Apaché 6/28

Fifth Painting Class

More added to my white pot. Getting better. Things to remember:

1.) Stand back while painting to see the entire composition. Allows me to keep values and colors in check.
2.) When returning to a painting, don't start with the most important object. Allow yourself to warm up first by painting the foreground or background.
3. Just because a color isn't there does not mean that it can't be added. Adding blue to the pot adds some cooler tones and makes the image less monochromatic.

I think I'm getting a better hang of this. One more class :-( I'll probably take it again next month. I'm learning way too much not to.

Apaché Café

Went to Apaché Café to get some figure drawing in. Tired. Have painting tomorrow!

Studies from Book

Here are some more studies I did from The Nude Figure.

Self-Portrait 2!

Here is a painting I was working on a few days ago.

Fourth Painting Class

Had my fourth painting class today. Things to remember:

1. Just because it looks like that in real life does not mean it needs to look like that on the canvas. Do what's right for the painting.
2. The darkest shadows should be the closest shadows. Creates depth. Brings Attention to the 'foreground' of the object.
3. You don't have to make the background darker to make something brighter.
4. Make the darkest darks and the lightest lights BEFORE you start adding midtones. Prepares you for what values to put down.
5. Make reflected light darker than it appears. A little goes a long way. You want the shadow to show more than the reflection.

Honestly, I think I learned the most doing this painting even if it isn't very complete looking. Digital has killed my composition skills. I can make something, stretch it, move it and crop it, but I can't do that in a painting or on paper! Composition is going to be something I need to tackle. Charles tells me that shadow I did isn't too dark. I think I'm finally starting to see that. Hopefully I can show more of this painting in a week. Good class.

Oh, does anyone know how to take a picture of a painting without getting the glare? When I do it without the flash it is always too dark and I lose a lot of color.

Self-Portrait

Whoo, oils are fun but tiring! I actually kinda know what i'm doing from using Corel Painter, but man I miss the eye-dropper tool! But seriously, this is great! I'm lovin it! Here is about 3 hours in:

Painting Class!

Well, I started a painting class last week! Real oil painting taught by Charles Walls! Never done an oil painting before. Last week we mostly talked about how mediums, paint and turpenoid worked. This week we actually painted! I have to say I am a little embarrassed by my first piece. It's incomplete right now, so I'll add an updated one next week, but the perspective is majorly off! I feel like a novice showing this, but it's my first oil painting, so I guess I can't complain too much. It was fun though.

It's so nice being able to use actual paints after a long day in front of the computer. It kind of frees you a little. I'm exhausted from a full day of painting, but in a good way. I'm also learning about color theory and how pigments mix. Corel has given me kind of an edge in that area, but the eye dropper tool is gone! I have to mix paints over and over, so I'm learning to not worry about making it perfect. Even the simple things, like walking away from your work every once in a while to see the big picture is alot like zooming out on the computer. When you stand away, the waves of color blend more before they reach your eyes. What once was red and yellow blends to orange when standing at a distance.

It's great having a teacher again. I missed it more than I thought. I'm full of questions the entire class and hope i'm not annoying Charles too much, but I want to learn as much as I can in the next four weeks before he's gone. Anyway, i'm done blabbing. Thank you Marc Holmes for inspiring me to get back to traditional painting. I have a reason to create when I get home again!