The Girls Just Wanna Paint theme for this month was vintage. Our vintage home is filled with vintage pieces... art, dishes, books, furnishings, etc. Interestingly, I had a very hard time figuring out where to direct my vintage attentions. I have always loved faceted silver, and chose this silver pitcher with beaded rim and the crystal jam jar with faceted silver top and spoon. I picked up some non-vintage raspberry jam as a good complement to the cool silver hues. The aqua cloth is a remnant from the home where I grew up. My mother had her mother's loveseat recovered in this beautifully textured fabric. Mom had the piece in her studio and used it as a backdrop for her own still life setups. When I hold it, I feel the generations. It was the right choice for a vintage-themed painting.
Here are some process photos. I tinted the canvas with a cad red light/cad orange mix, knowing that most of the still life was cool, leaving the opportunity for some warm to peek through. I then began with the large shapes, adding the highlight early on, knowing I would need to back all other values down at least a half value to let the highlight glow. I warmed the jam under the light, and cooled it in shadow. Then, made a late pass, remembering that the glass needs to show what is in it, on it, and through it.
As always, thank you for looking, and you know I love your comments.
This past week, I was asked to paint a demo for a local art club. It was an interesting afternoon. I did not know the painting experience of the audience so decided to demonstrate a method I use sometimes to ensure that I am matching my values. I set up a red and blue still life with a strong light to dark pattern, and stood on the shadow side. I then mixed a neutral red/blue by adding some yellow ochre, covering the entire painting surface with wash consistency, value approximately 3.5 on a 5-value scale. Then I used a clean brush and thinner to wipe out all the light areas. I then painted only into the darks for most of the demo.
Using this method, there is no need to carefully match values as you place color side by side against other passages of color against a white backdrop while you try to lose edges. The value passage is there... and you match as you paint into it. It is easy to drop the color into the value, adjusting slightly for reflected light. It allows me to concentrate on temperature and hue shifts rather than value. I continued to paint into the darks until the last fifteen minutes at which time I added a few light notes. Overall, I talked and painted for about an hour and a half. Very interesting group, lots of good questions, and a nice afternoon.
The benefits of this approach: - you have lost your edges right away in both the light and shadow areas before any color is applied.
- the ground is neutral so any color applied against it reads as rich and powerful.
- When you apply the wiping out technique carefully, your form is established before you apply any paint beyond the ground.
When I blogged about this approach six years ago, I added a link to the Surfaris classic surf song "Wipeout". Here it is again. Please enjoy this taste of summer... as we approach winter in New England.
The Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge topic for last month was "October Sky". Sitting in traffic the other day, along Storrow Drive, I looked left and saw the iconic Longfellow Bridge late in the day framed by the Storrow Drive overpass and the autumn trees. Beautiful. You can see some process photos here as well. I laid in an orange ground to add some glow through the painting. It was interesting to consider skyholes both in the trees and through the bridge itself. I liked the combination of vertical shapes in the trees and the skyline, along with the sense of "up" conveyed by the overpass. Boston is a lovely town, elegance in many directions.
As always, thank you for looking.
