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I ended up NOT trashing the giantess painting but actually started to go into it and paint it. I'm going to go through the steps I take in order to start a painting.
1. Make a super accurate drawing. A lot of painters, especially plein air painters don't care to much about this step. For me, it is absolutely the most important one. My paintings end up looking photo realistic. ON this particular painting there is about 10 square feet of drapery and cloth which is going to make this very difficult. To draw it with correct proportions, I drew a 3" graph on my canvas to map out different areas in relation to one another. This is what it looked like when I was almost done.
2. Next, I got out my paints. This is what they look like. Yes, its a mess. No, I can't work any other way. I know that so many people think that being organized with color and paints is really important to making a great painting, but I don't care. I lose the caps for every tube eventually and they are incredibly messy.
3. Then I do I pretty loose underpainting with acrylics. Mostly, I use blacks and browns for this, but if I'm doing a color field like with the skies on my Bonsai trees, I will sometimes use bright oranges, red, greens, purples, to give the painting depth.
Today I was lazy.
So lazy, in fact, that I didn't even take a picture of it. For the record, on this particular painting, I used ultramarine blue, black, and this hideous orangey brown.
4. The next step is really really really instrumental in my painting. This is it :
The reason for using shellac over the drawing and the underpainting is that is seals it off. This way I don't get graphite, charcoal or whatever I decided to use mixed in with the pigment for the oils. I've never met a painter who does this, and I probably never will. Shellac stinks and its impossible to get off of hardwood floors. However, if you put on twelve to fifteen layers of it on your painting, it will seal the canvas and create a smooth yet slightly uneven texture that I personally think is the bee's knees.
5. The next part is the easiest part. Painting. Some artists will insist on laying in all the darks and then the lights and to work in layers like that, but I'm too much of control freak to do that,so I tend to work in concentrated areas. Also, its really satisfying for me to paint like, one square at a time.
You can't imagine how embarassing this is to post, especially when I know other artists are going to be reading it.
I still use grids as a loose guide, but the most satisfying thing about painting in sections is the ability to set insane goals for myself. Like, "I'm not going to get up and make (much needed) earl grey tea UNTIL I finish 8 squares in this painting. I know, its obsessive. You can tell by my style that its obsessive.
So, in the photo below, you can see I started in with the face. It might seem discolored to you, but the girl on the bed will be underneath some red curtains and is wearing a blue sweater, so a lot of the colors on her skin are actually reflections. Hair is always a problem for me so I started by tackling that right away.
I'll probably continue layering the oils by mixing the pigment with galkyd,(for fast drying) and liquin (because I have some lying around).
Stay tuned for the next steps in the painting.
By the way, I saw Sherlock Holmes tonight and I totally recommend it.
1. Make a super accurate drawing. A lot of painters, especially plein air painters don't care to much about this step. For me, it is absolutely the most important one. My paintings end up looking photo realistic. ON this particular painting there is about 10 square feet of drapery and cloth which is going to make this very difficult. To draw it with correct proportions, I drew a 3" graph on my canvas to map out different areas in relation to one another. This is what it looked like when I was almost done.
2. Next, I got out my paints. This is what they look like. Yes, its a mess. No, I can't work any other way. I know that so many people think that being organized with color and paints is really important to making a great painting, but I don't care. I lose the caps for every tube eventually and they are incredibly messy. 3. Then I do I pretty loose underpainting with acrylics. Mostly, I use blacks and browns for this, but if I'm doing a color field like with the skies on my Bonsai trees, I will sometimes use bright oranges, red, greens, purples, to give the painting depth.
Today I was lazy.
So lazy, in fact, that I didn't even take a picture of it. For the record, on this particular painting, I used ultramarine blue, black, and this hideous orangey brown.
4. The next step is really really really instrumental in my painting. This is it :
The reason for using shellac over the drawing and the underpainting is that is seals it off. This way I don't get graphite, charcoal or whatever I decided to use mixed in with the pigment for the oils. I've never met a painter who does this, and I probably never will. Shellac stinks and its impossible to get off of hardwood floors. However, if you put on twelve to fifteen layers of it on your painting, it will seal the canvas and create a smooth yet slightly uneven texture that I personally think is the bee's knees.
5. The next part is the easiest part. Painting. Some artists will insist on laying in all the darks and then the lights and to work in layers like that, but I'm too much of control freak to do that,so I tend to work in concentrated areas. Also, its really satisfying for me to paint like, one square at a time.
You can't imagine how embarassing this is to post, especially when I know other artists are going to be reading it.
I still use grids as a loose guide, but the most satisfying thing about painting in sections is the ability to set insane goals for myself. Like, "I'm not going to get up and make (much needed) earl grey tea UNTIL I finish 8 squares in this painting. I know, its obsessive. You can tell by my style that its obsessive.
So, in the photo below, you can see I started in with the face. It might seem discolored to you, but the girl on the bed will be underneath some red curtains and is wearing a blue sweater, so a lot of the colors on her skin are actually reflections. Hair is always a problem for me so I started by tackling that right away.
I'll probably continue layering the oils by mixing the pigment with galkyd,(for fast drying) and liquin (because I have some lying around).
Stay tuned for the next steps in the painting.
By the way, I saw Sherlock Holmes tonight and I totally recommend it.
