Spring is here (gorgeous!), and it’s time to tend to my long-overdue blog.
After the painting dried for several days, I next lay in a rose color as a glaze; namely a very thin layer of oil paint and linseed oil. The rose color, interestingly, over the dark brown becomes a dark blue. The remainder of the painting is done in layers of a thin glaze which, being transluscent, gives a feeling of depth to the figure. Vermeer is one of the masters who used this technique beautifully!
This was the third week of adding glaze. It’s a long process and I have to admit I didn’t always glaze but added full color in order to move along faster. Also, I decided I’d enter a local competition and felt uneasy with this model being unclothed. So, using a slip that I had, I improvised and added a slip to the model. I’m sure it’s not as good as it would be if I had the real thing to look at but I loved the subtle colors of blue/green complementing the rose of her skin.
That’s it for now. I learned a lot from this study, and I hope you learned something from my description as well.
Study of seated woman
I’ve been working on a number of pieces over the last months but I’m going to take you through this one that I’ve been painting over a number of weeks. I”m attempting a style of painting called “Tenebrist,” in which most of the figure is engulfed in shadow, but some parts are dramatically illuminated by a beam of light (in this case a spotlight fixed on the side of a black-encased box which is aimed on the model). Caravaggio, a Baroque artist, is generally credited with the invention of this style.
Study for Glazing
The first step in preparing the oil painting is laying down a background color, usually a dark reddish/brown, with an acrylic paint.
The next step is to lay out the drawing (this model is quite ample and a delight to draw), and lay in the lights. The oil paint is very much thinned down with linseed oil to create a thin glaze. I was fascinated with the way the light illuminated her skin, a bright red, winding it’s way up her leg, through her body and resting on her face. She has a wonderful head and chinline. I might add that she’s a terrific model as she never moves!
Second phase of glazing
After the painting dried for several days, I next lay in a rose color as a glaze; namely a very thin layer of oil paint and linseed oil. The rose color, interestingly, over the dark brown becomes a dark blue. The remainder of the painting is done in layers of a thin glaze which, being transluscent, gives a feeling of depth to the figure. Vermeer is one of the masters who used this technique beautifully!
Third Step in Glazing
This was the third week of adding glaze. It’s a long process and I have to admit I didn’t always glaze but added full color in order to move along faster. Also, I decided I’d enter a local competition and felt uneasy with this model being unclothed. So, using a slip that I had, I improvised and added a slip to the model. I’m sure it’s not as good as it would be if I had the real thing to look at but I loved the subtle colors of blue/green complementing the rose of her skin.
Close-up of face of model
Study of seated woman
That’s it for now. I learned a lot from this study, and I hope you learned something from my description as well.
I just started a watercolor of a barn and a horse, which I’m painting for a fundraiser at my daughter’s school. It’s for Derby Day, thus the horse. Next blog I’ll try and do a sequence of that piece so you can see how watercolor works. It’s very different from oils. I really love both mediums; each has it’s own beauty.
Happy Spring!
Sarah
Drawings & Noodlings
This is a ten minute sepia sketch of this same model in preparation for painting.
Seated woman
Another ten minute sepia drawing of the model reaching for the chair. This one really captured her profile.
Standing Model
This piece was juried into the Georgia Watercolor Exhibition, a national competition. It's been quite a ride getting this framed painting to the gallery as it got lost in transit almost three weeks ago. The postman remembers delivering it, and the receptionist remembers receiving it but nobody knew where it went. Today, I called to see if anyone had found it, and the woman gasped. It was on the wall and nobody knew how it got there! I may never know what happened but it found it's way just in time as the final jurying is next week.
Just Fishing
