Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Ok. Here are some drawings from my morning art class.
We had a model and the focus was on shadows.
Our instructor told us to draw the shadows only.
He didn't want it to be a "drawing" per se. but to simply
put all the medium to dark pieces down to see what we
get.  It was a good exercise I think, and it made me think
of the value exercise we did with burnt umber in Carol's
workshop.  (Sorry I haven't written in a while.)

Both are 18 x 24 Charcoal





Hopefully I will add
this to my list of exercises to see what I
come up with.  I think you could do this with any media.
The only requirement is a strong light source, he had
a light positioned to produce shadows on her face.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Self Portrait

Me, 18" x 24",  Pencil and Carcoal  (#9)


I am taking a drawing class and this is our first assignment
that I am sharing with you. 
It was very interesting and it was good to take a break
from painting and just having a pencil and an eraser.
I think overall it turned out pretty well. This was
my second try and this looks much more like me
than the first one.  I like the way the hair is, I am holding
up my medium long locks in the back.  I like the angle of the face,
and while I blended a lot, I think I did pretty well creating
a 3-dimensional portrait but room for improvement.
I also like the mouth and nose, I had a challenge lining them up.
My biggest challenge was representing the subtle value
 gradations.  On the cheek part, there were these light portions
but three different lights.A pink light, a grey light, a yellowish
light.  How to represent with just pencil?
Things I want to improve: The variety of my line work,
especially around the edges.  Also to losen up a bit. 
When drawing a portrait, I tend to get really tight and that is not
my intuitive style, so I am fighting the whole time between my style
and accuracy.  Finally, the quality of my hash marks. 
 I am a blender, and the artist that I tried to model
for this Ingres is not.  He creates and builds up dark values
with layering hatch marks.
It did not seem that he blended a lot.  It seemed that he took care
of the subtle variations by extending the hash marks and paid
attention to where the second layer should go etc. 
If you google Ingres >Drawings, you can see for yourself his style.
I also liked the way he would build up one part,
usually the face and keep other parts
usually the body and background just line work. 
He is pretty awesome and I believe you can tell he is a
master draftsman in his paintings.
I am going to give myself a challenge and believe me it will
be a challenge.  I am going to try to do another self portrait
without blending. 
You can join me if you want.  I will post the results
if it comes out halfway decent.
Thanks for reading.  Trish






Saturday, January 14, 2012

Where's the Stack?

Here are three pictures in reverse order from my process of painting
Where's the Stack? 6 x 6 Oil on gessobord. (#8)
1)  Finished Oil painting.
2)  Acrylic underpainting.
3)  Ink sketch.



This was challenging for me because I like to paint curvy things
and there were many straight lines on this little binder clip. 
This is one of my mementos from Carol's workshop.   It helps hold
in the little 6 x 6 canvas panels in place. 





Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Sweet Muse


Copper , 6 x 6,  Oil on Gessobord (#7)

Again, values and shades.  I had fun with this one.
I think it really captures his sweet and sometimes naughty soul.


(I didn't mean to post until Wednesday, Oh well...)



Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Vase Sketch

Sketchy Vase 8 x 8, Watercolor Paper, Oil Wash and Charcoal (#6)

I love this round little vase. 
 I got this when I went to Gatlinburg, TN thinking I
would like drawing it and I do.
This was a quick sketch with paint and charcoal.
All I have time for today ;)
For my friends who keep saying my paintings look like
watercolors, this is for you!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Copper Too

Copper Too, 6 x 6, Gessobord, Oil  (#5)

This is a close up of my cat Copper as he sits in
the kitchen on the cushioned seat.  Since we found
him, he has liked this location to relax. 

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Curtain 2


Curtain2
11 x 14
3/4" canvas
Oil

Ok, another curtain.  This is a muslin off-white section of my curtains. 
I bought these from Country Curtains online and just love the long ruffles.
I was interested in the changes in value and shade. 
I tried to be patient when mixing my colors and just apply
what I saw.  I had an elated feeling about halfway through
that this technique was actually producing the curtain!

Keeping at it,  (#4)
Trish
(see detail below)


Friday, January 6, 2012

Moo...


This is a cow from my photograph!  We (Scott and I) stopped on the side of the road in
Union Star Kentucky to take this photo.
It is a bit monochromatic and was done in the spirit of a "study".  

The one below is full color.
I am a little surprised how it turned out. 

Both are 6 x 6, gessobord, oil.




That is 2 so far for January....yes I am keeping track.  I need a goal!!

later, Trish