Studio Update.

With the weekend nearing, I thought it would be a great time to do a studio update and show you all what I've been painting this week. I managed to get a painting finished, start two new ones and do countless other behind the scene tasks, which I will not bore you with the details here.

 

 I present to you the gorgeous Shae! 

The finishing touches went on her portrait at the start of the week and I deemed the painting finished.

These two paintings below, I started this week.  One is of the local wadding pool at sunrise and the other is the start of a portrait of Luke with his Mater Little Miracles puppy.  Both are at the very start of creation, and I have lots to do on them in the coming weeks. I will keep you all posted on their progress.

Above is my palette (for P&P), it is a glass picture frame, I work with it on the table easel.  You may find it helpful to know the basic colours I'm using. They are (L-R) Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Light, Yellow Ocher, Cadmium Red, Indian Red, Cadmium Orange, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Perm. Rose, Chromium Green Oxide, Viridian Green, Cerulean, Ultramarine, Ivory Black.  I also have added Raw Sienna, Naples Yellow and Cadmium Yellow Deep to this particular palette for these specific paintings (especially the landscape). 

As a side note, for all those who follow along with the P&P party I hold, last week I questioned the future of the blog party and asked if anyone had any ideas for it moving forward or whether or not to continue it, and I was faced with no comments either way, which made me sadly think of fading out the party due to lack of interest. Since posting this result yesterday on the blog party showcase post, I have had a few people voice that they enjoy viewing the party and would be sad for it to end.  If there is enough interest, I will look at the possibility of continuing it, as it is something I enjoy too. So this is the time to speak up and leave a comment.

Linking with my friends over on Paint Party Friday, 29 Faces and Palette & Paint.

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Palette & Paint: The Most Exciting Way to Watch Paint Dry

This afternoon I've been painting some frames to get a few of my oils paintings ready for hanging.

It's been lots of fun getting out the acrylic again and having a play.

I even got out the crackle medium for 'Her Green Bunny'. 

Who thought watching paint dry could be so exciting and unpredictable?!

Yes, that's right, the most exciting way to watch paint dry is to apply a thick layer of paint 

over some crackle medium and watch the cracks appear as it dries.  Oh the things that amuse me :)

 'Her Green Bunny' is now ready for sale and if you would like to purchase her, please let me know.

Happy Creating all! 

Linking with Palette & Paint

and 29 Faces

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Studio Update: Catching you up.

It's been a very productive week this week with lots of painting happening.  I've had many things I've wanted to share with you on my blog, and I'm only now finding the time to do so (do you know how that is?) This post was originally called 'the difference in colour' and I was going to talk solely about what a huge difference the colour (tone, intensity and temperature) of a background makes to a portrait. However as I said, lots has happened in the studio since my last post so I've opted to do a quick photo with caption post to catch you up, we are mostly visual people after all, aren't we?

Day 12 of 29 Faces

Day 13 of 29 Faces

Monthly Painters Challenge Painting for 'Opposite Colours'.

I'm feeling very honored to have won!

My Palette last Thursday for Palette & Paint

Day 15 for 29 Faces

Day 16 of 29 Faces

 Day 17, 18, 19 & 20 of 29 Faces

Day 21 of 29 Faces

Day 22 of 29 faces - Self Portrait Finished! 

I'd like to thank you all for your lovely comments on my blog and let you know that I read your comments and visit your blogs when you do comment, even if sometimes I do not comment myself.

Happy Creating, Tracey.

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Lessons Learned

 

Day 10 of 29 Faces

Last night, I was on a role with my self portrait, and I painted into the evening using a bulb with a  yellow tinge in my desk lamp as additional light, so I could see what I was doing more clearly.  This was a big mistake, as I've woken up this morning to find my colors looking quite different to how I left them, the intensity is no longer there and the value has changed too. I will have to purchase a day light bulb for the lamp if I paint at night again.

 

Day 11 of 29 Faces

Believe it or not, the above photo was taken in the morning in soft natural light after I did another sitting to establish my nose, lips and chin shape. I did not add any paint to the background or hair since the previous sitting (top photo) and if you compare the two photos, you will notice the difference in the color intensity and value.  I've been pushing the paint around a lot to bring my features out, the paint has gotten quite muddy as a result, Oil tends to do that the more you push it around, but to make matters worse, I didn't clean my brushes between doing my Monthly Painters Challenge piece and starting this painting, so I was running out of clean brushes and cleaning them roughly in turps and re using them. Big mistake number two.  Sanden says to have plenty of brushes at the ready and that cleaning them in just turps does not get out all the pigment stuck up in the top of the bristle closes to the Ferrel, so you will get cross contamination, ie. mud.  I'm paraphrasing again of course :)  So I have my work cut out for me today to bring out the light and add some lush brush strokes. The good news is, that the form is mostly worked out and I'm happy with the proportions and If I work on this face today, I will be all caught up with the 29 faces!

Do go and visit the month long party, and see what all the other lovely creatives are doing. Happy weekend!

