Now that Christmas is over I can post this commissioned dog portrait oil painting. The person who requested it had previously been gifted this commissioned dog portrait and asked me to paint their friend’s dog Dillon to give to them as a gift. Below are the steps in the process.
I’m still having fun painting poms and trying to understand them. Below is the process I used, with photos of the set up. I like starting with a Pitt pastel pencil to sketch in the composition and then go to thinned down transparent oil paint.
I’ve switched back to working on panels again from paper in order to have a slicker surface that allows wiping off more easily than the Arches Oil Paper which is very absorbent.
This painting is available. Click for purchase info on my DailyPaintworks Gallery.
(SOLD) This painting went through so many changes. I started it before I got the awful cold that kept me out of the studio for over a week. I lost my focus while painting the cloth draped in the background and at the end of the day scraped off the afternoon’s work. When I came back the next day, my foam core shadow box had collapsed and was on the floor along with the drapery and the LED light that I’d perched atop on a piece of plexiglass. Fortunately the brick held steady as did the fruit.
That accident gave me the opportunity to try a different background. I removed the white paper I’d been using to cover the black walls of the shadow box and painted the now darker background. I had fun painting the persimmons and the brick and I think I did a good job understanding them; the pom not so much. It should have a more geometric, boxy shape, not be so rounded.
Below are the stages in trying to get this thing painted, along with the set up as it changed. Click on an image to see full picture, scroll over images to read captions.
(SOLD)
I’m still trying to figure out sunflowers. I hate to quit before I’ve succeeded so decided to give it another try, continuing from the four attempts in my last post. Off I went in search of fresh sunflowers. After striking out at the first two shops, I decided that if they didn’t have any in the next store I would put an end to the sunflower project. But freedom was not yet mine; they had sunflowers.
Below are a couple steps in the process. This time I didn’t spend as long sketching or blocking in and I made a point of starting with darker tones which I think helped. I get fooled by the concept of “yellow” and have trouble really seeing how dark yellow can be in the shadows.
Sunflower Attempt #1 (Above) This one quickly went off the rails, the flowers got scraped off and then not repainted because the actual flowers had keeled over and I had nothing to work with.
Sunflower Attempt #1-B (Below)
There are some interesting things about this composition but I was still working too large (about 16×11″) and by the time I started painting after getting it sketched and blocked in it was too late in the day and the next day the flowers were falling over. The brown scarf
My fig tree is supplying me with figs that are delicious to look at and to eat. I’m working on simplifying my paintings, aiming from strong values and composition, and trying to stop at “good enough for jazz.” This is so much more fun than trying for perfection and ending up with overworked instead. This painting is available on DailyPaintworks here.
Below are the steps in the progress of this painting and below that some bonus fig
My mother loaned me this beautiful vase years ago to paint. When I was looking for a subject to paint this week it called out to me from the shelf where it’s been waiting for so long. Below is the step-by-step progress of the painting, which is available on DailyPaintworks here.
I was struck by the beautiful cream color of the apple when I cut it open and then all the subtle pastel colors I could see in the flesh because of the light shining through and reflecting off of the apple skin and the turquoise plate. Below are photos in the process of painting the apples from life, with a snapshot of the set up. This painting isavailable here: (Click here for purchase info)
I’ve been thinking about still life painting and what, for me, makes it fun to paint and enjoyable to look at. Number one is color that pleases me and a feeling of light and space and a close second is strong value contrast (between dark and light). Traditional or classic still life paintings often have dark backgrounds and somber colors and I’ve realized that’s just not me. That style seems very masculine to me; perhaps because the old masters were mostly men and even back then men liked their “man caves.”
I want to find a way to paint in oils that incorporates what I like so much about my watercolor paintings, which have mostly been light with bright colors painted on a background of white unpainted paper. Another difference is that in oils I’ve tended to work small, painting objects smaller than actual size, and in watercolor I’ve typically painted much larger than life size. I’m going to be exploring working larger and lighter and in colors that make me feel joyful.
This painting is available on DailyPaintworks here
After struggling for a few days trying and failing to do a one-hour painting exercise as I posted yesterday, I returned to the studio determined to tackle the challenge again and this time, obey the timer. I “cheated” just a little, redefining the project to better suit my current abilities by doing a quick outline and monochrome block-in with diluted burnt sienna and pre-mixing my paint (below) before starting the timer. At exactly one hour I stopped and then gave myself 5 more minutes to soften the edges on the shadow and back of pear and to add a highlight. It’s not a masterpiece but I met the challenge and, most importantly, enjoyed it!
One done, two more to go before moving on and returning to some skull drawing and painting practice to enhance my ongoing portrait drawing and painting study.
Jana Bouc, Artist 