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This is me, at work, raw and unpolished
'Do you see it....' on the easel.
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Latest completed works featured 'On the Easel' can be seen at
'Do you see it....' 'Honour, Strength, Loyalty' 'Salty Waters' * Work has been resumed on the 'Untitled Raw Canvas Figurative Painting' below, so do check it out if your interested in the WIP! :) |
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Untitled Raw Canvas Figurative Painting
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I know, I know.. what happened to 'Reflective Infoxication' you say?.. It's happening.. Lets just say this one is too.. ;)..
This next one will be done much like 'The Dress' but rather than starting off with the charcoal preliminary drawing, I'm going in straight with the paint alla Chinese ink painting style first. The composition has been worked out already separately but with this type of working method it can only work as an even rougher guide than usual, letting the real magic some lea way to manifest during the creation of the piece. Sometimes it works and sometimes all one gets is another bin filler but that's the nature of the beast.. :) Ta for now!.. ... |
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With the black paint left to thoroughly dry overnight several layers of clear acrylic primer was then laid. The first few applied liberally so as to soak right through, sealing the surface right through, ready for the oil paint.
With such a dark background I opted to use a light soft pastel for the preliminary drawing (the drawing was quite light but shows up more clearly when seen from an angle, thus the side angle capture here). I'm pretty sure that for the next stage I'll be applying a white primer just in certain areas like the lighter skin parts, but I'm still debating exactly where to apply it overall to get the best effect. Parts that will have the white primer will be more luminous depending on how thickly I apply it and will also advance visually in the piece. Thus I will need to carefully consider where and how thickly (which will vary) it will be painted overall. See you then!.. :) ... It's been a few months since my last update to this piece, the reason being I grew increasingly unhappy with the composition and the direction I was going with it. So I've been letting it sit and since then the design of the composition has gone through several transformations (I almost decided to scrape it completely). Though I liked the rhythm and flow of the initial composition, it still lacked something. |
I finally decided how I would like to proceed with it again now. The new composition introduces more elements and symbolism to the piece. A peacefully sleeping lion and mouse in the foreground, birds and a distant treeline and sky (which I would like to make a tumulus red/orange, but this will have to depend on the final look of the piece). No white primer will be used, as I think it will just look nicer and more harmonious not to..
Colour sketches (this was before the change in the composition)
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Last colour sketch with new composition.
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Preliminary underdrawing done and ready to paint.
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Sleeping on it, but I think I'm pretty happy with it for now. All other decisions have to be made on the canvas really. One can only prepare so much (there does come a point where any more preparation becomes futile and turns into a form of procrastination). The preliminary sketches done so far have been done on a very black background which does not mirror the actual grayer stained canvas, so adjustments will have to be made from there.. Ta for now!
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Altered composition again....
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I slept on it and still wasn't completely happy with the composition. Though it was better, something was still nigglingly wrong.. With a few more adjustments, I can say I am truly happy with it now though, with the confidence that comes from that deep down feeling in the pits of ones stomach.
This time round I thought I'd use illustrator to help me decide on the palette, which is inspired by the magnificent hues of the male peacock with their gorgeous royal blue and turquoise feathers. This palette will develop I'm sure depending how it looks on the piece, but this is the bases.. ... |
Pardon the blurred image..
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In progress pic.. I really like how it looks this simplified...mmmm
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How it looks now,.. but seeing how it is now in comparison to what it was like before, I may try to simplify the lion again.
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I'm quite happy with the lion and mouse for now as it stands and will be working on the rest of the piece before deciding if I should develop them further. (they look quite dark at the moment, but I won't make any judgments just yet) With a piece like this, created mostly from imagination, I have to work on it as a whole, so there's no way of me really giving you an idea of how it will look like till it is complete!
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Hiya guys, well I went back and simplified the lion again, however I wasn't quite happy with how the overall colour scheme was looking so I just scrubbed in a more greenish hue over the lion to help me get my bearings on the colours... Honestly the most difficult part has been figuring out what colour palette I should use for this piece..
