The pieces are joined !

Done.

I've finalised the details of my painting by reducing the quantity of medium mixed in with my acrylic. 70/30.  Also, an artist friend made me glaze over the entire piece with a very diluted warm yellow to meld the composition that seemed too disjointed. 

This was a great exercise in the discovery of mediums and their applications, as well as the practice of really looking and studying the subject.

 



 BUT (and there is always a but), for one, I must have been influenced with the upcoming Christmas season to keep my colors so prominently red and green. But, I think, since I'm not that really that interested in super/hyper realistic paintings unless there is more to the mere representation of the subject, I wanted some elements of the final piece to suggest more.  I put great effort in working the background to lightly suggest the form of the original apple (October) as well as keep the background color plastic and graphic. I find this piece has become surrealistic and it's always been an Art movement that has intrigued me...  Need more reflection on this...

Since this month November is coming to a close, I decided to complete the drawing portion of the study with ink in different techniques I had recently been taught.  Dry Brush, wet in wet, Pen nibs and brushes.  Ink always surprises me.  The results of working with it are often unexpected because the medium is fluid, but not always to my satisfaction.  Still,  I learn allot about my own patience when working with ink. 

On to the next month, the next photo, the next composition.  On to the next adventure in discovery.  Hope you will join me...

GLAZING - It's all in the recipe

This week I focussed on adding on top of the grisaille two or three thin coasts of color.  I used Acrylic paint mixed with Gloss medium, and layer by layer I added details and color.

What I discovered is that, contrary to Oil Pail, the Acrylic mediums make the paint "slippery", for lack of a better word.  I needed to be careful to apply the paint on top of the previous coat without pickup the paint that was already there.  That meant letting it dry between each coat.

Also, I'm ending up with saturated colors that are a little darker than I would have hoped for.  The grisaille must have been a little darker than it should have and I did not notice it until I started using color.  Correcting the tone is now harder.  In some cases I need to go back and lighten my background with Titanium White mixtures, to then be able to apply my layer of glaze mix.

 

The recipe I'm using is 30% paint to 70% medium.  I wish to add the color slowly so I may keep my tone clear, and unless absolutely necessary, I do not use white.

I also started adding closeup details and in this I added very little medium and kept my color purer.  70% color and 30% glaze.  In some cases I did mix in some Titanium White to get the flatness of color and the vibrant whites I wanted.








Photo - Apple 2

If we compare to the photo, I think I'm coming along nicely except for the Background.  I'm realy not sure what I'm going to to.  Here is the original photo I took. 

Any comment or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


So I tried ...

Well, this week I can't say I'm exactly satisfied with the results of my endeavours. I'm happy I tried and tested a few things, beginning the prints I began the previous week in class.

Intaglio printing was the subject and I had created a dry-point etching on acetate. To everyone's surprise, it worked great, but let us be clear that this soft material does not allow for many reproductions. It should be used for Monotype work and testing designs. Because the Acetate is so soft, the Burr created with the dry point does not last more than 5 passes in the printing press. In light of the above, it was perfect for testing ideas.

The original scratched surface was passed and I was so surprised on how dark it was. I guess I had not cleared and wiped the ink enough. Then, we created a ghost print from the ink that was left on the plate and, obviously, the results were very pale, but surprisingly cleared. These 2 first prints I used and transformed with other mediums.

 The first pass I applied Oil Pastels as follows:  Not exactly to my liking and a little dark because of the under printing, but interesting lesson.

 

 

 

 

On the Ghost print I used watercolour pencils: Much better and I understand now how many Artists print and then add an aquawash of Aquarelle wash on top of the print.  Interesting!

 

Lastly, I reworked the plate and added texture with sandpaper around the previous etching and here are the results:  Way too dark and overworked.  All the delicate details got lost and the background took over the image.  Nice to know that sandpaper can do such effects though...

 

 

 

I do like dry point allot and I'm thinking of so many ways I can use this application (If I have access to printing presses).

 The other piece I finished this week is the Chinese ink on Muslin.  I love the texture and softness it gave, and as I mentioned last week, in the future, I will put some type of barrier between the Muslin and the frame.

 

We're learning and any tricks and comments are always appreciated.  You can always sign in as anonymous ;)

If there are any other mediums and tricks you would like me to try - just let me know...

The first stages for more

I found the following quote and it suits this entry perfectly...

 

If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all.Michelangelo

 



Each stage of a project requires its' own skills and time.  As I've learned in this last week, preparation is everything. Please note that none of the following works are finished.

 

I prepared this grisaille as an underpainting and tone study.  In this case I used sap green to tint the grey and help even out the tone.  I also did my this in thin layers and in Acrylic which dries faster. 

 



The second "unfinished" study is China Ink on frames muslin. 

 

 I knew it would give me something special and I had already stretched the Muslim and applied Clear Gesso on a frame.  I love the first initial results.

 

 

 

 



The only problem I foresee is that the clear background within the frame distorts the image.  I will know, next time to add paper of cardboard between the muslin and the frame while mounting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirdly,  my printing class finally moved to Intaglio (Dry Point) and I've been using Acetates to scratch on because I did not have metal or plexi plates to work on.  Great discovery.  It works!

 

My first study was done to find out if I could use acetate with printing ink:

My Second study, I actually used on press which is why it is reversed.  I also used coarse sand paper to add grit to the background.

 

 



Lastly,  I did some Vitrea Paint studies on acetate.  (I personally prefer the photos to the originals and I prefer without the black background)  I've been wanting to test these for quite a while and I realize now that I need to use this sparingly and with reflection.  The light and colors are overwhelming and pure, and it will require additional study of this medium on my part.

 

That' sit for now... Enjoy

 

 

 

And then there were 2

I had forgotten how much time it takes to really focus on drawing.  Taking my time to really look at the subject and focus on some of the details.  Of course, contour, line, tone, hue, light and reflections are all part of the study. 

I also forgot how complex a colored object is and how difficult it can be to convert such a colorful subject to greyscale.  Oh, sure it's easy on a computer, but your mind needs training and practice to perceive tone and light ,without hues. 

My actual first drawings of this image and subject 'Apples 2', began with the simplest drawings in ink - Black and White VS Color.  Just to see if I could make up the different tones in their simplest forms. Two tones - two colors.

My second step had more to do with a printing class I'm taking at this time and a home printing studio I set up.  This is a Linocut in two colors on two different color card stock I had.

And yes, when printing, the image is mirrored.  I did try to do these on BKF and Sennelier paper at home but the results are simply not as clean when printing from home without an actual press.  To my surprise, the version I prefer is the toned paper.

'Apples 2" will be the subject this month and I can't wait to see what will come of this...  All your comments are appreciated.  have a great week. 

Lynn