Oil on canvas board, 12 x 16″
To enlarge, click images, select All Sizes
Thumbnail sketch (1.75×2.5″) in sketchbook for painting
Ink in small Moleskine notebook
(original sketch at SF Museum of Modern Art cafe)
A few weeks ago I went to see the Picasso and American Art exhibit at SFMOMA and was inspired by this woman’s thick, grey hair in a giant clip and the way the teeth of the clip separated her her hair. I also took a photo of her while I was there (below) but the view was different from my drawing so I didn’t end up referring to it when I made the painting. I’m still struggling with oils and acrylics but this one was a little easier because I stuck to black, white and 3 grays. I had intended this to be an underpainting and was going to glaze over it with the colors of eggplant and chocolate but decided to leave it because I like it the way it is.
I used Gamblin Chromatic Black for the darkest darks which is not a dead black pigment like most. From the Gamblin website: “Chromatic Black is black, but it has no black pigment in it. It is made from two perfect complements: Quinacridone Red and Phthalo Emerald.” For the grays I used Gamblin’s Portland Greys in light, medium and deep. So there was no color mixing, just a value study and an attempt to get some control with applying and blending oil paints.
Jana Bouc, Artist 
13 replies on “Woman at the museum”
Jana, I simply love this! I love the greys you used, the loose handling of your brush and paint and the nice contrast in values, without having a hard black in it. I have a soft spot for figures and oil and although you planned this as an underpainting, it can stand as a painting on its own. Well done!
Ronell
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Jana,
So much fun to see the range of studies – from photo to oil. I love the oil and think the loose technique really works well with this subject .
Shirley
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I really like the way this has come out, Jana – congratulations for turning a quick sketch into a painting – an exercise I find particularly difficult.
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HI Jana,
I agree your oil underpainting is really loose and beautifully gestural. I think it’s gonna be a winner.
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Lovely, Jana! I’d heard somewhere that people feel that value sketches and sketches take away the excitement or the enthusiasm, but for me, at this stage in my artistic development, it gives me more confidence to help map out what will occur with paint. I was watching an older videotape of Timothy Clark doing wc, and he said that when he skipped the sketches or color studies, it really ended up that his painting ended up to really BE a study because there was a part that he hadn’t thought through, and then messed up. I feel like doing a subject multiple times leads me to learn something with each one. in thinking about this, I was trying to do a closeup snapdragon painting for the wc group I’m on, it’s this month’s challenge, and while I got it loose and flowy, I didn’t have the form of the blossoms until I did a pen value sketch and really SAW how the blossoms are formed. now, I’m not swearing I CAN translate that to watercolor, ha, but I’m going to try again! love to see your work.
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This is great, Jana! Beautifully rendered! You should make a point of regularly painting only in tonal values. My own favoiurite grey/black is made by mixing pthalo green and alizarin crimson — adding a bit of cadmium red if the tone is too cool.
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Jana — this is awesome! I really like seeing the different sketches and then the final painting …(or will it be — this may call you to do it yet again!) The greys make a fabulous painting!
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Thanks Ronell, Shirly and Sally.
Rachel: Aint that the truth (that skipping the prep work turns a painting into a study)! I’ve found that over and over again.
Andrea: I use those colors too to make black, with a little Burnt Sienna thrown in; or sometimes I use Dioxazine Purple and Thalo Green.
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Jana, prior to reading your blog entry I have “re-learned” just from viewing. I tend to just jump ahead and not prepare. I have relearned a valuable lesson today Thank you!
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Add me to the list of people who loved not only the final oil, but seeing the progress. I’ve never touched oil paints, but I’ve been thinking I want to try at some point (even THAT is new), and I can see by looking at what you did how you prepare. Thanks so much for sharing your process.
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This post was like going on a creative adventure with you- it’s gorgeous, and the prep sketches are so neat. I really like reading about how you come to your finished paintings.
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What joy it was to open your post and find your working steps. I often wonder where people begin for their inspiration. Wonderful painting.
Love the tonal values.
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Jana, i really like the work. i never did oil paintings but i always wanted to. you are my inspiration from today onwards.
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