Oil on paper
8.3"x11.7"
A few others:
calli ryan |
"The Wall" (In progress) Oil on paper 8.3"x11.7" A few others: Going to finish 3 of the larger size by the end of the week, check back then!
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I'm in Barcelona for the next month! I'm hoping to keep up plein air painting, here is one of a plaza nearby. I started with a pencil sketch and then came back the next day to add the watercolors. I hoped to share the peaceful late fall, late afternoon atmosphere.
Making progress on the Liberty Bell painting this week. It's hard to see the detail in the above shot, so I've included a close-up of the middle and left archways. These are still in progress. The middle archway view (above) depicts several historically significant buildings: Philosophical Library, Drexel Building, Second Bank of the US, Carpenters' Hall, First Bank of the US, Merchant Exchange Building. I've included some Philadelphians hanging clothes to dry, taking a morning stroll, and calling to an escaped cat on a roof. Imagining people going about their lives 150 years ago is amazing. The left view (above) contains one historical building, Christ Church, in the distance on the left.
Click read more below to see the many sources that enabled me to make these drawings. Above is the finished version of the card project I posted about last Wednesday. This is the 12th card I've made for this family. All of these cards are in the gallery below in chronological order. The first one is from 1998 (I missed a year here and there)! The girls (and I) grow up over the course of these cards. Back to the most recent card, for those curious about the process behind it. Since the last post I made a few changes: Flipped the drawing horizontally. Moved the baby's hand closer to the mother's face. Printed the whole thing out, painted in the colors 'in real life,' scanned this painted version and did several hours of photoshop trickery to integrate the painted elements and hair detail into the digital image. See the process in the slideshow below. If you are interested in commissioning a project, I would love to hear from you. I am currently open to commissions beginning in March 2015. Don't get stuck on a waiting list! Email me at [email protected].
I've been making custom holiday greeting cards annually for the same family for twelve years now. Two sisters have always been the main characters of these cards. Several years ago a dog joined the family. This year their family has grown by one more, a baby boy. Above is the drawing before coloring. You can see the almost final product and the drafts leading up to it in the slideshow below. I started by making three drafts on tracing paper, the last of which I scanned and then redrew in photoshop. For the final draft, I will redraw and add color in real life so it doesn't look so... photoshoppy. Check back next Wednesday for the finished project and pictures of all the other cards I've done over the years. Here's what the full size (3'x5') liberty bell painting looks like right now, after about 2 weeks of work. I'm using acrylic to block out the big shapes. For now, simplified geometric forms stand in for shapes that will later become organic (IE The bell looks like an upside-down flower pot at the moment). This is the backbone of the painting. I've been taking regular pictures while I'm working so I can upload a timelapse video of the entire process when it's done. Compare the current painting with draft using the slideshow below. You'll notice a few changes so far. I am currently working on two commissions for Beneficial Bank. Both are to be 3'x5' oil paintings. One will depict the Liberty Bell, the other will depict a dock scene. To begin, I need to make a fully resolved drawing which will then serve as the foundation for the painting. I redesign and redraw until I am completely happy with every aspect. In my experience, this phase takes just as much time (if not more) than the painting itself! I've already worked through tons of drafts for each piece, some of which I'll describe below (click on images to view larger). The liberty Bell
At last, I arrived at a final draft, and eagerly moved on to color. I decided to set the scene at sunrise given the opportune eastern view. I also added the bell's inscription. Before beginning a final painting, I would still need to do one last study of the bell and the figure to clarify the details in my mind. I will also be including a kite in the distance and candle as nods to Ben Franklin, though the positioning of these are still to be determined.
In my next post, which should be up sometime next week, I will go over the drafting process behind the other painting. Time-lapse of a painting I finished today (an enlargement of a previous work).
On display now through February in gallery 128 at PAFA Above is a slideshow of snapshots documenting the course of a recent landscape drawing. There is a big jump between the 2nd & 3rd image. This is partially because I slacked in the documentation after one drawing session, but it also suggests a change in pursuit that I did not recognize at the time, but in hindsight seems to warrant further investigation. Sometimes the most "finished" state just seems more complicated, rather than necessarily better than earlier states. To view larger images, click read more and open the thumbnails below.
“Once the object has been constructed, I have a tendency to discover in it, transformed & displaced, images, impressions, facts which have deeply moved me” – Alberto Giacometti I did a drawing from a studio set up in Scott Noel's class this morning. I was enjoying the beautiful morning light, and tried to approach the drawing as a record of visual attention alternatively skimming and bearing down through the space. {Play slideshow below to see how the drawing progressed over time.} Still working on the portrait commission I posted the other day. I've added the latest stage to the slideshow below. This portrait is a good example of how paintings don't progress linearly; as one part develops, I may also lose something that was working better before. In this latest stage, I've lost some of the expression of the boy on the left in comparison to the previous stage; the boy on the right's nose is looking weird. However, in my experience it is best to build the painting as a whole and not obsess over one area or feature. Will be working on this one more tomorrow.
In other news, I will be working at the opening reception of the Philadelphia Pew Gallery's new show on Saturday night. Several of my paintings will be on display there as well. Slideshow below: started a new painting in the kitchen this afternoon. Click images to enlarge: Happiest with the first one. The lightbulb painting might have some potential. The kitchen paintings seem to be going through an awkward adolescent stage and are really testing my patience. Updated progress slideshows of the kitchen paintings: Finished the shoe painting friday night. (Click above to enlarge) Below is a slideshow of the painting's main stages from start to finish. Started a new painting tonight that seems to be coming together rather quickly. After working on it for less than 2 hrs I think it is about 80% done. This happens to me very rarely. Excited! Factors that may have worked to my advantage: strong directional light source, objects of personal interest, energy drink I had beforehand. Now that I think about it, the works I have been struggling with are all interiors. Maybe I'll put those aside for now and allow myself to concentrate on still lifes again.
Decided to change the bathroom painting from portrait to landscape. Like the bedroom painting, this has resulted in basically starting over. Progression below shows the work I did on the painting today. Really want to finish this one before Wednesday. Changes made over 2 days. Will write more at some later point Recent Inspiration:
A progression of the previous painting, still unfinished. I changed my position/vantage point/perspective slightly about half way through the day yesterday. This took me back to square one, more or less.
I do this with 99% of the paintings I make: I Get to a point where the painting could probably be resolved in a day's work. Then I decide it's just not working because ___. Sometimes I see this habit as a weakness, and maybe it is. Maybe it's just me being afraid to finish the thing. Maybe I should develop the patience to do more thumbnail sketches beforehand and just commit to one. Sometimes I see this habit as a strength, maybe it's good to push the painting further. It's hard to tell whether a composition will work in a thumbnail sketch. Maybe if I didn't start over so often I would have more finished paintings. But maybe they'd be crappy finished paintings. Maybes aside, it's frustrating and invigorating at the same time to take a step back. I will give it a rest and start a new painting today. I was excited about the start of this painting but am having trouble deciding how to resolve the right side. I am painting this while standing just outside the door to our kitchen, and the doorframe completely blocks my view to the right of the third window. This doorframe is very well lit and about 5 inches from my face. I think including it in the painting successfully would be extremely difficult, so I may try to alter my perspective (step to the left) so that it is not longer dominating my view.
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