Sunday, March 27, 2016

Looking Up - Almost done


Looking Up  - Oils

Almost completed.  It will need a little touch up and I still need to paint the sides of the canvas, but yes, this one is just about done.  I like the color combinations that I wound up with.  There is a good energy, plenty of visual interest, good balance of values and colors and it works for my initial focus of the content of the painting.  If one is laying on the ground, looking up, disorientated, head spinning...  this is what the world looks like when you first open your eyes.

It will be part of the SAG Spring Show at the gallery at Market Common from 4/15-4/25/16.

If it doesn't sell during the show, I will probably use it in my gallery display beginning in May.


Sunday, March 13, 2016

Looking Up 3







Looking Up 3


Worked hard on the background for the figures.  Even though the sketch showed bands of color, I always had in the back of my mind to make the background more of a smooth area of blended color.  These areas turned into circles or orbs of color.  I have a yellowish one at the top, a greenish one on the bottom and a bluish one on the middle left.  I changed the color of the bluish one from the purple.  I felt I needed more visual weight on the bottom so I made the greens the deeper values.  Once I get the figures in the colors will change again.  I like the way the figure on the middle right seems to be created from the overlapping circles.  As well as the upper red figure from the blue and yellow.

What looks good on a 3"x4" rough sketch does not always translate well onto a 30"x40" canvas.  The sketch is a guide - not a contract.  I almost always modify, adjust and downright change things as I go.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Looking Up - blocked in



  

Looking Up - Blocked In

Earlier in this blog I posted a sketch of my idea for this painting.  It is on a 40" H by 30" W canvas.  I used a block by block transfer of the image onto the canvas.  Next I block in the painting with thin acrylic paints.  I have added, removed and changed some things already.

I do this to audition the colors, values and placement of the design.  I mostly like it.  It will change.  I already decided to bring the blue figure in the lower left corner into the green more.  I think it will balance the upper right area better.

I will do more blending, different colors when I switch to oils.  The acrylics dry faster and are easier to quickly slap onto the canvas.  At this stage I do not want to spend too much time on applying the layer of color.  I think of this as just another step of transferring the idea from paper to canvas.  Only with the next step do I consider myself creating the painting.  However, if for some reason a small portion of this layer does show through, it will just blend in to the finish product.  

Now for the fun part!