Art Journal: June 2008

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June 2008

June 28, 2008

Unfinished Paintings....

"July Roses" Oil on canvas
The image above is of a small part of a larger painting on a 16x20 linen canvas. As you can see, I am still in the block-in stage. Everything in it is only partially complete, and I am dying to finish it. Of course, the roses are now dead (this was from last summer), and I would have to work from a photo, rather than from the original still life.

If you're an artist, do you have tons of unfinished projects? Sometimes I wonder if it's just me that goes and starts something, then for some reason, experiences a creative block of some sort.

This happens to me primarily with paintings. I'll be painting happily away, and suddenly, I'm lost, and I have no clue where I want to go with it. Grrrr.......off it goes to my bin of unfinished canvasses once it's dry.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Sign me, Frustrated.

nicole

Technorati Tags: art, painting, still life

Posted at 04:11 PM in oil.paintings | Permalink | Comments (11)

June 26, 2008

I Teach Color Theory

Just to let you know, I teach color theory, and I am certified by Michael Wilcox*. So, if you have questions regarding use of color, color mixing, paint properties (oil is my primary medium but I am very familiar with acrylics and watercolors), archival qualities of commercially available colors, etc., please feel free to comment - - I love to talk color!

The image below is a bad photo of another value study, this one more carefully done. It was done as a study of the color "white", and everything in it is white, the exception being the maple tabletop. The values do not show very clearly in the photo, but you get the idea.
color study of white
Pencil on rag paper.

nicole

*An Australian physicist/artist whose color theories have changed how modern artists view and choose color.

Technorati Tags: art, art journal, drawings, value study, color, Michael Wilcox, School of Color

Posted at 11:13 AM in color.theory, drawings, site.news, value.studies | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 25, 2008

Poppies in Italy Value Study

art journal logo Another value study done on a plein aire excursion in the Lake Maggiore area of Italy. God, I so love those poppy fields! Will post a photo of the scene tomorrow or the next day - or whenever.
The painting did not come out well (I may rework it), so I won't be posting it, except for maybe as an example of bad painting, lol.

It's amazing how much info can be imparted in a simple value study. Years later, I still remember the scene in vivid detail.

nicole

Technorati Tags: value study, art, sketchbook, drawings, Italy, Lake Maggiore

Posted at 11:28 AM in sketchbook, value.studies | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 24, 2008

The Value Study

A friend emailed me yesterday, after he noticed the drawing of my son. One of the categories for that post is "value.studies".
So anyway, he asked me "what the hell is a value study?". Er......well, I guess that's a fair and relevant question, Jason, so I am answering it here. Just for you.
In brief, a value study is a study of the lights and darks in a scene/painting/photo/image. Value studies are usually not in color, although some artists, myself included, do a color and value study prior to beginning an actual painting.
These studies are not meant to be anything more than rough sketches of the values in a particular scene. I am big on value studies. The great masters of art all did value studies. Why? Because if your values are not right, the colors will not matter. The painting will be wrong/bad/off/amateurish. Gotta get those values right.
A page from my sketchbook. Three value studies, 2 using art markers and prismacolor pencils. I should mention that value studies are usually small. Click on the image to enlarge.

ps...I'll delve further in to value studies at some point.

Technorati Tags: art, sketchbook, drawings, value study

Posted at 08:16 AM in sketchbook, value.studies | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 23, 2008

Teenage Attitude

My son at sixteen years old, that teenage thing shining through so clearly!

A value study. Pencil on vellum, scanned in, values enhanced in Photoshop.

nicole

Technorati Tags: drawing, value study, art, pencil

Posted at 12:04 AM in sketchbook, value.studies | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 22, 2008

In the Beginning.....

Hmm.........where to start. This should probably be a private blog because I may just bore you to bloody tears without even trying. I do apologize in advance, because I decided to make this blog public, in part to earn ec credits for my other blogs¹, and in part because I do love feedback. In other words, because it is a purely selfish endeavor.

So, no secrets to tell, but I will be posting my drawings, sketchbook mess, etc., here. And, I may even throw in a few tutorials for the novice painter, as well as reviews of my fav artists. Do visit often......I can't promise to update terribly frequently, but we'll see how it goes.