CommissionII: His Close Up

I put off his head till last because I just knew I wasn't going to make him look normal. Lucky for me I was wrong and besides his hair taking forever and a day his face came together really well. And I am lying about the hair. It really wasn't that hard, I just kept working from dark shadow to light, from warm shadow to cool highlights. I was really surprised how it turned out.

And really, I can't talk much about his face because it feels like I put some darks, filled up to highlight and played with a bit of cool and warm tones, but everything ended up in the right place and that included his eyes.

I love when things are in the right place and I surprise myself. Though it almost feels like I'm cheating because I haven't worked hard and where'd the paint go?

Anyway, I was thrilled! It's like I'm getting better at painting. More practice! Here I come!

CommissionII: Her Close Up

I suppose I should just put all the finished images and what nots in one post, but all of the images are in my phone and I can only post one image at a time. It doesn't bother me too much, but for something like this it does sort of bother me. If it wasn't such a hassle to email my photos to myself and download them and make sure they look right I'd go ahead and do that. But I'm traveling and my computer is tucked away. I'll see what I can do.

The actual photograph I was working with was completely washed out. Full frontal lights, and forty some odd years of fading. There wasn't a whole lot to go on feature wise and a lot of this, frankly, I made up.

I added some color to the shadow so it wasn't a dark gray, I made sure there was some semblance of a mid tone, and I made sure people could distinguish between the lightest and the highlights. No washing out. Much. I'll post a picture of the photo later so you can see exactly what I was looking at. Believe me: I fixed problems. Her hair really was /that/ large. It had a lot less red in it. Truthfully it had a lot less color in it from fading, and I did my best to make it look better. It's not her, it's just what so many years do to not light fast inks!

Two more posts on this commission and tomorrow I start something completely different! Three new small commissions, will have two done tomorrow, maybe three if I get the information I need, and one larger pencil work I hope, but that'll keep me busy for a week or two!

CommissionII: Finally Finished!

Well, I say finally mostly because I used that phrase on commission the first and thought it would be a good tag line. All in all it wasn't that painful a painting for me. I took my time, didn't get over whelmed, and I think it turned out well. It's certainly not going to go down in history as one of my mature pieces or anything, but considering how I had been apart from painting I did well. Painting is a cruel mistress to those who spurn her.

I'm afraid this photo doesn't really do it justice and I plan to try to get a better photo of it tomorrow. Can't promise anything, but I do have details of the faces in the painting.

Mostly I'm used to using way more paint. This was very bare bones for me. You can see the under coat of raw sienna! This kind of bugs me even though it looks good. It looks good in the photo and it looks good in real life. I just wish I can convince part of me that it is good. The main reason I used so little paint was I got the effect I needed without adding more. The second reason is this painting is huge and I am not getting a ton of money for it and I can't afford to cover the painting with any more paint. Had it turned out bad I would have uses as much painting as needed to fix it. I was just lucky. Or skilled. Not talented.

CommissionII: Just the guy left

Only pausing from painting to take a quick shot this morning. I'll take another as soon as I finish. Trying to get done today!

CommissionII: Getting Close

I'll type something tomorrow. I'm almost certain I'm getting a migraine.

CommissionII: I Keep Forgetting Photos!

Here is a picture of what I did yesterday. I'll probably post what I do today, tomorrow :P

CommissionII: On Air

Well, I managed to paint on my commission, live, in front of... six people. Two of those being my cousin and myself. I think that's a pretty good number, considering I might have tweeted about it. Maybe.

I also received an HD webcam today! I wasn't able to use it for the show, but I'm hoping if I stay up late enough tonight, I can get my computer to recognize it. Or do what I normally do in this situation. Yell for help really loudly and hope someone here, or maybe on google, can help me. If I can't do it tomorrow after sleep and Neill is unable to fix it, I will blame my computer and save up money to buy a new one.

I still have my commission that I worked on for awhile yesterday. Would have worked on it more had I been able to sleep last night and have woken up at a decent hour. Ok, ten isn't bad. But I need a running start! I need to get up! After everyone else, of course, but I'm weird like that. I'm feeling sleepy right now, and it's midnight, so hopefully I'll go straight to sleep and wake up at 830 or 9. That way I can get in a full days worth of painting, and not a half day. I've almost finished his jacket, got a lot of paint down on hers but had to stop because it was running and bit and instead of adding more of my paint, I just decided to let it dry and work on her face. And his face. I'll be glad when I get done with their clothes and background and then put the paint where it matters! I'm so oldschool, not treating all parts of the canvas equally!