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Hiya guys, well I went back and simplified the lion again, however I wasn't quite happy with how the overall colour scheme was looking so I just scrubbed in a more greenish hue over the lion to help me get my bearings on the colours... Honestly the most difficult part has been figuring out what colour palette I should use for this piece..
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With the black background the hues are looking more vivid, though a bit dark at the moment, but I'm not sure if this is because I'm just not used to it. I did want to try and create something different, colour wise. The colours would have been brighter had I applied a white gesso to the parts to be painted first, but I didn't want the prepainted white gesso to restrict where I could paint as the piece progressed. Also, oil paint tends to become more transparent as it ages (not visible in my lifetime I'm sure, but I do like to create work for posterity). I felt it would look better with the black stained canvas underneath than some white underpainting.
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I've purposefully made the dress fade/more transparent in some parts, to blend and harmonize with the stained canvas background..
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Anyways don't pay any attention to the lion and the mouse for now (the lions previous paint layers have been obscured by my green scumble and the mouse it wholly wrong in hue) .
Forgive the poor quality of the video above, not used to creating them, but I hope to get better and post more in the future. I think I'm quite happy with the dress for now (its hue was changed too), except for maybe some interesting detailing and highlights to be added later on.
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Hiya, so the lion is basically done (for now).
A mixture of pthloblue, ultramarine, and ivory black was scumbled over the lion as a base to paint over.
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There are always a bunch of brushes in my other hand as I paint, which helps with the flow of transitioning to between hues and tones as I paint.
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Hey y'all!.. ok I've got the basic hues and tones down and I've decided to go straight to the goldleaf now before any 'fatter' layers of paint, that may take a while to dry before I'd be able to apply the gold leaf.
After a night of drying this preliminary layer is bone dry and perfectly ready for the gold leaf to be laid straight away. I have a good idea of how the completed tones and hues will look like now too and can gauge where and how much of the gold leaf I should apply.. A design for the faux goldleaf has been made, so I can go straight to drawing it in with a colour pencil first (just to be sure it looks ok) before applying the oil based gilding paste (my own recipe) and leaving that to dry tacky, before laying on the gold leaf.. The whole process will probably take about 2-3 days, for all the drying time & touchups involved.. Ta for now!. ... |
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Ok so the gilding has been done, but as is often the case I'll be touching it up with more goldleaf in areas that the goldleaf didn't adhere to (because the paste had been applied too thinly) or in parts I've decided I'd like to add to the goldleaf design.
After brushing off the goldleaf with a soft natural bristle brush, I used some duct tape to pick up goldleaf that had stuck to other areas of the painting. Then using a very sharp pointed cutter, I refined the goldleaf's edges. I want the edges to be soft though (not straight hard edges) as this would stand out too much and disrupt the feel of the piece.. The aim is for the goldleaf to somewhat blend in with its surroundings but still have a presence, if you know what I mean.
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1st gilding of goldleaf after it has been refined.
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Ok I'll be back after the (hopefully) last round of gilding!
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Hi guys!.. Ok the touchup gilding was done and once tidied up I was able to go in and do the final detailing of the piece. Once the paint was dry enough, the goldleaf was given a very thin layer of protection of liquin+stand oil+turp (since it is just faux metal leaf it will tarnish in time if exposed to the air). It should be dry enough to be scanned today or the next, so you'll get a clear image then :) ..
Completed on the Easel
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Reflection on goldleaf detail
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I'm still unsure what title to give this one (I'm thinking 'Stars in the Dark', 'Midnight Stars' ?),
but I'll have plenty of time to mull it over as it awaits it's final varnish in 3 months time!
Thanks for joining me thoughtout the process!.. :)
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p.s. here is a clear (colour corrected) scan of it!
but I'll have plenty of time to mull it over as it awaits it's final varnish in 3 months time!
Thanks for joining me thoughtout the process!.. :)
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p.s. here is a clear (colour corrected) scan of it!
