Shell, Leaf & Pitcher Grisaille

Grisaille - Oil on Panel - 8x10"

This is the first oil pass of the grisaille for a piece I am working on. The original drawing can be viewed at http://tcostescu.blogspot.ca/2014/07/shell-leaf-pitcher-study-graphite-on.html For this painting I transferred the drawing onto the panel using an oil transfer (I will blog about how to do this in the near future).

Once the transfer was dry, I did a light burnt umber layer to workout the main values, unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of this step. Next time ;)

When the burnt umber layer was completely dry, I used my pre-mixed oil paints from a value of 2 to 9 (2 darkest value, 9 near white value) At this stage I focused on trying to really correctly record the tilts and angles of my subjects from my still life set up. Working from life is more challenging than working from a photo but so much more fulfilling as there is just so much more information about the form to work from.

The paint is applied very thinly with little to no medium. When I do use the medium (Lean Medium - 1 part Odorless Mineral Spirits mixed with 2 parts Refined Linseed Oil) I just dip the tip of my brush in the medium and wipe off the excess on a rag. The medium is not necessary at this stage, you could just use straight paint very thinly or if you don't like solvents yet want a bit more buttery paint, a non-toxic medium like Gamblin Solvent-Free Gel medium can be used very thinly with the paint.

Although it is not necessary, I will likely do a second pass using only the gray values to further refine the form before moving onto the first color pass. I find the more "correct" I can get each pass, the easier the next pass is and if I can get the painting fairly resolved before adding color, the more I can really focus on color and all it's challenges.

If you are interested in learning this technique I am offering a class starting Jan 19, 2015. For more information and to register visit http://register.asapconnected.com/EventDetail.aspx?pk=343460

Comments

Graydon Parrish Workshop - Fabric Study

Oil on Canvas Board and Set Up I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to take another workshop with the amazing, talented, generous, patient...I could go on, Graydon Parrish . This is the third time I have had the opportunity to take one of his workshops (see Workshop 1 and Workshop 2 for more info) and every time I am amazed at how much I learn yet how relaxed and fun the process is. When I learn on my own, it is more like a battle of wills and frustration and as I tend to learn by realizing what not to do....and then learning by the process. The workshop was two weeks long during which time Graydon walked us through setting up the still life which he set up as a work of art in itself. He showed us how to determine the colors of the fabric and how the light affects the hue, value and chroma. He had us paint half a sphere and cube with the local color to better understand what we were seeing. We then mixed the color strings we needed by matching the munsell chips to w

Tips for Storing Oil Paint Between Sessions

Well, that was fun, well fun like a long workout is when you are done ;) It definitely helps to have good music when paint mixing as sometimes it can seem like it can take forever to get the exact mix you are looking for. It is so worth it though as there is nothing better than having all of your paint premixed in clean little tubes so that you can squish out fresh paint every time you paint. I have thought of mixing while sipping a glass wine or martini but I am sure I would end up with very sub par mixes ;) I don't premix all my colors but I find it so helpful to premix a flesh palette as I may not get the chance to paint every day, especially in the summer, and there is nothing worse than mixing up your paint and then having to through it all out because it did not keep between sessions. Also, as some days I only have an hour to two to paint and if I have all of my colors premixed, I get to spend almost all of the time painting rather than getting ready to

Basic Inquiry Life Drawing - Portrait Sketch

Graphite Portrait on Toned Paper - 6x9" Well I finally did it, I finally made it down to check out Basic Inquiry Life Drawing in Vancouver. Why did it take me so long??!?!? I usually go to Suite E Life Drawing in Coquitlam but I have been so busy with teaching at nights that I only made it to a few sessions this season so I was desperate to get some life drawing in...and I was not disappointed :) The set up was really nice as they have a curtain that hangs from the ceiling with the lighting enclosed which can be directed on the model. Then the outside of the curtain area hey have florescent lighting so that there is good lighting on the easels...which is kind of important ;) Room Set Up The model was lovely and was so enjoyable to draw. The session is 3 hrs but with breaks works out to about 2.5 hrs and I draw sooo slooooww. So I had hoped to get more darks in on the left side of her face and then add some lights with white chalk and if time permitted finesse her

Tracey Costescu Fine Art

Search