Antiphon Continued

Here is the painting with all the highlights lifted out of the gouache.
Looks kinda wacky but there's something liberating about this. You simply ignore the lines.

Next, you lay down oil glazes, contrasting warm and cool colors.

Lift the oil out. This goes much faster than the gouache phase.
Now on to the opaque part. Finger's crossed.

Antiphone: Take two

My oil painting was going no where...boring. Zzzzzz. It was not capturing what I wanted to say about that moment in one's life when you become aware of God's presence in your life and the life-long melodic exchange that begins at that pivotal event. Began again after watching a video by Robert Barrett.
Already, I like the life that this approach has infused into my humble attempt at this concept. I should have watered the gouache a tad more but I'm going to continue and see where it takes me.

Hobbity Sketches

BOFUR

I added another layer of oil. I'm using Holbein's water soluble oils with their fast drying medium as well as linseed oil. These are so much better than the other brand (Winsor and Newton). Much closer to regular oils. Still not done but will get back to her in about a month.

BOMBUR

I have a big project deadline so I have to put these experiments aside. Have done alot of sketches but these two dwarfs from The Hobbit movie were fun to do because their distinctive faces. I don't think I will ever keep these 13 guys straight.

Progress

Another Experiment

This is ready for a layer of Galkyd, but will try a layer of slightly yellowed acrylic matte medium. It's not shiny and safer to breathe. I'll then follow with oils.

Technique Experiment.

One of the highlights at IMC was sitting down with Rebecca Guay and watching her work her magical technique from start to finish. It was one of the first things I wanted to try when I returned home. Though she began with a photo of her daughter, I figured it would work just as well on a sketch. So I pulled out this sketch and began.

In Photoshop, I built up light layers of color, keeping them fairly muted. After that, I "ghosted" the image with a layer of white and printed it out on a 13"x 19" sheet of watercolor paper. (This is darkened so you can see it better).

Next I wet down the paper and taped it to my board. After allowing it to dry completely, I applied a coat of acrylic matte medium. On top of this I started painting with Holbein's acryla gouache. Though the colors are opaque, you can water them down to a watercolor transparent-like consistency. I also strengthened the lines with a brown Verithin pencil.

This painting obviously went through many changes. Tried a couple different backgrounds, hair shapes and skies. After I thought it was ready, I photographed it and the problems were glaringly there before me. First, the weight of the trees in the background was too heavy on the right as well as crowding the bird.

Next was the sternomastoid (circled above...no, it's not a giant earring). Way too severe. Edges way too hard. So I softened it and will soften it some more with the oil layer.

I know there are other minor things wrong, but I decided to commit and move forward.

(This is an experiment after all).

Next, I put a layer of Galkyd on it. This warms up the colors with it's clear amber hue and seals the paint underneath. Once it dries, I will begin the transparent oil glazes on top.

Rebecca made this all look so easy when she demonstrated it. She uses watermarks to her advantage and wields her brush with such a deft hand. I have too many layers of paint on this, losing much of the transparent look she achieves with her work. But it's a start.

More Experimenting with Oil

I first put down a tone of green ochre mixed with alizarin crimson.

Let that dry and next applied flake white on the lightest areas of the painting. Next I will build up the form with blue-greens and reds and then finally, apply glazes over that. Don't have any idea what I'm doing but read about this "Verdaccio" technique in an article by Adrian Gottlieb in the most recent Artist's Magazine. Thought it would be fun to try.

I've continued to work on Lady of the Lake. Am liking face a little better. On to the hands.

Lady of the Lake Revisited

Back in 2009 at IMC, I selected the Lady of the Lake assignment. I ended up finishing it digitally instead of in oils. I promised Rebecca Guay I would redo it in traditional medium. I pulled out another idea I had for it and thought it would be fun to try two different oil applications per picture. With the first photo I'm attempting to put down the bigger value shapes, taking an average of the value in shadow. I'll then go back in and bring out the subtle shifts in temperature and value on my second layer.

