PAINT OUT LOUD is an "artumentary" of my paintings, from the
original sketch, to the finished oil painting, signed and framed.
This is #3 in my series of sharing secrets and insights into my creative process.
An artist learns to paint by painting. Each painting becomes our teacher and
paves the path for the one to follow.
It's been too crazy busy to be blogging! And yes, its been far too long.
I traveled, moved and then I pulled off a two month summer art show,
got accepted into five juried exhibitions, and also won three awards!
It was a great summer. WHEW!
Now that it's Fall, I am back in my studio where I have more room to paint larger pieces.
I met so many wonderful customers this summer. When I shared my works I told everyone that
I would never ever paint one of my complicated, detailed, night scenes. Nope, never again.
One should never say never. (See below).
Did you know that rain means increase and blessings?
I took photographs in New York of Times Square - 47th Street on a rainy night in November.
It was quite cold. My fingers were glued to the camera. The reflections from the city lights onto
the sidewalk drew me in. I stood in the street waiting for the light to change.
They honked, screamed, yelled! No matter. I got the shot.
I chose a wonderful Raphael Premium archival oil primed linen panel, made in Italy.
These panels are extraordinary.
This is my initial sketch. I wanted to get all the figures and the scene organized into a
wonderful composition. I used pastel pencil, water, Q-tips to draw and blend,
and a few paper towels.
I generally start keeping it loose and wanted to maintain that momentum!
I further defined the drawing and values for the painting.
I really took this drawing further than I normally do,
but I wanted to ensure I had everything in place. I used Pastel pencil
and Liquid and used Q-tips for drawing and blending.
I also added in a few oil colors of raw and burnt umber
throughout using a flat brush.
Did I mention this oil primed linen panel is exceptional!
A really good substrate makes all the difference.
I decided I wanted to get some details in now so I wouldn't get lost,
as I often do, when working on complicated scenes!
I say to myself, "hmmm, where was I?"
I'm terrible on directions too.
It was time to add some color. I added white and some beautiful grey greens
which balanced nicely with the warm umbers.
Knowing the focus was going to be the Roxy sign, I began giving this area
detail. I added more burnt umber and a little ivory black
to the carriage and reflections.
I added a beautiful gray turquoise to the pole and garbage receptacle
and several other grays in background. I love the way the grays balance with
the umbers and darks. There's a lot going on with this painting.
I actually fell in love with where the painting was at this moment.
I could have stopped, but I wanted to get some vibrant colors in the painting
to make certain areas really pop!
I'm happy with the progress. It's time to add some yellows into the mix.
I lay in some toned down yellows, almost in a dry brush impasto style.
I don't want to overwhelm the piece. I mix some of the yellow hues into the
grays and continue establishing the lights, halftones and darks.
I begin to define some of the details of the window on the right.
Some of the buildings get additional strokes.
I've added more color. And it's FUN!
If you haven't figured out by now, RED is my favorite color.
Almost all of my paintings have red in them somewhere.
I wanted to balance the tones of red throughout. The values seem right. My first teacher
Helen Van Wyk always said, "If you get the value right, the painting will be right."
If I question my values, I take a photo of my painting thus far. I go to photoshop
and turn the photo into a black and white. Easy peasy.
We are so lucky to have these tools at our fingertips.
(I'm sure you can do the same thing in photos and in preview and many other programs.)
I take photographs of each painting I am creating as it progresses.
This is a great way to see my painting on my computer screen and view the work
from another perspective. I enjoy zooming in on different areas of the piece
to see how the strokes are working, or not working.
The painting is getting near its completion. I've added details throughout the scene
and begun placing some of my "rain" strokes.
All it really needs are a few more punches of color here and there
and several details including some lights in the windows of the buildings in the
upper left corner to add a little flavor of subdued light.
After a full night at the easel I sat and viewed the piece for quite some time.
I made the final decisions about what the painting needed or didn't need.
I have come to learn that when I promise myself I will leave some sections alone,
to keep my promise. I learned from those many times when I was going to
just touch up an area and make it better. Two hours later I'm wondering why didn't
I just leave it alone! EEEgads!
I hate it when that happens.
Sometimes I have to de-construct a piece with sandpaper to re-paint an area.
This painting required very few changes, which makes me happy.
I added the higher highlights and beefed up the colors, especially
the yellows and reds. I added more of my "rain" strokes and also added some
thicker, "funner" strokes throughout to keep the painting lively and colorful.
"close up"
"close up"
"Times Square - Roxy"
oil on Italian linen panel
16" x 20"
This is what my palette looked like after I finished the painting.
(Next time we'll talk brushes or substrates or color mixing!)
Leave comments or email me with your thoughts!
Blessings,
September
Coming soon! I will be offering a limited number of online art lessons and art guidance with your paintings. If you want to learn how to paint or feel stuck
with your creativity this one on one program is for you.
Email me for more information!