Completed 'Midnight Star'
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Reflective Infoxication
Working out the composition...
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Finally being continued..
So I've been sitting on this for a while now as I felt there was just something missing, a void in its conception that I knew would niggle at me throughout. So I let it be, let it stew in my mind, till finally, as often happens, the pieces came together and inspiration struck as I was immersed in the literary web of a book. It was just a matter of redeveloping this more apropos composition from there. Conceptual concerns aside, I decided a lot more studies to work out the technicalities of the piece would be prudent with a few tonal and colour studies.
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The 'negative' space (where the silverleaf would be) has to be carefully designed as well, as its reflective qualities will have a major effect on the overall composition. I want the silverleaf to retain as much of its polished look as possible while still having a painterly texture, so the canvasboard was covered with thick gesso applied with a pallet knife. There are some parts where the canvas texture still comes through a bit but hopefully this does not effect the sheen of the silver too much.
I've pretty much decided on a colour pallet with a slight play on subtle complimentaries. The toned canvas will show through quite a lot, thus playing a major part in the colour scheme..
Decided that this piece would work a lot better on a much larger canvas, so I'm in the process of making a new primed canvasboard (which I always make from scratch to unsure the best quality possible).
I've pretty much decided on a colour pallet with a slight play on subtle complimentaries. The toned canvas will show through quite a lot, thus playing a major part in the colour scheme..
Decided that this piece would work a lot better on a much larger canvas, so I'm in the process of making a new primed canvasboard (which I always make from scratch to unsure the best quality possible).
Few tiny thumbnails were done first to suss out the composition and where the silverleaf would be.
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Update 9th March'16: Forgive me for not posting any updates lately peeps, been busy preparing for a group exhibition (VDA Freakshow), but I'm free once again to get back to my normal shtick so I thought I'd just update ya on the progress so far!..
After doing a few tiny test thumbnails ( left: I often work very small during the brainstorming phase so I can test my ideas out quickly with as much depth as possible) to help me decided on the basic composition. The preliminary idea was then blown to full size and worked on again. |
New larger canvasboard texturally primed and toned. I usually always make my own supports from scratch to ensure the best quality and so they are just as I require for each individual piece.
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The composition was worked on a again at full size.. This is the final compo ready now to be lightly transferred to the canvas.
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Image was transfer to the canvas with oil paint paper (oil paint rubbed on normal thin paper that acts like carbon paper)
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Compositions can look quite different when blown up to its proper size so I like to look at the composition with a fresh eye and work on it again to get it just right.
Each stage of the piece can look quite different so the composition will work no more than as a guide. I'll be moving forward with more expressive spontaneity when the brush hits the board!..
Each stage of the piece can look quite different so the composition will work no more than as a guide. I'll be moving forward with more expressive spontaneity when the brush hits the board!..
Beginning the Silverleaf!
Had to apply the leaf in parts as I used a waterbased gilding paste (the oil based was not available) that would have dried too fast for me to apply the glue all over then the leafing before it dried.. I used a No.0 round and No.10 Flat to apply the glue then a big makeup round brush to tamp down the leaf gently before smoothing softly with my finger tip.
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After leaving it to dry for a day I brushed of the excess with a No.8 pighair filbert (see example below). Someparts though had stuck down hard on parts with no glue.. Nothing worked (scratching with a blade did but left the surface scuffed) till I tried duck tape!.. Worked like a charm... :)
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I then went over tidying the edges of the silver leaf and checking if any details had been missed. The missed areas were just carefully touched up with glue and silverleaf again...
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This was the second round of touching up and brushing off... :)
Still in the mids of refining the silverleaf... I can get quite anal with details like this and feel this stage to be quite important because when the light hits the canvas at certain angles, the silver leaf design will be the most prominent part seen.. More to come.. :) |
Besides refining the edges of the silverleaf, the delicate details of the blanket's tassel are added.
