Practice Practice and More Practice

Doing portraits are difficult mainly because of the likeness factor. Practice is the key! This is the second portrait for Week 12 of PYHAS 2019 taught by  Marina Teding van Berkhout. Its a portrait of my Mom I think from the early 1940s.
It's the second try on this pose, the first was in oil pastels which I didn't like. This was done with oils and cold wax in many layers and textures. There is some likeness.

Longing 

11.5 x 16.5 "

Oils and Cold Wax

Cut Canvas

 The Process

Layer 1

Prussian Blue + Permanent Mauve

Layer 2

Primary Blue + Yellow Green(mix)

Layer 3

Venetian Red + Cadmium Yellow Deep + Raw Sienna

Transferred drawing

(was altered during the painting process)

Painting was done using the colors of layer 3 varying the mixes with white, buff titanium, and raw umber. Lots of painting and scraping in the process!

That's My Last Duchess

I can't remember my English teacher's name. Hoping that it would somehow find its way through all the wiring in my brain. She was very influential and it was through her that I really started reading. Sadly up till then, it was mainly just fairytales!

I was exposed to the classics and poetry. Robert Browning one of my favorites and of course Elizabeth Barrett.

That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, 

Looking as if she were alive. I call 

That piece a wonder, now; Fra Pandolf’s hands 

Worked busily a day, and there she stands. Robert Browning

Week 12 Figures with Oils and Cold Wax with Marina Teding van Berkhout! What a marvelous lesson. 

Four layers of oils and cold wax.  Use of various scratch tools and stencils! Took her a while to emerge, scraped her face twice. This medium is very forgiving. 

My Last Duchess

12 x 17 "

Cut Canvas

Oils Cold Wax Palette Knife Catalyst Knife

click to enlarge

Going Crazy with Color Mixing

I sometimes get obsessive with color mixing. The main reason being that I am not a good colorist so I have always loved learning about how to make good color palettes and choices. So I really had a ball with this weeks lesson on PYHAS by Sabra Awlad Issa. Wow, what packed lesson, color mixing, foreshortened portrait, values. This was a real challenge! She is an excellent and modest teacher. A real treat! 

The lesson was in acrylics but I was too stressed with the color mixing and worrying about them drying so tried doing some crayon work which also had its problems so I dived into my oils. What a difference that made. The portrait is not done but I am happy with the progress.

WIP

13.75 x 19.5 "

Oils on gessoed paper

WIP

13.75 x 19.5 "

Oils on gessoed paper

Values

First layer in acrylics ugh

Second Layer with oil/wax crayons

Now, how many colors can you mix with just the primaries? We all have heard that we can mix an infinite amount, but we all tend to buy lots of colors. My usual palette starts off with two of each of the primaries plus chromatic black, a mix from ultramarine blue and raw umber, and white. But in Sabra's lesson, she used cadmium red, ultramarine blue, and cadmium yellow to mix a whole range of what she calls "dirty colors". I just love muted/muddy colors and I almost always add a speck of medium gray to my colors. Her basic color is a mix of all three to get a dirty brown. Then she mixes each primary with a bit of that brown and continues to mix these "mixes" together etc. With the addition of white and the range gets more infinite. Of course, the ratios matter as well. So when you feel in need of some occupational therapy any red/blue/yellow and go to town.... what fun. I did mention that I am an obsessive color mixer!

Three different browns depending on the ratios

Oils

I suggest less blue!

The basic Mixes

This Brown seems to make greenish hue with the yellow

Bottom right mixed red +yellow + brown to get a dirty orange.+ added more yellow

to get a lighter orange and to each added white

Yummy

My acrylic Mixes

Yellow Mixes

Middle row mixed yellow with medium gray

bottom  medium gray with yellow

Made a value chart with my chromatic black

red red+brown added white Blue blue+brown added white

Bottom red + gray + white Blue + gray + white

Mixing the mixes 

Bottom right used Indian Yellow with the Brown + White

Red Mix + Indian Yellow mix + white

Have Fun!

Lost and Found and Other News

Lily was lost! Or I should say taken and then dumped! Luckily there are "good" people around. One took her in and had a chip reader come and read her chip. She was quite far from our town on the other side of a very busy main road #461( Road to Tel Aviv) which she would NEVER cross on her own.

Finished the course and awaiting a new one end of August with Pauline. Didn't get much work done that last week. Combining background with the figure is tricky and not in my comfort zone. Have a few more figures in the process and may go back in this one.

WIP

Conte + Neocolor Crayons I

13.75 x 19.75 "

Gessoed Paper

Started this figure on cut canvas for the workshop but this month we are having structured lessons so working at home.  First 3 stages... going slow! Oils and cold wax + palette knife!

WIP I

20 x28 "

Cut Canvas Wrapped on cardboard

II

III

Have to lighten this!

I Am a Happy Camper

Time was well spent on the computer running my painting through some of the abstraction filters in Studio to help me "see" the whole image. Reuven gave me permission that every tool is Kosher so using a digital tool is just as legitimate as using a ruler of camera etc. That said I used the image I made but when I felt that I was using it more as a reference rather than a new direction I closed the tablet.

I felt I had a good day and I am a Happy Camper.

It Finally Came Out of the Wash

20 x 28 " cut canvas mounted on cardboard

oils  cold wax collage

Palette Knife

Trying to Get Good Thoughts

This past month has been a sort of whirlpool. My daughter Yael and family are off on what I call The Grand Trip. They decided to take a half year "time off"! So my thoughts are with them, and thanks to good WiFi we get daily updates.

Also taking care of their 2 house cats! Quite a balancing act with Lily my dog!

Not to talk about what's happening on our Southern border and Northern border. I really need just good thoughts!