And I've got another project I was thinking about doing but never really got together. Until now! I have all the stuff I need for it, and after I paint long and hard tomorrow I'll be starting more book binding! I have a couple of post bound books I want to make, and so I bought the book board I would need and some new paper. And I got all the stuff I needed to hand make me some paper! I was inspired by my brother who made some really awesome paper and that seemed like something I would want to do. And it was cheaper than buying the paper I wanted. So instead of five dollars a sheet I spent exactly 20 dollars and I can make all the paper I want. For all eternity and long as Melissa and Neill still have paper they need to shred. And I've got paper I need to shred, come to that!

I also have one more commission that I might be able to start soon. I probably mentioned it. I don't want to say much more about it other than that I will probably have one. I just have to get a dreaded price list together and be as detailed as possible. I'm sure everyone hates doing that. When I figure out how I am going to do it, I'll post about it. I'm sure everyone needs help with that! Especially me and it will help to be able to look back on how I did it when I have to do it again!

Sleep time. Definitely sleep time. I've done all the computer work I can! I need to be fresh for art.

CommissionII: The Video

Sorry I don't have a photograph of what I've done today. It got really dark really fast, and anything I photograph now will look incredibly yellow. The moment that light bulb goes out I'm putting in some natural light bulbs. I hope I don't find one that's too blue. I might review some bulbs soon. I'll post a photograph here tomorrow in any event.

But what I managed to set up is video! So I can hook up my computer and have myself painting online for everyone to see my process. I figure it will at least be fun. I remember I did it several years ago and I enjoyed it. And now I have a better space for painting, if I can make enough room for my web camera holder, or the third easel. I'll see how it looks when it's light out. The camera is pretty blurry so if I make money I might go for another camera too!

The only real problem I have is my computer does not like sound at all. It won't play any sound, and it won't record any sound. It has been doing this for awhile, and I will miss being able to answer questions and explain what I am doing while I paint. I remember doing that the first time I painted online and it made me feel less awkward, like I was an actual teacher, and not some random artist in front of a webcam.

The link to my art show profile is HERE. It's a little bit dull and drab, but I'll take time to fix it up if I actually keep doing this. I might decide I look to awful or paint too badly to continue. It seems like it will be fun though. I can dress up or something. And wear a smock. Isn't that a fun word? Smock. Smock smock smock smock smock! What's wrong with me?! It's late and I don't want to have another zombie dream. We'll go with that. Anyway, I plan on painting sometime after lunch because that's when the light is the best for video. And I'll probably be awake. So hop on in and see if I'll be broadcasting :) Don't laugh if I look funny either. You'd look funny too if you hadn't been sleeping well.

In other news, I may have another art commission soon. That would be good, because I need one after I get finished with this one. So far I haven't had to market a lot or sit down to really overhaul my online presence. I plan on doing that if the commissions stop coming in! I hope they don't.

So to talk about the actual painting!

I didn't get finished with her clothing, and I messed up the sleeve of his jacket so I am having to wait until it dries again. I guess I could wipe it off but it seems easier to just move on because it really needs some paint in that area anyway, even if the drawing is kind of off.

I'm using an unusual amount of color for this thing. I've got a list longer than just about any painting I've ever done. And it looks like I have been using less! I always find that is the case. If I limit myself I squeeze every last drop of color out of just a few tubes. If I don't put on limits I get lazy and let the colors come straight out of the tube without any thought. It's cheaper this way because I don't use my good colors a lot of time, and I use less of what I use because I do a lot less mixing.

I would feel embarrassed listing out all of my colors. But I suppose I will.

Permalba
Yellow Ocher
Naples Yellow
Cad Yellow Lt
Windsor Lemon Yellow
Dark Sienna
Burnt Sienna
Raw Umber
Burnt Umber
Lamp Black
Payne's Grey
Davey's Grey
Alizarin Crimson
Cad Red Lt
Sap Green

What I find funny is I have not opened a tube of actual blue this entire painting and it seems like my painting is swimming in it. The closest thing I have are those grey colors. And one of them look more green when you add white! I always get them confused so I'll have to look and see exactly which one does what.