Since I am using a composite metal leaf (not actual silver) it can tarnish in time if left to the elements. So once the silverleaf was refined to my liking it was given 2 coats of clear acrylic gloss for protection.
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With a photo taken in just the right lighting, you can see the completed silverleaf design in all its glory.
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Beginning the underpainting in raw umber. Pure oil paint from the tube is used without any medium (even turps).
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Still in the mids of the underpainting...
I thought I'd show ya a bit of how I set my pallet and reference material up. I usually have some sort of reference that I prefer viewing on my desktop along with any other sketches, colour studies etc.. that I have done, stuck adjacent to the artwork for quick reference as I work (usually all on the left side of the easel, since I'm right handed) At this stage I only require my tonal study thumbnail and the picture of the figure... I made my pallet many years ago from just a piece of plywood, carved and protected with a deep reddish varnish. This finish has in time settled into the perfect mellow neutral tone for mixing by just rubbing in the residue, left by the oil paint, after each painting session. The thumbhole had been form fitted with PVA glue for a comfortable grip, but I have found, more often than not, I prefer having both my hands free as I work. Thus the set up you see here,.. The pallet is just clamped between two pieces of wood held in place by the weight of the canvasboard. It's perfectly positioned this way to be in the same lighting as the artwork (thus more accurate mixing) and for a more seamless workflow, as opposed to if it were positioned on a table on my right.. To ensure I'm always keeping tabs on how the overall piece is developing, I prefer standing or sitting on a high seat as I work so I can regularly move back and around easily to check the artpiece from afar... |
I want to make sure to get the underpainting right, as I will be leaving parts of it showing in the final.. Tones have to be carefully considered so as to ensure the viewers attention is held and eye led harmoniously throughout the piece. The underpainting is basically being scumbled in thinnish layers (completely drying in between each layer) and a putty eraser helps for picking out details... I like the effect produced with the scumbling technique on the textured surface of the canvasboard, giving an interesting textural look as the paint settles in the ridges... Ok then, ta for now folks.. :)
The underpainting is done and before I proceeded with the colour I thought I should test out the pallet I had decided on in this little piece (below) first.. I'm glad I did as it brought up several problems with my choices that would not have suited my silver leaf painting.
Thus I went back to the drawing board and this time recruited the help of Adobe's Kuler that was created to help designers decide on colour schemes..
Thus I went back to the drawing board and this time recruited the help of Adobe's Kuler that was created to help designers decide on colour schemes..
This painting used a pallet of - Light Red, Cad Yellow, Cobalt Blue & Raw Umber.
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- Cadmium Yellow Hue
- Cerulean Blue (Just thought I'd try this instead of the Cobalt this time and see how it goes)
Ok testing time!.. See ya!..
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Completed Underpainting
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It's a little more than a year since my last update for this painting, and yes I've been testing and all sorts out.. One would not ideally wish to take so long getting back to a painting but one good thing about it is that I can see a marked improvement in my skill from when it was started (or it might have something to do with me recently acquiring a pair of glasses after a long time of needing some).. :) A few of my latest works testing out palettes and techniques for this piece are: Testing DIY Silverleaf Sealant, Size & Colour Palettes and Original Sin Rebirth WIP With that I've finally resumed and completed the underpainting ready for the colour layer. Rather than the limited palette I had initially wanted to use, I'll be using a wider range of colours on my palette however this range will be subtle in the final painting. Planned palette: Flake White Hue, Titanium White (only for tiny touches of highlights), Yellow Ocher, Cad Yellow, Cad Red, Burnt Sienna, Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine, Sap Green, Phthalo Blue & Raw Umber. That's all for now! ... |
So I've finally got some good lighting for my studio!!.. :D
Ever since moving to my new studio I've been struggling to find a way to light my work area adequate. I've been relying on a table lamp which besides being woefully dimmer that what is required, I had a tough time placing it where it could light the artwork I was working on without disturbing my own eyesight or reflecting (thus obscuring) off the computer screen I usually rely on to display my reference material. As you can see (below, the red lamp balancing on a pile of books behind my easel) I finally resorted to dismantling it enough so I could sort of balance the lamp part on a top beam of my easel. Still the light was uneven on the artwork and still too dark (plus the CRI was quite low, so I couldn't really rely on it to get accurate colour rendering).
