Goblet and Shells

Well, I forgot to photograph the initial sketch again. I just get too excited to start paining! I've enjoyed this short series of goblet paintings. It's been fun to search around the studio and find things to match up with the goblet. It's also been fascinating to see the similarities and differences in the reflections in the goblet as I pair it with different colored objects, as the light changes each day, and as I play with different background colors. It's been a great study in painting glass and playing with light.

Goblet and Eggs

I was determined to finish this one in a single sitting. It was hard, but I did it! I'm not sure I've ever done a true alla prima before. It was quite exciting. If I'd had more time I would have played with color a little more. But rather than fuss over it, I just moved on. 

The composition is not the greatest either, but I can live with it. I would like to have moved the front egg farther to the right. 

Additionally, I would like to have fine tuned and added more reflections in the glass of the goblet. There were so many plays of light and detail that I simply couldn't capture in the time I had. 

All in all, however, I'm satisfied with the end result. It's a good exercise and it's keeping me on my toes.

Goblet and Apples

While I didn't finish it one sitting, I'm still pleased with the result. Still life painting is not my forte, but I do enjoy it and this was a fun exercise. It is crazy how quickly the light changes. the highlights and shadows around the apples kept spreading as the hours passed and I couldn't keep up with them. It was fun to experience what the impressionists treasured as they played with these same issues. 

K. Day 8

This post may not look a lot different from the last one. As I mentioned before, hair can be a real struggle to paint. As with the face, there is a lot of layering and building. After blocking in the different tones and values I came back with different brushes and began creating the feel of hair. I'll let this sit a while and then come and build some more.

K. is finally getting dressed! The details are progressing and she will soon be finished. Fabric is one of my favorite things to paint. It's amazing how just a few plays of light, shadow, hard lines and soft lines can create such a sense of movement, texture and depth. It's days like these that I really love to paint.

K Day 7

K. is growing some hair. Again, blocking in the main areas of highlights and shadows and basic shape. It's amazing how many different tones there are to hair. 

Hair can be difficult to paint and I admit I generally really struggle with it. There is the temptation to paint every strand. But, as always, the eye does not see what we know to be true. So while we understand that she has a million single strands of hair, we don't see her that way. We see a general shape of what we know to be hair and we recognize a few individual strands that represent all the rest of them. Next time you see someone, pay more attention to how you see their hair. 

So here is K's general shape of hair and next time I'll start working more on defining enough noticeable sections to make it readable and believable.