes me as an artist that it can all start with just a doodle, some dots, colors a few lines and it becomes something much more. Every finished painting starts out simple and morphs and transforms to what you may desire or turn out completely different than imagined.
I've always liked to play with falling figures
and gravity. These are just thumbnail sketches
from imagination.
Sorry excuse my delays in posting in an unpredictable format. It is tiring around this time of year, getting sick a lot if there are a lot of local forest fires. It activates my worst pollen/dust allergies like nausea, laryngitis, fatigue and at the worst I'm bedridden for a day or two, or even more at times. I love and hate summer at the same time. There have been a few times I didn't even go near and missed the drawing group because I knew I would get extremely sick if I ventured into that area.
Some stuff I can quickly sketch on my phone. I have another phone which maybe I'll talk about what it is later. Years have passed and I haven't decided which paint app I like the best. So I just use whatever. These next sketches are done in the Autodesk sketchbook app.
Photoshop and Corel bunch
Ugh and then this one. I put it down and pick it up again. To me it doesn't seem like an interesting painting and nothing really seems to be going on. Like an underlying narrative story. Meh. One of these days it'll become something cool. It is based off of the song Silent Spring by Massive Attack.
By itself it looks decent. But it just needs more. To make it more interesting. That extra ommph to it. Just not there yet.
It all started 05/06 I think.
Idk for some reason I like to start to paint the hair first to
frame the face and then work my way in.
I did like 3 weeks of bad paintings before I made strides in artistic progress. The model couldn't make it so we painted a fellow portrait group attendee Jim.
I never finished the painting. Somehow I lost the painting. Remembered why I don't take out one of my easels, while fumbling with it I lost the painting inbetween taking my equipment to the car and the Garagemajal. To this day a month later I don't remember what happened to the painting. I searched the car and majal on another day.
And then this one in the first week of June I believe.
I like to take pictures of my progress when painting. Also it
helps to compare proportions seeing it differently on the phone/ipod or camera.
One subject of study that is still intriguing I have yet to learn to utilize more effectively is how a certain color can look different if it is by a certain other color.
One example until I changed the color of the background the skin tone didn't look as orangey violet anymore. It is difficult to convey this concept in words.
This was done the other week. We had to cancel this past week. Something you hear over and over is don't fall in love with you paintings. Don't fall for a certain aspect of a painting and have the rest of the painting look like crap. It is hard but after messing up and throwing paint around and struggling, In the last hour boldly decided it is best to wipe the canvas clean and start over. It was for the better. As my mentor says if your drawing is terrible the painting is going to be terrible. As long as I come out with a decent sketch from the 3 hours we have I'm happy.
After wiping the canvas I had a fresh start to refocus with no pressure and frustration.
I've been collecting brushes for about 10 years now and finally pinpointed what types of brushes I really like to use. Bristle are the best in my opinion. I don't like smooth blended paintings. Doesn't work for me. Others can pull it off elegantly.
What I like
Bristle
Short and thin bristles so not much paint can be loaded on.
Helps with my paint handling and precision.
I stopped counting how many brushes I have but it is quite a handful.
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| My favorite brushes. Found these in the $1 clearance bin at an art store called Artisan Santa Fe. Brushes don't have to be fancy or new to get them to work. :) |
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| Favorite kind of paint brand. Hoblein. Only comes in small tubes of 20ml and 40ml. Kind of pricey. I don't make that much to support my habit in expensive paint. I love how vibrant the colors are. Most of the paint sketches I start with the Alizarin Crimson. It looks more of a burnt umber color but starting with warm colors really help make it pop subtlety. My favorite colors are in the cool scheme of colors. Working the opposite end of the color wheel the compliments makes your go wow what is going on here! Like christmas colors Green and Red or the Denver Broncos football team colors Orange and Blue. They are opposites, they don't go together but when utilized properly they create harmony and stand out boldly. |
