Red and Green Okra, graphite and colored pencil, 8×10″
Getting back to daily sketching….yay! Some lovely and odd-looking produce from the local organic grocery. I hope to paint it too, before I cook it but I’m not sure how long it will last.
Veggie Porn, oil on Gessobord panel, 8×8″
I’ve developed the goofy habit of storing my leftover cucumber in the bell pepper half when I prepare a salad. It always makes me laugh so I decided to paint it. My sister called it veggie porn. I hope it makes you chuckle too.
I’m trying out a new format for my blog posts, a simple list with images of what I’ve been working on, successes, challenges and what else is going on in the studio and my life. Theoretically it will mean less writing and more frequent posting. So here goes…let me know what you think.
CHALLENGES: I’ve been struggling with composition, discovering half way through a painting that the composition sucks and the painting will never be an enjoyable thing to look at.
SUCCESSES: I finally got the willingness to begin all paintings with some thumbnail sketches. I realized that COMPOSITION is simply the structure that directs the eye around the painting, creates a feeling of action or stillness and (if done well) delights the eye. Two of my favorite painters, Susan Jane Walp and Giorgio Morandi use composition in unexpected ways, and both delight the eye (or at least my eyes) whether they are following or breaking the “rules” of composition or making their own.
LETTING GO OF A BAD PAINTING: This one started off really happily but ended up in the trash, after scraping and redoing it over and over until I killed it so dead it couldn’t be revived. I just felt there was too much red, that it was too “hot” somehow. A friend suggested adding black. That was the final nail in the coffin. I’m not sure why I’m even sharing it at all.
FAIL: Bad Begonias, oil on panel, 10×8″
SKETCHES: I try to do a sketch from the SKTCHY App at least weekly. Here is a recent one.
Isabel T, from Sktchy photo reference, graphite, 12×9″
WHAT I’M READING: “Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked.” Great book about how our devices and apps are designed to keep us using them. I waste way too much time web-surfing on my phone. This book gave me some tools for changing my habits along with a good talking to! I think it’s a must-read for parents especially.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO: Ed Sheeran and Alicia Keys on Amazon music, which I like much better than Apple music. (If you’re interested, here’s a link to Amazon Music Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial)
Sunflower and Pomegranate Studies, oil, 5×10″
After I did these two studies on one piece of Arches Oil Paper focusing on values (started with transparent earth color underpainting), I caught a nasty head cold. I feel super lousy and haven’t had the energy to paint but I’ve done a couple sketches, below.
Pomegranate and persimmons on a brick. 2B pencil in 8×10 moleskine.
Drawing helped take my mind off my sneezing and nose running like a river.
FarhooD S via Sktchy app. graphite, 11×8″
I think I made his hand too small. Here’s his photo on Sktchy:
We had the lovely and vivacious model Beebe R. today in figure drawing. She did a fantastic job holding the long pose. I worked for about an hour and a half on this one, trying to stop at the “less is more” stage instead of the “Ugh! Way overworked!” Stage.
I can see many things I’d like to adjust (and experimented doing so after class in ProCreate with a photo of the sketch on my iPad (below).
Portrait of Beebe edited in ProCreate on iPad.
Sketched in pencil from photo on Sktchy, 10×8″
Another quick post of a recent sketch done from an inspiration photo on Sktchy. I love the app and I love drawing people more than just about anything. Pears and bowls and pretty landscapes are great, but nothing can match the joy of drawing people for me. Below is the reference photo. I’d intended to add color but liked the black and white version too much.
Photo reference by Adam Vitry on Sktchy
