Tuesday, August 14, 2012

In Progress

oil 20x16 I've been working on this larger piece and thought I'd show the progression as of today. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I've been painting only small paintings for three years. I knew I needed to start painting larger, and seeing the Edgar Payne exhibit at PMCA on Saturday gave me the kick in the pants I needed. Bigger brushes and bigger piles of paint feels SOOO good!!!
The arrangement is backed by an olive drab drape, which I will use for value and shape but alter the color a bit in my painting. That jug is not part of the painting, it's just to weight the front of my platform because the vase is so heavy. I toned the canvas with alizarin and cad yellow.
I started with the flowers first because they'll move and die. I did have to wipe out one whole section of alstromerias because they got overworked. I like to do flowers almost like Chinese brush painting, just a few strokes. All these shots were taken with my beloved iPhone. :-)
Loved painting all the subtle colors in the vase. Maybe the sides aren't perfectly matching, but i think I can adjust when I paint the background.
Early on I decided to place the vase slightly off center which necessitated another object for balance. Grapes seemed perfect. Not wanting to go to the store right then, I grabbed some fake grapes I had laying around, a bit concerned that they'd look fake in the painting. I think not. After painting them, I sprayed them with water so I could see where the highlights would be. So glad I've painted lots of real grapes. It helped.

8 comments:

  1. fantastic...what background color?

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  2. So fun to see the process Karen. This is going to be a beauty. Already is. Love the shadow colors in the white flowers.

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  3. It is great to see the progress! In fact, so nice to see a larger painting, too. I, too, have started working big again and it feels so great and somehow just seems like it is more viable art, don't you think? So far, I really like what you've done, Karen.

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  4. This is beautiful and the photos are great! I love seeing what you are doing and love all the commentary right down to what you primed the canvas with. I can hardly wait to see it completed.

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  5. It is so easy to get stuck painting small. But I love it. I have painted a couple of larger ones recently and find it a wonderful challenge. Loving this. Cant wait to see the finished painting.I will surely be watching for it.

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  6. I love to see your work at different stages like this. Can't wait
    to see the final work.

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  7. Thanks for sharing your progress. Lookin' good! The flowers look so fresh and beautiful! I've just begun my small painting journey but I can see how the time can slide by and one day you realize it's time to look at some other possibilities.:) The experience you gained from those small ones has to be paying off now!

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