Experimenting with oils alla prima

Oil on acrylic primed canvas

One of my first tries at alla prima oil painting and I probably should not have started this way. I was overwhelmed with all I had to think about!!  Edges, shapes, color, proportion, value!!!  Oh my!!  I really over blended the colors, left the edges too sharp, and lots of other mistakes!! But the picture looks pretty much like 2 natural looking apples!!  Next I want to try drawing in the subject first and possibly doing a grisaille.

Portrait of Latoya

Charcoal on paper

My second portrait in charcoal!  This is a young lady who I work with and what a wonderful model she made!!  I really appreciate that she sat for me.  Of course I'm so slow at this point I had to use a photograph of her but it turned out so well and a perfect likeness!!  Process done with use of comparative measuring and plumb lines.

Now I'm finally ready to try oil painting.  That is the next step in this process of classical training.  Once values, edges, shapes, and proportion are mastered the next thing is color. 

Second attempt with drawing of Sarah

Charcoal in paper

When Jonathan asked me to do a charcoal portrait, I knew I wanted to try this portrait of Sarah again.  I started my measurements from the beginning just like in Angela's class.  I think I was much more on target and got a much better likeness of Sarah this time.  I also am learning to turn the form better with each drawing I do and the values really work on this one.  Love to see progress!!!

Third Cast Study

My third cast study is completed!!!!  I really think I am beginning to get value relationships now.  The perception of light and shadow is the most important skill in drawing and painting.  Value is one of the most important elements of realistic (or representational) drawing.  Values create the illusion of form and three-dimensionality. More specifically, the relationships between the values of an object make it look convincingly realistic.  If values are used unwisely or as an add-on, drawings will look overmodulated, muddy, and indecisive.  For more information on values check out this entry

http://georgetownatelier.com/tutorials/rendering-the-figure-part-

Charcoal on paper drawn from cast

The Slow and Silent Creation of Art

Even a stone, and more easily a flower or a bird, could show you the way back to God, to the Source, to yourself.  When you look at it or hold it & let it be without imposing a word of mental label on it, a sense of awe, of wonder, arises within you.  Its essence silently communicates itself to you and reflects your own essence back to you.  This is what great artists sense and succeed in conveying in their art.  Van Gogh didn't say: "That's just an old chair."  He looked, and looked, and looked.  He sensed the Beingness of the chair.  Then he sat in front of the canvas and took up the brush.  

Eckhart Tolle

Block-in Portrait study with Angela Cunningham

In October of last year I took another workshop with Angela Cunningham at the Townsend Atelier in Chattanooga, blocking-in the portrait from observation in graphite.  Angela's class emphasized understanding and practicing of the visual tools of blocking-in to develop measuring and shape-seeing abilities. Focusing on block-ins is a traditional academic training method that allows one to fine tune foundational skills for high accuracy.  Here is my block-in from the class with a value study I did following the class.  Of course, the portrait is not finished at all.  But this gives an idea of how accurate measuring in the very beginning creates a basis for a good likeness of the model.

Second Cast Study

Charcoal on paper drawn from cast

Casts are ideal for training the eye because they are white and completely still and they help a student to concentrate on shapes and values. Everything learned in cast work translates directly into drawing the figure and the portrait from life.   This is my second cast study....another 2-3 months work.