On this one I'm applying the oils in glazes, working wet in wet, allowing the graphite sketch to show through like an under painting. You can't see it in this photo, but the sketch looks really neat coming through the semi transparent layers, almost resembling the veins underneath the skin. I will let this dry and then fix some of the problems, especially the mouth. The paint was getting too tacky to do any more.

Experiment Concluded

Well, the more I looked at those hard edges, the more I didn't like them. I also discovered that the three layers of fixative prevented my colored pencils from fully grabbing the vellum. SO, I decided to stop and repeat the last two steps. This time I printed a sepia toned copy of my original scanned sketch on to the vellum. Very pleased with the results. Also, after looking at some firefly reference photos, I realized that they give off a yellowish-green glow; not an orange-yellow one. Duh! I've never seen one in person. Also, I didn't fix the printed side since my printer uses water-resistant archival inks. Made all the difference. The vellum received the colored pencils beautifully. After playing around with some colors, I realized that my original concept was way too day-lightish. I went with a much more moonlit look and prefer it, although it's not as vibrant.

So, with this experiment concluded....would I use it again? Not sure. While I do love the luminosity, that's achievable with other mediums. The one thing Sergio doesn't reveal in his article is what he uses on the final to back it. I imagine any solid white paper would work. The vellum alone is way too fragile. Of course, under Sergio's masterful hands, this technique produces distinctively glowing illustrations. I can't possibly expect to achieve the same results without his skills and experience.

I am most grateful to artists who are willing to share their process. People like James Gurney, Dan Dos Santos, Donato Giancola, and many others who open the door to their studios and their techniques probably underestimate their value to artist-wanna-be's like myself. It is so helpful. I think with one exception, every artist I've emailed has replied and generously imparted information to me. There are other lesser known artists I follow who post their works in progress and I always gain new knowledge watching them work. My hope is that this meager experiment has been helpful to someone out there. I know I've learned alot. Thanks Sergio!

Blending Colors

Okay...this was tricky. You have to use just the right amount of Turpenoid on your paper towel or you completely wipe off your pigment. Sergio says to use 5 drops. Lacking an eyedropper, I had to experiment and ended up using my fingers to blend more than the cloth. Another thing. I got interrupted and had to come back to lift out the color on the lightest areas and discovered the pigment had "set" into the paper. I'm hoping I can lighten things up on the other side using the colored pencils he recommends. I am pleased with the vibrancy of the pigments, though, be warned, they do dull after they dry. Now...to carefully remove the tape and turn it to the right side. Fingers crossed.

The above image is the picture, right-side up. Not sure what I think of the hard charcoal edges. I think I should have used the lighter ochre pencil through out. Um. Yeah...those lines are way too harsh. Well, this is an experiment, right?? Let's see now....next, we use colored pencils on this side to emphasize the highlights and darken the shadows. Until tomorrow...

Color Crazy

I didn't scan the charcoal line drawing because it looks just like my original pencil sketch. I fixed the charcoal with 2 coats of WN Workable Spray Fixative. Then I taped the edges on both sides and taped the drawing, backside facing up on several pieces of blank paper (to soften the surface) and then went crazy with the color. I'm using Caran d'ache Neocolor I crayons.

They are a bit pricey, but almost solid pigment. Sergio says to make big, bold strokes, paying particular attention to the "atmosphere" of the picture. After seeing this scanned, I think I will go back in with more darks around the outside of the drawing. Next I will take Turpenoid and start melting, blending and lifting out color. Until tomorrow.

Next Step: Charcoal

After resketching the picture on heavy vellum (I used a Wolff's Carbon B charcoal pencil), Martinez says to go over the drawing very lightly, with a kneaded eraser. Quote: "I'm not really erasing; I'm caressing the lines. I am making the hard edge of the lines disappear". He then tuns the vellum over and does the drawing on the back, reinforcing the overall shadows and then repeating the eraser bit. I'm not sure I did this part right. I tried my best to caress the paper. This is where Sergio sends in the scan for approval.

