Oranges

Well after much time I have returned to this blog, and another daily challenge. I have decided that my work needs to have a fresher look. Daily painting is a great way to blow off the cobwebs.  A smaller painting, with a daily commitment, forces one to make many decisions quickly such as subject, color palette, format, etc. So this is my first one.

Hands

16" x 20"
Oil on archival panel

Well I finished another Thursday painting. The model had her back to the light which made it somewhat of a challenge. I was interested in the hands and I wanted to make sure I was able to get the feel of her gesture.

Life drawing

Carbon pencil on paper
25" x 19"

I enjoyed doing this drawing this week. Steve is a model who takes his work seriously and tries to hold the pose carefully. I initially was concerned about the location of his hand and nose but it worked out. As usual when I have a drawing I like I wish I could have had a few more minutes to clean up the drawing.

February painting

20" x 16"
oil on archival panel

Well now that the crazy pace of the 30 day challenge has passed I can think about what I really want to paint. This is from my Thursday evening model session.  I think that I will start setting up models in my own studio in March. I would like to have more subtle lighting on the model. I find this one flat and harsh.
 I am still tinkering with my paints and think that I have found a good solution. I never liked the fast dry mediums which are great for outdoor plein aire painting but not what I like for the studio alla prima. I am making a slow dry medium that stays open for a few days. Much better for my approach to painting.

The collection

Well this is the final, I wanted to include all and as the sizes and shapes were diverse this is the composite. It was a great challenge and I am already thinking about how to incorporate this practice into my working process.
Congratulations to all who participated and thank you to Leslie for hosting the project. I just might be back in the fall.

Day 30: final

20" x 16"
oil on archival paper

In my weekly figure painting group I had two weeks to work on this set up. I did two grey scale studies of this image as part of the 30 paintings series. I can definitely see how this helps me think my way through a painting with more clarity. I feel like the painting can still use some adjustments but overall I am happy with it. I also am also working outside my comfort level in terms of my color palette. I am experimenting with much higher chroma colors, like thalo blue, thalo green and quinacridone red. 

Overall it has been a tremendously rewarding experience and I am very glad I jumped on board. Thanks to Leslie for challenging me to start this year off focused and productive.

Day 29: friday

9" x 12"
oil on archival paper

This is a study from the model that we will be working from for the next 2 weeks. I decided to take this idea and use it from the beginning. This will be my plan for the painting. I have really enjoyed and have a real appreciation for how these studys can inform the paintings.

Day 28: Changes

12" x 9"
oil on archival paper

This is a set up from my evening paint group. I decided to look at it again as I am actually trying to make a painting out of this. I lightened the background as all of it was dark. I added the suggestion of the tattoo as it does add some patterning and texture to the image. Well I will see if this actually helps the overall painting.

Day 27: another value painting

9" x 12"
oil on archival paper

I am experimenting with different mediums. This is a slow dry medium which let the paint move around easier. I am going to see how open it stays in 24 hours.

Day 26: Sam

19.5" x 24.5"
Carbon pencil on paper

This was from the figure drawing group I draw/paint with. I did not finish it but I was happy with the bits I did finish. Unfortunately, Sam was only a one time sitting.

Day 25: Thursday evening

12" x 9"
Arches oil paper


This is the new set up for the Thursday figure painting group. It is actually very colorful and it is good to see the grey values as I might want to make some value changes to separate some of the shapes. Her slip and the background are very similar in value but the change in color might be enough. The background is gold/brown and the slip is a bright green, think thalo green.

Day 24: commuter

9" x 12"
oil on archival paper

I am still working in a grey scale and using more medium. I took this photo years ago because I liked the way the light played on the man's head and ears.

Day 23: another black and white

9" x 12"
oil on archival paper

I have used this month to try out various approaches to painting. One of the things that I have wanted is a more fluid look to my painting. Today I really loaded the medium to create a soupy sticky paint. It allowed me to get a more simple lay in that I like. Anyway this is the last week and I have learned a lot, I am ready to let it go. I do think this month has been a great experience and the day to day lets me build or change incrementally which is useful.

Day 22: Color study

Oil on archival paper
11" x 14"

I changed it up a little today as I wanted to do a color study of a model. I blocked this in in an flat method using a new color palette. I am trying a palette with much higher saturation to see if I like working in this color space. I had to wipe this one down once and this is better but not great. I will experiment with this again to see if I can get comfortable using the thalos and quinacradone.

Day 21: side angle

oil on archival paper
11" x 14"

This is another view of the model from yesterdays sitting. This time I set the timer for 30 minutes to block in the values.  I like this one better than yesterdays as it feels less rigid and more painterly.

Day 20: Bree

Oil on Archival paper
11" X 14"

Well this was suppose to be a quick sketch but it gave me fits. Eventually I was able to rescue something out of this attempt. It was a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I am finding that working from photos is a bigger challenge than working from the model in many ways.

January 19: Steve

Carbon pencil on paper
19.5" x 19.5"

Todays model is Steve. He has always been a good model.
I am still finding my way with carbon pencils. This is a different brand and I think I like it better.

Day 18: quick sketch continued

oil on archival paper
9" x 12"

Again I am working on gray tones and the values are mainly created from the local values. I find this a lot more challenging than working with a direct light source to create volume. This is flat and I was not as happy with the flatness. I need to look at artist who work this way...

Day 17: 30 minute paintings

oil on archival paper
9" x 12"

So I am continuing on my quick 30 minute sketch. This one went fairly well after, I got the drawing laid down. I am working on images that do not have much contrast in the lighting. The values come mainly from the changes in the local color.
I am sorry for the glare in the lower corner. I really had difficulty getting a good picture at my home. I wanted to do a 3/4 view rather than a straight on today, more interesting shapes.

Day 16: A painting

Oil on linen
16" x 20"

I am posting a painting that I have been working on the past couple weeks. I meet with a few artist on Thursday evenings and we paint from a model. I did a grey oil study on day 9 of the 30 day challenge in order to figure out what I wanted to do with the window and this is the painting, still wet off the easel. The study is from a slightly different angle as I was using a photo for that one.

I am pleased with this one.