I feel like I'm being a bit lazy with this painting, not using only the colors I can mix to get the colors I need. I guess I was so worried about not adding enough colors to drag the photograph out of the seventies that I kind of went overboard and just starting adding colors. The good thing is it seems to be working. It's not as seventies looking. Well, to me at least.

Wow. I've written so much and there is not even a photograph. I'll definitely fix that tomorrow!

CommissionII: Actually Painting

I'm finally at a point on this piece where it feels like I am actually painting, and not just putting paint on canvas. I'm actually working wet into wet and looking and really drawing. Right now I see a couple of huge mistakes, his shoulder comes out too much for one, which makes his head look incredibly small, and there are size problems with the side of his face. And just his face! I spent all night fighting with that smirk, and making it look balanced and friendly and not wonky and evil. And I technically wasn't even painting so chances are I'll lose that detail when I put some real paint on the face and will have to fight for it all over again!

No one better paint like me. Do as I say, not as I do!

I'm going to end up getting the jacket done tomorrow and start on hers. Maybe finish that as well if I get up early. I haven't been sleeping well and then once I get to sleep after tossing and turning I get up late, but only get 4-5 hours of sleep. Ugh. And plus I haven't been able to get this to work right and I've been hiding from this behind other work. But now the kitchen is done and all my stuff is moved in, so I really don't have anything to keep me away from it!

I'm just worried about it. Hope to have it done soon, Im normally much more confident! I don't know what's wrong with me!

CommissionII: Covering the Lines

So I fixed the drawing but it left a ton of marks on the background. So I'm trying to cover up those marks with lots of opaque colors like white. And his jacket ended up blue... What was I thinking? I guess more about value and the seventies instead of what I am doing.
Oh well, once it dries that won't be hard to fix at all, now that I'm aware of it. The fun part is I don't even have a blue in my palette! It's coming from the grey I decided on, and the warm orange background.
Color theory ftw!

CommissionII: uh...

I haven't done much... Will post more when I'm not carsick...

CommissionII: The Background

Normally I don't work on one area like this, but I thought I'd add the back to give me something to work with, plus I find it quick and easy. I was going for quick! This is how I started yesterday, and I've done quite a bit more since then, but I have to get a picture of it.

Also, it's a bit too blue on my phone. There are a ton more colors in the actual background.

No vermillion yet. I'm saving that!

CommissionII: The Rub In

This stage is particularly fun to do. After the raw sienna is dry, I use burnt sienna to lay in the initial large shape. The only thing you can really see of this step is the line above her head and down her arm. This shape should be the largest possible shape and should really never be more than a pentagon. A hexagon is really pushing it. Two triangles would be better at that point. I digress. Mostly I'm trying to frame everything in the picture so part of his head isn't chopped off because I started with her nose and worked out. You start painting the whole picture at once, and work to become more and more detailed!

So after I did the large shape I used gesture drawing to get a basic idea of where everything went. This is where I regret not taking a photo because I was working too fast and thought, "This will be visible in the end!" Unfortunately I was wrong. The rub out killed a lot of my original marks because I didn't stop to let each stage dry. A lot of gesture got rubbed out.

The basic concept i use when doing gesture is to do a drawing without much detail that correctly places large main elements. This would be like "two heads about here and here where this one is slightly higher" and "I have to fit these five components across the picture, let me make sure I don't make them too large: arm,torso, arm,torso,arm" except I don't draw a full out arm or torso and definitely never a head. What I do is draw myself reminders and markers, mostly with a long, continuous, searching line.

Then I use the Giacometti technique to put everything in the right place. You might be able to see the small places I actually drew my vertical and horizontal lines. I didn't do much and now I'm paying the price. There are a few problems I am facing at this stage of the drawing that could have been fixed by better implementation of the Giacometti method.

But I jumped ahead to the rub out stage, ready to get to some real painting after such a long stretch away from it.