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It's MOI, I'm painting a self portrait

My palette, for P&P

This photo was taken on Thursday, but I didn't get a chance to post.  I mix my paint on a glass frame. I've been using this method for a few weeks now, and I'm really enjoying it.  Did you notice?  It's a new frame (I accidentally cracked the other one). I like this one better as it's bigger and has a very pretty frame. 

 

Day 7 of 29 Faces

I started by mapping out the composition, following John Howard Sanden's 29 Steps. This one is a self portrait, they are really tough to do, have you experienced that? I really struggled with getting the foundations right, this photo is the second version, I had to wipe out what I first did as the proportions were all wrong. In Sanden's book he mentions that Sargent apparently had no problem wiping out his work (often several times) and starting fresh and he urges his students to do the same if the under painting is not structurally sound - I'm paraphrasing of course :) I'm not sure of his exact words. 

 

Day 8 of 29 Faces 

I Blocked in the dark and mid tones. I really long for the day when I can do a portrait in one sitting, I see lots of inspiring videos of other artist doing it (and Sanden does his studies in one and half hours) and to think, this is sitting two and it's still not even close!

 

Day 9 of 29 Faces

I might regret this in the morning, but I just could not resist to take a photo of the progress on my self portrait. I know the photo quality is bad, the conditions were bad, wet oil and un-natural light make for really horrible photos, and usually I would not put this out there with  my name on it, but I just couldn't resist sharing, as I'm a little behind on the 29 Faces as it is. It's day 11.

I'm also sharing with my friends over at Paint Party Friday. Do go and visit, there are so many wonderful creative folk who share and artist Stephanie Corder (an exceptional painter) is being interviewed this week over on the blog for PPF, do check it out, her work is incredible!

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29 FACES: Day 4, 5 & 6

I've been away from the studio the last few days, but have been doing some drawings in my notepad when I find a few fleeting moments here and there. These faces were quick sketches from a book on Australian artist who paint 'Faces'. I'm submitting them for 29 Faces in May.

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PALETTE & PAINT: Out comes the bright colours!

 

 

I scrapped my palette clean today (the bonus of having a glass palette) and mixed up some bright colours for Shae's hat.  It's been a while since I've used such intense colours.These just sing and vibrate next to her skin tones. All my colour mixing exercises have sure come in handy for this painting! Thanks John Howard Sanden.

Linking with Palette & Paint and sharing my portrait with 29 Faces.

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More paint...

 

Playing along with 29 Faces in May

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29 Faces, it's on again.

I'm going to give it another shot...

... 29 faces that is, for those that do not know, I started the 29 faces project back in February and failed to keep up with a face a day.  I thought it would be rather quick and simple to do my faces on the ipad, but it turned out that it took a fair bit of time to paint the ipad faces along side my professional practice. This time I'm going to share with you the development of the portraits I am currently painting in my professional practice.  Above is a cute little girl called Shae, I'm painting her from a photograph taken by her mother. She is a cutie hey?

Playing along with 29 Faces in May

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29 Faces, Day 13: Jack

Doing a face each day on the ipad is proving more difficult than I thought. It's not so much the actual painting that's tripping me up, it's finding the time to sit down and actually do it. The whole aim of this series is to try and capture a likeness of the person I'm painting and develop my observation and painting skills. It's been a hugely beneficial project so far, even though I have been missing a day here and there. I've decided not to beat myself up about it and just do want I can.

   29 Faces: Jack | ipad painting | Application: ArtRage | Stylus: Nomad Brush

29 Faces, Day 11, Audrey (WIP)

   29 Faces: Audrey (WIP) | ipad painting | Application: ArtRage | Stylus: Nomad Brush

STUDIO UPDATE

Time for a quick recap of my week in the studio for PPF!

here goes:

 

 

 

New paintings were taken to The Collective Store.

This month's panting for the MPC was started. 

It's top secret until the 15th, hence the cover up.

More paint was squeezed out onto my palette! 

{sharing with Palette & Paint }

 I unfortunately dropped the ball on my portrait a day...

...and have only done two this week.

I'm hoping to catch up on the weekend.

  

29 Faces, Day 5, Christina

  29 Faces: Christina | ipad painting | Application: ArtRage | Stylus: Nomad Brush

Thanks for the suggestion Razz!

29 FACES, DAY 4: Jeniffer (WIP)

Another work in progress...this time it's Jeniffer Lopez, as suggested by Steffenie Sherrill Sewiw.

  29 Faces: Jeniffer (WIP) | ipad painting | Application: ArtRage | Stylus: Nomad Brush

Jeniffer has come about faster than yesterday's painting of Batman - which, to be honest with you, I was also working on this morning, and did not finish.  Jeniffer will need more work in the coming weeks as well, I'll also upload this painting when it's finished.

29 FACES, DAY 3:Batman (WIP)

This is a work in progress, I'll upload the full image once complete. 

  29 Faces: Batman (WIP) | ipad painting | Application: ArtRage | Stylus: Nomad Brush