After scouring for affordable alternatives, I just could not find a lamp light that would be bright enough with a high enough CRI until I came across this softbox on Lazada!.. Compared to all the other normal lighting methods (lamps etc..) I could find, it was way way cheaper ($29 USD) and had just the right specs I required for the light (150W, 5500K, 220V... and a 92 CRI !).. Perfect!.. I hadn't heard of artists ever using softboxes as a light source during painting though, and a google search similarly didn't bring up any results. I'd have to just take a risk and try it out for myself. If it didn't work at least I could use it for taking product shots or pawn it off to my photographer bf!.. lol.
Turns out it works absolutely Perfectly!!!. It lights everything evenly, doesn't shine in and hinder my own eyesight, nor does it effect the images on my computer screen. I was worried it may feel obtrusive in my limited space, but it isn't at all. In fact because I can place it high up behind me at a further distance it's a load less intrusive than the lamp when it was placed at my side. It's almost like a ceiling light in fact. The light of course (as you can see below) is absolutely everything I wanted, I really couldn't be happier and am well pleased with the purchase.. :D
The top row is how it looks in the daytime, the bottom row, at night. The first left pics are with just my studio ceiling lighting on, the middle pics show how it looks with the lamp light on as well and the last (right pics) show the lighting with the softbox light on instead!.. It's glorious isn't it!..
Ok folks, that's it for now, as you can see I've got some tidying up to do in my studio.. Ta!
Ok folks, that's it for now, as you can see I've got some tidying up to do in my studio.. Ta!
The title is not confirmed yet ( haven't thought of something that would encompass all the themes I designed this piece to convey )
Ok I've finally decided, that's it, I'm finishing this piece (that I started back in 2010!!) and have only been working on, on and off since... Recently however my motivation has been reignited with the theme (mmm... I wonder why) and my heart is back into it, which is always how one should feel when working on a piece.
As I've mentioned before all previous WIP images of this piece were lost when my camera got stolen at the start of the piece. Indeed I couldn't help thinking how much one of the themes of this piece applied to the unfortunates who had gotten so desperate as to attempt an essentially botched burglary on us (all they got was the the rather old and cheap camera) which was displayed clear as day during their attempt...
Anyways I'm glad to be back to it now, and as fast as the drying time allows, finally complete it..
As I've mentioned before all previous WIP images of this piece were lost when my camera got stolen at the start of the piece. Indeed I couldn't help thinking how much one of the themes of this piece applied to the unfortunates who had gotten so desperate as to attempt an essentially botched burglary on us (all they got was the the rather old and cheap camera) which was displayed clear as day during their attempt...
Anyways I'm glad to be back to it now, and as fast as the drying time allows, finally complete it..
Completed Dead Layer SIZE : 14 . 5 " x 12 "
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3rd Glaze Layer on Table & Turkey
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Lightening with just titanium white alkyd after 3rd glaze layer.
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It was started off with a detailed underpainting in acrylic burnt umber, proceeded by the dead layer in alkyd (fast drying oils) with a mixture of -
Terre Verte (a lean (extra fast drying), very transparent greenish hue) Lamp Black (has an extremely high tinting strength. Adding more black, darkens and gives a more blueish cooler tone) Burnt Sienna (added because it seemed to give a wholeness to the hue) I'm currently going over the piece detailing the lights in Titanium White (an opaque white) as after the 3rd glaze, the turkey started to look a bit too dark. At this point I am still using alkyd and using a mixture of - Liquin fine detail : Refined Linseed Oil : Turpentine ( with a 1 : 1 : 2 ratio ) as my medium. |
I'm happy with the level of lightening that has been done for now and can continue with the 4th glaze layer next...
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