A Painting A Day

 Went to the three hour live painting session at Nysha's today. Our model was very thin, and so I kept thinking the arms looked too thin but then that was what I saw. Now that I'm home, I think her left arm is too long. Again I didn't measure, and I don't have reference photos so it will have to just stay this way. I think the problem is the hand goes down a bit too far and the break in the arm needs to go up a smidge.

 I realized on the way home that I didn't use a single drop of yellow ochre in her skin. But her skin seemed to have very cool tones so I stuck to the blues, purples and cooler reds. I loved the light - Nysha has such a talent with lighting the subjects. His lighting on her was very dramatic and I loved the pose.

Fitting all of this on a 12x16 board meant I couldn't get the detail I'd like on her face, hands, etc. but was a good study and I feel like I learned a lot!

If you're coming from Facebook - made ya look!! Haha!! The truth is I planned it this way so there is a suggestion of nudity. It really shouldn't be offensive to anyone.

I've been traveling and working a lot so I haven't had time to paint, and I miss it so very much! This morning I was able to go to the Friday paint group and get this done. So happy to be painting. This was the first time I've painted a male nude - I was pretty happy with what I was able to get done in 3 hours. I will be traveling a lot more over the next three weeks so I'm not sure if I will find time to paint, but I hope so!  

Painting from life at Nysha Studio in Bartlett this morning.

We had a great model! Beautiful girl. And it was a great group of artists - Sue Foell, Holly Wolfe, Terry Kenney, Jenny Miller, Tim Minshew, and Nysha.

 I really enjoyed this pose. I think the back is so beautiful. The skin tones were so varied with her tan lines and the lighting - making for an interesting study! So that's why I'm calling it "Bikini Line!" Haha It's a 12"x16" Oil on Board.

Our live painting group has nudes occasionally. This was my painting from last night. Especially where I live, people don't seem to have very much of an open mind about nudes - they think they are obscene. It seems like every art exhibit I've applied to be in, I'm told "no nudes."

I think the human body is a work of art, and is beautiful - no matter the shape, or age, or size. I also have observed that every true art gallery has nude statues and paintings. But here in Memphis, even the gallery owners admit they have to consign the nudes to a back room. So it appears that people in the Renaissance were much more open minded than we are today! It's a shame, and I guess I will continue to be a "rebel."

Went to Ann's studio for painting from life last night - this was the result. I do have permission from the model to use the painting. You can't recognize her anyway because the face is so abstract. I really need to work on hands and feet. I think it will do me good to do some individual studies on hands and feet. I might do that some at these painting from life sessions. I have to say it's wonderful to get together with a group of artists each week. I learn so much from them.

So last night when I got home I decided to clean the sludge out of my mineral spirits, and I had (what I think) was a wonderful idea. I was pulling all this gray gunk out of the bottom of the glass, and thought - instead of finding a way to dispose of this, why don't I use it to tone my canvases? It was a lovely color of gray. So I just used a cotton cloth and rubbed the gray on my canvases. I had enough sludge to tone about 14 canvases. I think they turned out really well, and it's a wonderful way to recycle. I can't think of any reason NOT to do this. Here's how they look:

I have to say that I'm finding oil painting to be very eco-friendly. I hardly ever use mineral spirits while painting (thanks to getting good brands of paint) so I only use the spirits to clean up my brushes after I work, and now I've found a way to dispose of the used mineral spirits, so I end up with no waste whatsoever.

Oh, and just a note about the cotton cloth I use to wipe on the boards. I am storing those in a tin can outside, and let the mineral spirits evaporate out of them. I have read that I can burn them and that way there is no ill effect on the environment. I use paper towels when I am only wiping paint, because the paint only has oil in it and is fine to throw away, but when I am using mineral spirits, I use cotton rags.

And one more little tidbit because I am trying to be such a thrifty artist. I was actually looking for brushes on ebay, and came across the deal of the century. I just bought 25 40ml tubes of Rembrandt paint for $25 from someone who had just listed it for buy it now. My lucky day!

 

This is my effort from last nights painting from life. There are some glaring drawing mistakes here - the head is too small - the hands even though unfinished are too big - the arm on the left is too thin - etc etc. But I did what I could in two and a half hours and can't take a photo of the model because she is nude, so can't fix it when I get home. I think that's a good indication that I am not measuring enough (or at all!) in the beginning - so I must do better with that.

 There are some things I like about it though, in particular I think my flesh tone colors were better. I think I did a better job of sculpting the paint. I don't know how to describe it really - but what I mean is using the brush strokes to follow the contours of the body. She had a lot of reflected light and I tried to see it and capture it. It is a "study" after all, and so it's important to learn something each time I paint.