The Girls Just Wanna Paint theme for February was "shadow". This is my take on the theme, and image of the New England Aquarium's Myrtle, grande dame of the big tank. She cast a beautiful shadow on the rocks and plants below.
You can see my process photos below. I mixed a ground of neutralized Prussian Blue, Ultramarine an some Cad Red Light, covered the board, evened out with a paper towel. Then I used a clean brush and clean solvent to wipe away all the light areas. So, I did my initial drawing by wiping away the ground. If I make an error in drawing, I could just brush over with the ground color and make the needed correction in drawing. Before any painting beyond the ground was done, the painting was in place as you can see here in the first process photo. Most of my work then went into the dark areas, where I adjusted
the temperature and hue. The benefit of this approach is that the values in the darks are already matched. Each passage of color I put down was designed to match the values already in place. I did not touch any of the light areas until the very end.
Thanks for looking. Feel free to ask me any questions about this block-in method.
You can see a recent video post on my Instagram which shows the beginning stages of this process in a still life.
A always, thank you for looking. I appreciate your thoughts.
By the way, I named this painting after one of my favorite books as a child "Down and Away Below" by Edwin Rols. Great story about a child, and his ability to dig deep, find bravery, and save his community.
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.
You can see my process photos below. I mixed a ground of neutralized Prussian Blue, Ultramarine an some Cad Red Light, covered the board, evened out with a paper towel. Then I used a clean brush and clean solvent to wipe away all the light areas. So, I did my initial drawing by wiping away the ground. If I make an error in drawing, I could just brush over with the ground color and make the needed correction in drawing. Before any painting beyond the ground was done, the painting was in place as you can see here in the first process photo. Most of my work then went into the dark areas, where I adjusted 
the temperature and hue. The benefit of this approach is that the values in the darks are already matched. Each passage of color I put down was designed to match the values already in place. I did not touch any of the light areas until the very end. 