Oops! After rereading the article, I realized I added an extra step by mistake. This step should replace the value step I did on the computer. ( I got the captions and the instructions mixed up. Senior moment. Happens alot.)

After approval, your own or the AD's, you then resize it to your final specifications, and print it out. It's from this copied version of the drawing that you NOW resketch your final drawing using the heavy vellum, as well as the carbon charcoal, thereby eliminating the charcoal mess I've now created on my drawing, not to mention the keyboard. You will have is a clean, line drawing of your piece, ready to be fixed and then the "painting" begins. Experimentation continues....

Workshop: Day One

This is Dave, our model. He was awesome. Could hold a pose for an hour without moving or needing a break. You rarely had to correct his pose when he returned. He's a poet and hiker. Poor guy had to wear the same shirt for three days straight.

Jeff began the day with a demo. He has a rather simple palette and uses no medium. He began putting down the lightest lights. He says one of the most important things to do is SQUINT, simplifying the masses and shapes and averaging out the value and color. Forget detail at this point. It's all about seeing relationships between abstract shape and value.
Jeff continued to squint and lay down more of the first layer. I'm amazed at his ability to accurately see and measure. He warned us to be wary of simultaneous contrast with both colors and values. He loads his paint and rarely makes more than three strokes before returning to his palette. He challenged us to avoid allowing the brush to touch the canvas, using the paint as a barrier. He used transparent colors in the shadows and opaque in the lights.

Here is 90 minutes worth of work. Lunch time and then....we get to try. Send in the clowns......
You can't imagine how intimidating this technique is for me. No under painting or any type of drawing. Simply applying the paint with a sure stroke while asking these 4 things: What is the 1. value; 2. color; 3.location and 4. temperature. After 3 and 1/2 hours, this was my portrait. Poor Dave. No ears or cranium or hair. On to the next day.....

Winter Faerie Update

Before I left for IMC, I had a mini workshop with Hala Wittwer, my former mentor, before she left for her new teaching position at Cal State Fullerton. She taught me a few new techniques that I finally tried out this month. I started out scanning in my sketch and then applying a PhotoShop under painting (see top picture). I then printed that out on a sheet of Epson Velvet Fine Art paper and finished with light acrylic washes and colored pencil layers. I'm not too sure I like the paper. The first layer is especially difficult because the paint soaks into the paper so quickly, you can't manipulate it. Perhaps I need to wet my paper more. I will have to keep experimenting. I did like the surface after my first layer of paint and pencil but spent too much time smoothing out the edges of the first layer of acrylic wash.
She also told me about the Incredible Art Board and I love it and would highly recommend it. It doesn't warp, tape doesn't tear the surface off like it does with foam core board and its light so you can carry it around. You can also staple your paper on it and use it over and over again.

I've Been a Negligent Blogger

There's no excuse...well, maybe a little one. I was gone to IMC for 10 days. Parents came for a visit a day after I landed. Needed to catch my breath. July Fourth Celebration. A slight Read Fest...well, there's just so many good books this summer, I really could not help it.

So I think I'm ready to get back to my routine and the first thing on my list is: UPDATE BLOG.

Let's get back to IMC and my assignment. I've already posted my workups and my sketch. The next thing I did was scan in the sketch, pushed the color of the graphite to a grayish-green and printed it out on 140# Lanaquarelle watercolor paper, 16" x 20". Because the over-sized printer had water-based inks, I couldn't just spray with a fixative. With the help of Donato Giancola, I brushed a thin layer of acrylic medium on top of the sketch using a dry brush and no water. I let that dry for an hour outside and repeated the process. I applied three more layers with a light sanding in between, allowing the previous layer to dry for about 20 minutes. I now had my sketch nicely coated and proteced from the oils AND, since this time I didn't mount it to a board, when I am done, I can roll it up like you would canvas. I began laying down acrylic washes in the moon, the background and some warmth on her knuckles, face and ears (forgot to take photo of her flesh). Tomorrow's post: I face my fears with OILS!