Painting Demo

This weekend, I decided to take a break from all the oil paintings I've been working on to do a new painting and try out the proportions I've been writing about in previous blogs. Here's the subject matter (left) - eggshells. What else???

I began by creating a Root 2 Rectangle. First, I drew a 15" square, then measured the diagonal which was 21.25". I took the square root of the diagonal and added that number to the length of one side of the square. The resulting rectangle is 19.6" x 15." (below)

Next, I decided to create a simple armature for the Root 2 rectangle. (below)

I decided to use the long axis as the vertical on my painting, so I upended the armature and also decided which part of the armature I wanted to utilize for my design (in orange). I also identified the important nodes with red circles. (below)

Then, I drew eggshells on tracing paper laid overtop the armature paying special attention to placement on the nodes. (below)

Next, I created a value drawing using charcoal paying attention to the directionality I selected in the armature as well as the nodes. (below)

At this point, I was ready to transfer the drawing to my watercolor paper (Arches 300 lb. cold press) using graphite paper. (below)

Before painting, I had to determine the palette. I settled on Faience Blue, Viridian, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Orange, and Permanent Red. You may well ask if there is a special reason I used these hues. Actually ... not really. I'm running out of watercolor paint and I still had plenty of these left! But, I did want the primaries and two secondaries, and I didn't want to exceed five hues. Often, I'll limit my palette to three hues. The fewer hues used, the greater chance of creating harmony. (below)

As I began to apply paint, I paid special attention to the value drawing I made earlier. This is critical! First, I applied masking fluid to areas that I wanted to keep white. Then, I applied a light blue wash to areas that will recede (below left). After that, I just started painting in all the eggs. I've posted several steps below showing my progress.

The completed painting (below).

Next, I have to check my work. So I loaded a digital image of my painting onto the computer and changed it to grayscale. When I compare the grayscale image (below left) to the original value study (below right) they match. I don't need to work on the values again.

Finally ... what did I learn from this? Well, it's got me thinking more about design. Although I didn't attempt a complex armature for this painting, I did manage to adhere to my intended design. Being able to paint intentionally is a huge step toward painting masterfully. OK - so I didn't shake up the art world with this painting, but who knows what the future will bring :-)