After some final touches, I am declaring this painting finished. I repainted the foreground a couple of times until it looked right to me, because I didn’t like way the cloth looked in my real still life set up .  I also added a spoon in the foreground to give the picture plane more depth, as well as break up the horizontal shapes. It also helps to bring the viewer into the painting, and directs the eye to the flower and around the objects.  I adjusted the colors with glazes and the textures with  scumbles.  Painting the spoon was tricky because it had to integrate with the objects, while continuing the angle of the drapery in the back.  I wanted it to jump out at the viewer, but not look artificial.  The metal of the spoon contrasts nicely with the textures of the fabric, flower and porcelain. This is a better photo of the painting too, as I took it to my office where the lighting is much better.  Now it needs to dry for awhile before the final varnish coat.

This has given me an inspiration for a series of paintings, which I am eager to start. Feel free to leave a comment or ask questions.

The painting is almost done. Worked two more 6 hour days finishing the flower and teacup. Made some adjustments to the background fabric with glazes and started working on the foreground fabric. I am not quite happy with the foreground fabric yet. I will need to repaint it to make it look better, even though this is the way the fabric looks in my set up.

This has been a great learning experience in handling a realistic still life. I am planning several more still life paintings in 2012, as well as other subjects. I am never short of inspiration, only short of time in which to execute my ideas.  Hopefully, some day soon I will be able to devote all of my time to painting.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I was getting anxious to get back to this painting. After another 6 hours or so, I have finished the teapot, continued working on the cup and saucer and started blocking in the flower. In the next session, I should be able to finish the flower and foreground. After that, it will be a matter of making adjustments to color and value with glazes to finish it.

Sorry I have been incommunicado of late. Had to finish an art commission and was obsessive about working on the still life painting. I spent over 18 hours (working only by natural light) on repainting, adjusting, simplifying, and adding thin layers of paint. You might be able to tell on the coffee pot that thin layers were applied to emphasize the roundness of the form. My painting process is labor intensive, but I think it is worth it when I can achieve the three dimensional effect I am after. There are still many more layers to be applied, so it won’t be finished until January. I want this to be realistic and jump off the canvas.

This is the start of new series of still life paintings I have in mind.  I am excited about starting the next one, and may try working on two paintings at the same time.

Here is the first color pass. This is to establish the basic color notes, shapes and values of the satin. painting satin is trickier than you might think. It is very reflective and has light properties that you have to capture or it will look flat. The lightest lights (highlights) and darkest darks will be left until the end. I decided to change the front fabric a bit so it hangs better. This step took a little over two hours. Now this layer needs to dry while I work on the the other elements in the painting. How long will it take to finish this painting? Your guess is as good as mine. With only working on it a couple of hours at a time (not counting paint mixing and clean up) it may may be another week or so.

After the preliminary under painting has dried, it is time for the next stage. This is usually referred to as the “dead layer”. This refers to the stage that was used by the old dutch masters where they emphasized the lightest areas with white. These areas will support the color layers to produce the luminosity in those areas. This stage took another two hours.  As you can see, the painting has taken on more dimension already. This layer will be left to dry. The next step will be the first color layer.

I’ve been planning this painting for a long time and am finally getting to work on it. I had to find the right elements – teapot, tea cup, and stargazer lily – to get the look I wanted. Luckily, I already had gold satin fabric for the background. I was going to iron it, but the natural folds and shapes the fabric had were very pleasing to the eye. Here is the inital underpaining. I have blocked in the composition with raw umber and a lean painting medium over a medium gray toned 16 x 20 canvas. After the canvas was toned and dried, the block in took about two hours. I am excited about this painting because the colors are so rich. Stay tuned for the next step.

This is the start of a new drawing I am working on. What drawing? You don’t see anything? This was a funny story.

My studio space is right next to my husband’s computer station in our combined office. So I was working away at the drawing for a couple of hours until I lost the natural daylight. Then I turned to my husband and asked him what he thought of my drawing so far. He looked at it from his angle with a strange look on his face. He leaned over and tried to look at it more straight-on. He looked puzzled, and said, “what have you been doing all this time? All I see is a piece of paper taped up to your easel.” My response was a self-satisfied chuckle and mischeivous grin. He came over and looked at it more closely. He laughed when he realized that the drawing was of what appeared to be a piece of paper taped to a light wall or surface. So the 3D or trompe l’oeil illusion was definitely working.

The drawing, as I explained to him, is going to be a drawing within a drawing. Working on a white piece of drawing paper and pastels, I created the illusion of a warm toned paper taped to a wall, with the light coming from the right side. I will next do a very realisitc drawing on the toned paper. I will post the finished drawing soon, so stay tuned. I am not sure what to title it, so feel free to send me your ideas.

The hibiscus oil painting is finished. I refer to it in a singular way because, although it is on two separate panels (diptych) it is one image. This diptych format was a welcomed challenge, which I hope to do again soon.

As you can tell from the photos on my previous posts, I made several changes to the flowers and added features. Being a perfectionist, I worked at making the composition more interesting, and more three dimensional. In executing this painting, I used all of my knowledge regarding light and painting techniques, as well as learning more about using values and color temperature to create forms in space.

One of the things I tried to accomplish was to make this painting look realistic, yet remain painterly. I was not trying to get a photographic image. One of the worst “compliments” a painter can get – no matter how well intentioned – is “it looks just like a photograph”. A photograph tends to be flat and lifeless, albeit realistic. When painting in a realistic style, an artist tries to bring the image to life with skilled use of values and techniques that go beyond a photographic image. Some of the greatest paintings in history are realistic, but do not look like a photograph. Even Impressionist paintings are considered realistic, yet they are definitely not photographic.

A successful painting creates interest that draws the viewer in; as well as provide elements that a viewer can discover anew each time they look at the image. If you have ever stared at a painting and marveled at how the artist created the image, then you know what I mean about a successful painting. That is what I tried to accomplish with this large scale flower diptych. Ultimately, however, it is up to the viewer to decide if I have succeeded.

Still working on the dyptich of hibiscus blossoms. I have been really excited about this project.  I have added elements and changed things to make it a more balanced composition.  Especially, I want to capture a three dimension feel of the leaves and space around the flowers. My goal is to make it real enough that you can almost smell the flowers, yet maintain a painterly image.  Since Ihave never painted flowers on this scale before, it has been quite a challenge. Hope you like watching the process. Click on the thumbnail image to see the full painting.