First pass on glazing underpainting

Here's my first pass on glazing one of my underpaintings. In this process, it's important to have a mood that you're aiming for. I'm not sure if this is the mood or feel I'm shooting for, as long as it doesn't come across as cranky and frustrated I'll be happy.

To answer Holly's question, oiling out is the process of adding a thin layer of drying oil or medium to the surface of your painting to bring any matte surfaces back to their true color and value. The operative word, as I found out the hard way, is THIN! I applied approximately a bucket's worth and couldn't figure out why it wasn't dry days later...duh!

Back to all prima....

This Way
6" x 6", oil on panel
$105
Click here to purchase


I've oiled out my underpaintings and now have to wait for them to dry before I begin the glazing so I thought I'd work on a quick landscape, using a reference photo that I took last summer at the state park beach on Vinalhaven, Maine.

Yep, another underpainting

12" x 9"

I thought I'd add a island scene from Maine to my Tonalism experiment...

Another Underpainting

10" x 8"


Here's one more landscape underpainting for my tonalism workshop. One or two more and then we get going on the glazing....

Similar Underpainting

8"x24"

Here's another underpainting for my current workshop. I'm trying to keep the values on the light side since it should darken up as the layers of glazing are applied. I need to crank out many more so I can try using an array of different transparent colors and see what sort of effects happen.

Underpainting

6"x12"









Here's an underpainting I'm working on for my Deborah Paris Tonalism workshop. I'll need to let this dry before applying multiple translucent layers. This slow methodical approach is killing me....no pain, no gain, right?

Tonalism

I've been busy reading and sketching for a virtual workshop that I'm taking with tonalist painter Deborah Paris. This is an entirely different process than the direct, alla prima method I'm used to. Tonalism involves using lots of glazing, using similar values and if all goes well, arriving with a sublime end result. Deborah's starting advice is to create many thumbnail sketches of your subject in order to arrive with a composition that works, because if it doesn't work small it will never work large, good advice! Time to sharpen up the pencils and crank out some more sketches....

Two Sold

Thank you to the two new collectors who purchased these two small paintings at the Danforth Art Museum School Gallery.

I've been busy with holiday errands and have done very little painting...I think I have a good idea what my New Year's resolution will be.

Just added many more paintings to my Etsy shop.

Commission

Go Meghan!

6"x12", oil

NFS

A good friend of mine contacted me recently asking if I could make a painting of his girlfriend, who is a competitive rower, to give to her parents for Christmas. I normally don't like doing commissions, but I think it's a good thing to be pushed outside of your comfort zone every now and then.

Pear Shadows and Orchid Study

I just added these two acrylic paintings to my Etsy shop. These were created just prior to me switching over to oils. I often think of pulling out the acrylic paints and giving them another go, but I just really like the feel, the texture and honestly, the smell of the oils.

How small can you go?

Approaching Land

2" x 2"

Only time for a mini landscape. Most, if not all, of my landscapes are either from the vantage point of being out at sea looking back at land or vice versa. Since there's a body of water involved, is it more appropriate that they're labeled a seascape? Hmmmm........

The Three of Us

8" x 8", oil on canvas

A little bit of glare on this one... I limited myself to 1 hour so that I would force myself to make quick decisions and not get bogged down pushing the paint around and around.

No painting today

No painting today, so I thought I'd post one of my sketches, an idea actually inspired by fellow blogger Sandra Galda. A few years ago, before I took my first painting class, I decided to take a drawing class to sharpen up those skills before ever laying paint to canvas, and this little produce ink drawing is one of the first from that class.
I've been busy submitting paintings for various local exhibits, 20 total.... we'll see what happens. Thank you to a new collector who recently purchased one of my paintings, Overboard .

Fall Colors and Puking Pumpkin

I tried to keep this fall landscape quick and loose, almost abstract. I think I've been getting too "blendy" with my strokes and have gotten away from this natural looseness that I used to have.

Something to look forward to for me, I just signed up for a virtual workshop with Deborah Paris, a tonalist landscape painter, her work just makes me crazy, but in a good way.




....and here's the puking pumpkin from yesterday's post that my daughter created just in time for the trick-or-treaters.

Before the slaughter

My paints have not been cooperating lately so I've had to resort to quick sketches, I'm sure it's the paints and not me, right? Tomorrow, my daughter plans on gutting this sucker. She asked if it would be ok to make the pumpkin throwing up by having the guts spilling out of its mouth...heck yeah!