Work... and Gah!

A recent study of a skull. Oil on Wood.

Realized after I finished the painting that I accidentally left the overhead lights on, specifically fluorescents. Normally when I work on a still life, I only use natural light for a number of reasons. The two light sources, each with a different color temperature caused my shadows to be less predictable. If I had realized the overheads were on, I could have accommodated a little more. 

Digital Sketch

Block In

Almost finished... I will add a retouch varnish to this painting soon. I created this piece as a gift for a very generous artist that I had the pleasure to meet. 

A random digital painting of a futuristic soldier.

I never do this sort of work, but figured I might as well give it a try. A friend from my undergrad Jose Borges, http://whatzitoya.tumblr.com, was the inspiration for me to try this sort of stuff. 

A figure Study...

I tried to do this painting with a limited palette of Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue, Venetian Red and Titanium White. I wanted to see if I could model the form / figure with warm and cool relationships. 

I will continue to with this idea for future studies. 

I also attempted a plein-air painting today. My first one ever! 

Things seem kind of hunky-dory outside. Than when I took it inside...

Bam! It looks like hell. I will need to do more plein-air's in the near future. It will be nice to also paint when the temperature gets above 50 degrees outside. I will be more prepared :) 

Although the studies have been fun and informative, my main focus has been on the series that I previously mentioned in an earlier post. This past week I started  to transfer the digital sketches onto the panels I created. These are blocked in for drawing and a general value structure. 

I will then eventually go in and refine each component in a dead layer. This value structure will allow for me to glaze in the colors thinly over a period of time. I'm not sure if this is going to work, but I'll just have to see what happens. 

As always, comments and critiques are always welcome! Thank for taking the time to look through my blog. 

Past Week

So I have started the long process of this painting. I have completed the dead layer for the most part and will begin to glaze in color in the near future. 

I was staring at the painting for way too long and needed a break from it because I felt I was unable to notice my mistakes. 

2 Hour Pose

This is definitely not the greatest drawing I have ever done, but I felt it was worth while to post. I do feel that my structure is improving, although rather slowly. 

Oil On Panel

This was an hour and half study of a Vietnam War Helmet. Although it may not look like much, I was happy with how the painting came together. 

Oil On Panel

A three session figure study. I enjoyed working on this painting but it is not resolved by any means.

As usual, comments and critiques on the work are more than appreciated. Thank you!

Recent Work

Initial Idea

So my initial idea for the semester was to contrast the fantastic with the mundane. In addition it dealt with my observation that we may no longer have the ability to recognize the subtle beauty that exists all around us.

Although I enjoy the imagery, I received criticism from a professor that this was not exactly unique or the best solution to combining my interests. I didn't agree at first but I continued to still produce some of the following imagery. 

The following value studies started with sketches which I would eventually refine in photoshop. I am using harmonic divisions in order to set up the composition. Such as the following image. 

The harmonic divisions are simply a guide / aide in order to place things with in the frame. I still have a lot to learn in this regard, but figured that if the old masters would use it, they must have a reason for it.

I would recommend checking out the book "Classical Painting Atelier by Juliette Aristides." It covers this content extremely well.  

These are a few other quick sketches of ideas that I ended up abandoning for the time being. I may pick them back up in the near future. 

Here are a few character sketches which were used in some of the above compositions. 

The bottom three portraits are caricatures. 

Second Idea

This is a random doodle that served as inspiration for the next theme that I will be pursuing.

Composition thumbnails for a comprehensive story about robots and the fall of man. Referencing classical paintings / the evolution of art. 

I am still working on this composition and color. The color is terrible at the moment. I was specifically looking at Bouguereau for this composition and value for the environment. I am not sure if the image reads from afar. 

Self Portrait

This composition was really difficult to set up. It still needs some work, but I think I may wait until I receive feedback from my committee next week. 

A doodle for a day. The painting did not come out as well as I would like it to have. 

Most of these digital sketches need a lot of work, but serve as a reference for me. Refinement will come in the oil paintings... hopefully. 

Studies

Each figure is a two hour pose. 

Mechanical pencil in my sketchbook. 

Cumpled Paper Still Life

Oil On Panel

I need to paint thinker and be less hesitant to use my materials. This is something that I will have to work on when attempting alla prima paintings. 

Banana Coffee Still Life

Oil On Panel

This was my attempt to paint thicker for an alla prima. I believe that I overworked the painting, and ruined its initial liveliness which can be noted in the picture above. I learned a lot with this study, primarily with blocking in. 

Specifically, I used a view catcher that allowed me to isolate the color I was seeing against 50% grey. This was a tremendous help, and something I will continue to do more. 

Multiple session self portrait. I think the values are close but not exact. Drawing could use some corrections as well.

Once I feel confident with this, I will begin to add color through glazing. 

Here is a few digital studies I did one evening. I had an epiphany that I wanted to test out as much as possible. Although the portrait is busier that I would like, all of these paintings were relatively efficient executed.