Nepal Annapurna Circuit

Reminder about how small we are

Sunset in the Philippines

As for my artwork, well it's been dragging. Haven't really been able to give myself that big PUSH.

I had started a few canvases a few weeks ago and wanted to work on them at home but just didn't get to them except to veil them with a light color. Wanted to make a new start on them and then felt that I completely ruined them. On one I did make a few marks which made it worse. I could give lessons on how to ruin paintings.

WIP

Start 

After this start, I veiled with a very light yellow and white. Made some marks, mainly dark. Forgeot  to take a photo before work yesterday!

WIP

20 x 28 " cut canvas mounted on cardboard

oils  cold wax collage

How I got here I have no idea. Covered it with black, not really black but a mix. Scraping and adding. Collage pieces. Think I will run some filters in Topaz Studio to see a new direction. I like their abstraction filter to simplify shapes. Their conceptual filter sometimes adds a punch of some color outside the range. Have to find a better solution for the righthand side. That was thin nylon with some blue scribbles. and it's peeling off. Critique and suggestions welcome!

Running Wild in Golden Fields

A while back I posted a "new start" sort of abstract landscape. Think I have brought it to some conclusion after ruining it in the process. Well, we all know that the process is the most important part.  One thing I have learned about my way of working is that I can't drag a piece on and on. It's either there or not. I am expert on messing up good starts. I am not going to show what went between.

Running Wild in Golden Fields

20 x 13.5"

Gessoed Watercolor Paper

Oils and Cold Wax

For some odd reason, my lightbox is NOT working! I am spending too much time on computer tech problems UGH!

I mentioned Topaz Studio in my last post and I want to write a little more about this fantastic software and I think a great tool. I know there is a discussion about the digital art etc. For me anyway, if a person can find an outlet for their creativity digitally it is kosher. I spent hours learning restorations and composites with Photoshop /Elements. My late brother, Eugene, did fantastically great composites. I will post some in another post.  I am familiar with the Topaz plug-ins that work with PS so when Studio came out I started to play around with it. It does have a learning curve and can be addictive. To make a long story short I won the lottery on one of the webinars Topaz runs for all the adjustments for Studio. Quite a WIN. 

Besides restorations and composites and of course editing photos I really didn't get into digital painting. I felt the need for hands-on paper, paints knives etc. The smell of oil paints really turns me on. So how can this tool help me? Mainly I use it as a seeing tool.  I have not used photographs as a reference in quite a while because  I found myself tied to the details and not the essence of the image. Well, Studio can come to the rescue.

Here I used an image from my recent shoot at Beit Jimal. Scroll down to Family Picnic.
Just played around with one. Click to enlarge!

Original edited

Variation 1

Variation 2

Variation 3

Variation 4

Here I was playing with the adjustment Color Themes. Have to do more to see how this can help me with colors when I paint. I think you get the point!

One Painting Leads to Another

Lately, I have been spending a lot of time on the computer. Too much to be exact! Mainly editing photos for my online shop at Artfinder. Browsing through my many photos on Bridge, photoshops's image viewer and organizer, found a photo of a work I had done 2 months ago, thereabouts. Actually was looking for paintings that I hadn't posted about. I was shocked at how awful it was! I did notice that the start wasn't so bad so maybe I could do something with it.  I may have posted this painting before but can't find it.

Love Story with a Painting

20 x 28"

Cut Canvas

Oils + Cold Wax  Collage

Will let this sink in, may add another collage piece if I find something!

Got off to a good start

Got into a mess with that blue

This painting led to a new start. Used the yellows on my palette on a piece of gessoed watercolor paper. Have to say I love this substrate, have 2 more waiting for paint. 

WIP

20 x 13.5"

Gessoed Watercolor Paper

Oils and Cold Wax

Workshop Catching Up

This has been an incredible 30 days. Because of the challenge, I haven't posted any of my workshop pieces. Now is the time to try to catch up.

I started working on wood and still have some that I haven't brought to a conclusion.  This piece is on a masonite panel with a white flat smooth surface. I didn't gesso the panel after a discussion with Reuven. He suggested that I see and experience the panel as is.  Well, it was quite a struggle and in the end, I really missed the texture of the canvas. I have 2 other larger panels and thought that maybe I should try the textured side to see how I feel and how it takes the paint. I can always turn it over and gesso the smooth side.

In Every Way it's Still a Family Affair

12.5 x 19.5"

Masonite Panel

Oils & Cold Wax

In the process of adding paint and scratching out forms began to emerge. 

Detail Top Left

Collage Piece

Detail Middle Right

Start

Completely Out of Contro;

Workshop New Life For

Today when visiting my daughter, she brought home a sculpture that my grandson, Uri 8 yrs, made. I just had to shvitz (brag) a little.  It was chosen among others to be on display at the Dept. of Education in Jerusalem.

ארה יקינטונית

Macow

WIP

Oils and Cold Wax

Masonite Board

12.5 x 19.5"

Start

Detail

Detail

This has many layers, I sort of lost control. Has to sit around a bit till it tells me what it needs.

At Reuven's suggestion, the masonite was not gessoed. I really missed that texture

All images are clickable for a closer look! 

Day 12 30 in 30

Use Leftover Paint 2

7" x  5"

Heavy Paper

Gelli Print + collage

Acrylic painting

Stage I

Green and Yellow Ghost Prints

Stage II

Collage pieces added

Stage III 

First masking

Stage IV

Second applications of masks

This print was then painted in acrylics to the finished piece as part of the process.

The difference of coloring is due to the different times of photography and different cameras. 

I have come to the conclusion the using my Canon G11 is better, even though it requires more processing than my smartphone.

Don't forget to check out Leslie's challenge page!