Back to the Basics

I used the brush only to lay down the ground and also to map out the contours of the apple. The rest of it was done exclusively with a palette knife. The idea was to get familiar with the kind of stokes that are possible. It was easier to control than I had thought and I liked the texture of the paint that went on. I'll probably start using the palette knife more often than not! 

Spectacled

A simple sketch, just to get the paint juices flowing. This is a scene from union square on a bright sunny day and she had comfortably settled in with a book. I added the tree as an after thought and moved it around to add some balance. I am not sure if it was necessary for the composition! Hmm. Btw, can you tell that she is wearing glasses? 

 

 

Tangled

Reference by Richard Robinson. Painting the portrait of a tree has been on my list and this one with so much character was just perfect. I layered on really thick paint to get some textural contrast in the snow. This was a first and I like the effect! I want to experiment with thin darks with a bit of canvas peeking through the next time around. 

The City

San Francisco - the quirkiest city I have seen. I wasn't very fond of it until I spent a full five days last year, roaming the streets, clicking pictures and eating a lot of great food. There is always something that is unique to every city; the steep and crooked streets are a fun drive especially for new visitors. One of them actually alluded to Disneyland - now, how is that for a new perspective! I enjoy strolling through the numerous art stores and galleries, I like the cuteness of Sausalito and the city skyline at night is very pretty indeed :)

  

On Track

In SF, you get to see tracks on the road and it always makes me wonder if I am on the right lane! In the picture, I liked the steel tracks that were glinting in the shadows in a blue-y hue, it was simply beautiful. This was the last painting I did at the workshop and had an hour to work on it before we had to pack and leave. I do like the movement in this one. I am beginning to think that I have a thing for yellow cars. I want to reach for the camera every time I see one!

Some of the draw winners have already received their 'Golden' Magnets and I am more than happy to know that they enjoy having it on their fridge and ever better - that it reminds them of their doggies :) Cindy McDonough has posted a picture on her blog, here!

Post update: Adding the only progress shot that I have for the cab above - The outline drawn and the first dab of saturated color applied:

The Wait

While strolling the streets in SF, I found this man - sitting on the steps of Union Square, reflecting on the sights of the bright sunny day; and waiting for all the things that would come his way.

Golden Rules and a Giveaway!

I clicked a picture of this happy little fellow, lazing on the lawns opposite the Ferry building in SF. The three things I kept in mind while doing this painting was 'Measure, Draw and Paint', which I have come to think of as the golden rules! One of Carol's recommendations was to have a grid as a reference for the initial drawing. That along with a value printout of the reference picture were quite helpful. Here are the demo pics. I had fun with all of the colors in his face and hair! 

     

As for the giveaway, its another of Leslie's 30 day challenges. I plan to giveaway a magnet of this happy fellow to three followers, drawn at random -> please sign up to follow by email for updates and/or leave a comment on any post. I'll also post the link to the winners blog/website at the end of month. This blog of mine is fairly young and a work in progress, and so is the artist in me! Any comments, views and suggestions are most appreciated and will encourage me to paint and post more often! Thank you!

Kids & Coffee

This painting was done while at Carol Marine's Workshop at San Francisco (a brief description is at an earlier post - here). I shot the reference photo during our city wandering venture on the previous day. The small shoes next to the mug, cropped out of a bigger picture, was too cute to miss. I was happy with the way the shoes turned out. During the critique, Carol started by saying that she loved them (nothing much else could have made me that ecstatic!) before providing some helpful tips on how to tackle ellipses. I think the shoes by themselves make an interesting enough subject - and I might paint them again.
I enjoy seeing paintings in progress and started to take progress photos for later reference; and that turned out to be perfect for Leslie Saeta's Challenge. I plan on including demo photos in some of the future posts as well.

(click on the pictures to view them bigger). 

 

 

 

 

 

Tucked Away

Inspired by artist Elizabeth Tolley's book - 

Oil Painter's Solution Book Landscapes: Over 100 Answers to Your Oil Painting Questions.

At the Beach

Inspired by the painting from the book by Frank Serrano - 'Plein Air Painting in Oil'. The small book is a crisp read; the simplistic approach makes painting seem easy. I guess its the complexity of the mindset that needs battling through more than the process of painting itself.

Purple Horizon

My attempt at reproducing a part of a painting from the book by Artist Bob Rohm; 

Emulating the style of an artist, gives a lot of insight into the approach & the process.

Through my experiments, I look to discover the style that is unique to me.