This part is usually pretty easy, if you laid yourself some good ground work. Using your marks and measurements, find the dark value shapes in the painting and draw those in the correct spot. Rub out if you make a mistake. If you start using too much paint, or it gets too thick, use a /dry/ rag to rub out. It will take the excess paint and leave your drawing. Continue painting.

I had two problems I was fighting with: myself and a washed out seventies photo. I hadn't laid the proper ground work and there were no dark values to speak of. Well, besides her hair and his glasses and the print on her dress. I couldn't tell if the original had been washed out a bit or if it was just that old. I made up some extra shadow to really make it pop, and I hope ultimately look more realistic!

I finally had to quit and go baby sit my favorite kid ever: River! Hence the late update as well.
Well, I won't get much done painting tomorrow because I am going to do more fun things with Rachel! Hopefully fiber arts or soap related! So, not much painting but hopefully a crafty blog post!

See ya then (well, you know what I mean!)

CommissionII: My Process

The bad myspace photo aside, I'm really excited because I got the canvas made and gessoed and toned. I should have probably used more gesso. I didn't realize how thin the stuff I bought was.
I was going to stop and redo it, but I'm only getting a piddling amount for it and decided I had wasted too much time to have to redo it. The only thing I'm worried about is the canvas soaking up my oil too fast for me to really mix, thus making me have to use a lot of paint.
I hope this toned ground of raw sienna off sets a lot of that. I usually take so much time gessoing and sanding then gessoing then sanding. I don't know why I didn't this time.
I was probably thinking of saving time, but I hope it doesn't come back to bite me.
Well, fingers crossed.
(and really, I had to do something to liven up the photo, a toned ground is just boring!)

Commission: Finally Finished!

Kim and Son
Pencil on Paper
8x12

I didn't think this thing would ever get done. And last night while I was trying to take a photo of it I wanted to cry because it was too dark. Now, I almost want to cry because it looks like several areas are washed out. Oh well! I was so excited to have this done that I don't think I slept much last night. It could have also been the coffee I had before bed, or all the fun at the doctors office yesterday, or any other fun reason.

If anyone is interested in following the commission, the first post is here, the second here, the third here, and the fourth I posted just last night, here! It's interesting how my different cameras and the different times of day give it such a different look!

I'm up today and ready to take on the world! I am spraying this with a clear coat and then I will be shipping it off. Right now I'm going to get my other painting commission laid out and started. I so hope I can get the drawing done. It is nice to have gotten some drawing practice in with this thing, but it's going to be so nice to get back painting again too. It's a large painting, but I think I can get it done fairly soon. I've been known for doing very large paintings last minute, and very quickly. And very well, of course! XD

I'll talk about more process with the painting as well. I didn't do much of anything new with the portrait drawing, but if I do another one that is more my style, I'll talk about my drawing process then! There wasn't much Giacometti Technique going on in this one!

All right, I'm off to work! Hopefully I'll have something to show for it later today...

Hopefully...

So close!

Just a quick iPhone snapshot for right now! I'm staying up to finish it and will post the final piece tomorrow! Er, later today. Just saw it was after midnight :-/

Commission: Almost Done

8x12
Pencil

This has been so slow going! I've been working on this for two days straight and I still have her clothing, the background, and even the final touch ups, which might not sound like a lot, but it seems insurmountable to me at this point.

I'm hoping to finish her clothing in about two or three hours. That way I can see about the background in the morning.

Unfortunately I did not do painting, getting up to go directly to work on this. I thought I could get it done today. That was a bit of hubris on my part. I feel less accomplished than I did yesterday, because I got so much done yesterday. All I got done today was cleaning the kitchen, cooked food, and did a lot of drawing. I also listened to a lot of Urdu while drawing. I was able to understand a fair amount! More than I used to.

Well, I'm going to continue drawing and if I manage to get it done I'll post it later. If not, expect an update tomorrow!

Commission, again

And here is it after I did a bit more. Still need to work on putting darker values in the piece.

I feel like I'm regressing to high school with this piece!

Beginning the Commission

Well, this is how it started. And then it went slowly. I'm out of practice drawing and drawing commissions aren't my favorite. But at least it is getting done!

Commission

I haven't posted a daily painting because I'm working on a pencil portrait commission! I'll post it when I'm done!