Clementines

Getting closer and closer to finished. Today I cleaned up edges, reworked the base, added some orange reflections and worked on those impossible legs. They're not great, but I'm also practicing moving on...Next the leaves, then done!

Clementines

Getting closer to finishing...top photo is start of painting, bottom pic is end of session...

Clementines

Now that the oil still life class is over, I'm working to finish Clementines at home. Above is yesterday's start and end...

Cast Drawing - Week 10

Finally to try my hand at 'turning the form' during the last cast drawing class. What a valuable experience the class was. If you look very carefully you can see where his form is starting to turn to the light and look a bit more than two dimensional (click on the photo for a larger picture). It's extremely difficult. Is there anything I haven't said is difficult? Ha!

I purchased this cast on line so I can continue to work on the drawing. It should arrive soon. I'm determined NOT to work on it until I have the cast in the studio....NO working from photographs.

Figure 2 - Life Studio 1

I went to a 3 hour life studio session yesterday morning at Gage. And my morning with drawing Vanessa went well. I had fun and I'm pretty happy with the work.

Oil Painting - Week 10

Here's today's final work from class. Still not finished, but getting close. We had a wonderful, fun lively party, wine and cheese, looking at all our work for the last ten weeks. I'm sure gonna miss that class!

Oil Painting - Week 9

My at-home work, preparing for the last class Wednesday. Bottom is where it started, top is at end of the day.

Figure Practice - 1

Did I tell you that I've registered for a two week drawing the figure from life workshop with Michael Grimaldi? In June. He's a marvelous artist and is said to be a generous and kind instructor. I also registered for a five day painting the figure from life with Jordon Zokol of the Florence Academy of Art. I've emailed Jordon back and forth a few times and he assures me that even as a beginner I'm more than welcome in his class...warm and comforting words.

In preparation for these two incredible experiences, I've promised myself to do 90 practice drawings. Here is the first, from a drawing by Joseph Sheppard in his book "Drawing the Living Figure," about 45 minutes worth of work.

Cast Drawing - Week 9

I spent another hour or so in class making slight refinements on the block in of Bacchus. Now I'm starting to block in the shadow areas. This step, the instructor says, is like the last rest stop before the thousand miles into the desert, i.e. a last chance to modify the shapes by looking at the shadow areas, BEFORE turning the form. After the form is turned, if mistakes exists, it means erasing large areas of layered graphite. Not a good thing for a drawing.

Cast Drawing - Week 8

I spent two and a half hours of class re-measuring and correcting the line block in of my cast drawing, Bacchus. The last two classes I'll practice blocking in the shadow and then turning the form.

Oil Painting - Week 9

A little movie of the Clementines & Silver Bowl...

Oil Painting - Week 9

Here's today's work done in my studio at home. I'll leave the oranges in the bowl as 'done' and move to the background and finishing the two oranges on the table. Want to get that done before our LAST class next week.

Oil Painting - Week 9

Here's today's work. John Rizzotto is a wonderful instructor! Next week is the last of the ten classes. It's gone sooo fast!

Oil Painting - Week 8

Did one of my infamous wiping-the-canvas-clean routines Monday night at midnight. I decided that the silver of the bowl from that day's work was so dark it looked tarnished. I need to remember that when painting tarnished silver! Above is yesterday's repainting...a little too light this time, but easier to fix than too dark. Class is today, so I'll have John's help with it...I'll post again with today's work.

Oil Painting - Week 8

I painted on my own today in the studio. I'm trying to move the painting along since we only have two more three-hour classes to work. It would be nice to have it finished by the end of the final class.

Above is where I started and where I ended today. Worked only on the main part of the bowl.

Oil Painting - Week 8

Here's where I started and ended today. Just drew the base and the little feet in. It's hard to get any real value change with graphite on the too grainy canvas. Next time I'll try a smooth board. But honestly, isn't that bowl just magnificent? I mean the REAL bowl...what beautiful lines it has and gorgeous reflections it makes.

Oil Painting - Week 8

Here's what happened today in class...

Oil Painting - Week 7

Here's the values work that I'll be laying the first coat of color onto in today's class. Wish me luck!

Oil Painting - Week 7

Trying to do a value drawing to get the values just right. I'll try a value painting today on canvas.

Cast Drawing - Week 7

This week we learned and practiced turning the form...with an egg. Looks easy. I can assure you, it's not!

Oil Painting - Week 7

I'm going to use a limited palette to paint the silver bowl and oranges. John suggested five colors: cad orange, raw umber, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, and white. He also suggested I mix each color with each other color in their purest forms, then lighten each mixture three times to get various tints of the mixtures, and make a chart with the color mixtures on them.

What a helpful thing to do! It did take me a while to figure out how to do the chart so it would make sense and be handy and useful to me (John says as an artist you are often an inventor too, finding new ways to make things work for you. This was a good example of that for me). So here's the little chart with the mixtures. We'll see how things work...

Oil Painting - Week 6

Top photo is today's. Bottom photo is last week. Do you think it's improving? I'm not sure!

Oil Painting - Week 7

Here's my still life set up, before I had to modify and eliminate the three clementines on the table. Below it is the final drawing after three hours of drawing in class! (oops, reversed picture taken with computer)

I'd drawn the bowl before class, then transferred it to the canvas. When I went to draw the clementines in the bowl, they didn't fit--the bowl was not wide enough--the proportions were off.

In the past, I would have let it go and jumped right in on shading or painting. But John came over to my easel and suggested re-drawing it to correct the errors. He said something that will stay with me a long time...Bad paintings are often the result of a bad drawing and the artist's trying to correct the drawing by moving the paint around. It doesn't work.

Yep. That's me, trying to correct with paint what was not right in the first place.

So, I re-drew the bowl, and viola! Very happy. Onward to painting next week. Hope I can hold onto what I like about the drawing when I get to the painting.

Oil Painting - Week 6

Once again, wiped the canvas clean and painted. That's the last time I'll wipe it clean--no more of that on this little painting. I will work on it some more. Lost the color again (today's is top pic, bottom pic is yesterday's). Maybe I'll take it in and let the instructor help. Now THERE's a good idea!

Cast Drawing - Week 6

Worked on darling Bacchus again in class. I've begun to like him more and more. I ask the instructor to let me take Bacchus to finish with blocking in shadows and turning the form...instead of starting a new drawing for the 'final run' to the finish. I think that will work for weeks 8-10. Next week we will practice drawing eggs.

Oil Painting - Week 6

I continued to work and rework my sienna and blue painting, adding more color. I think it's improving. Most of all, I'm pretty sure I'm learning.