As a present, my sister-in-law asked for some hand-painted cards. Given I have enjoyed Peter Sheeler’s videos, I thought I would use his exercises as a way to practice painting, and fulfill a family member’s request for a Christmas present! Here is Mr. Sheeler’s video:
Birch trees are some of the easiest and most lovely trees to draw or paint. The white trunks and white snow made for a good chance to work at keeping white space. The other thing is that the palette was limited, which I am beginning to find refreshing – a lot of colors can be made from two or three.
My sister-in-law requested hand-painted cards for a Christmas present. She’s getting them! Out of all of these, 6 were from exercises I did following Peter Sheeler’s YouTube painting tutorials. What made them particularly useful, to me, was that many of them had a lot of white space in them, such as white snow or flowers. The other thing was the simplicity of composition – a few trees, a stream, some flowers. While they look easy, I did need to focus on the videos to follow the sequence of painting, as well as to focus on what I was seeing. Of all of them, I think the stream was the most challenging.
From using Peter’s videos to practice with, and to create cards, I went on to do two based upon photos I have taken. One is a prickly pear which really does sit on a heart-shaped paddle, and the California poppy fields at the State Preserve. The latter made me think of Monet’s painting of a woman in a poppy field – the brilliant colors against a sea of green. Our poppies in California are orange and yellow, so no reds, but mixed in with these colors are blues and whites and so many other colors it is hard to imagine that much of California once looked like that in the springtime!
Below are the different cards I did. Click on one of them to start the slide show.
No, not really. But a fun night meeting up with a friend at a local coffee shop / bar / whatever, and some time spent chatting and sketching. I even drank tea and ate madeleines, so the artistic muse was happy.
It’s fun to watch another artist work, and it’s fun to see what catches the eye. We sat opposite each other and what was in my eye line was different from hers. It makes for altogether different projects. Another thing about just hanging out with another artist is that you learn about things you never considered or used before. Nothing like continuing to learn, eh?
So, below are my sketches from our hanging out last night.
If you play Sherlock, you might figure out where we were.
This morning, in a room only lit by the light of my monitors, and a half-drunk cup of coffee at hand, I decided to go ahead and watch Peter Sheeler’s video above, and try to do a painting. I dragged out a bowl for water, a few brushes, and my travel palette. I sort of know where my colors are, so what the heck – paint and draw away.
I pretty much followed what Peter did, but obviously his work is better than mine. Despite that, I did learn a few more things. One thing I have always liked – and will continue to like – is ink with color. Using a limited palette is also fun as it really helps you keep yourself under control. I think – remember, it was dark, and I was only half of cup of coffee into my morning! – I used yellow ochre, quin gold, a bit of viridian, a bit of alizarin, indathrene and ultramarine blues, and burnt sienna. Some of these were just little dabs because I couldn’t see very well, but the main colors were the sienna and blues.
That said, below is a scan of my painting before putting in the final lines.
Objectively, it’s okay. There are some nice areas, and there certainly is some white space (yay! white space!), which is why I am focusing on snow painting practices. Some good light – dark areas. A nice bleed or two. Other areas are dreadful, such as that greenish area on the mid-right side.
Below, the inked in version.
Frankly, I like the final one better as there is more definition. Now – finish that coffee and jet off to work.
I am not known for being patient when it comes to learning things. Jump in! Do it! That has its points in that at least you get some experience rather than theory, but sometimes it just leads to recklessness and frustration. Frustration makes things worse. When you are kid, self-discipline is not usually high on your want-it list. As an adult, you need to make it so to get anywhere.
Value studies – I really don’t like doing them. It’s like knitting a swatch – I don’t like those, either. Even at my ripe old age, they are not things that give me pleasure. I clean house because I like a clean house, not because I like cleaning. This is where self-discipline comes in.
So, why do value studies? I have a lot of photos, some which I would like to paint. There is a little thing called contrast, something I struggle with. Contrast gives depth and dimension. Hence, value studies.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 