Tag oil

Value Studies

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6 x 8 inch drawing and value studies

I have been doing these studies to work on drawing & value accuracy.

They are shown in the order that I painted them, left to right, top to bottom.

Numbers 1, 5, 6, 8, and 10 are copies of Masterpaintings; the others are painted from photographs, either mine, or from http://www.Unsplash.com

Most of them are in oil paint; # 8 &9 are in gouache.

This has been very instructive and helpful. I like seeing the progress through them. I know that I’ve become more accurate in my drawing, as I can do a check using the Procreate app on my ipad; I overlay my drawing at a reduced opacity on the masterpainting or photo, and can see how they line up (or don’t!). I’m making fewer adjustments for the later paintings.

Speed

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Oil paint on Panel, 14 x 18 ins

I painted this for the Library Big Read 2025 Art Exhibit at the Vigo County Public Library, Indiana, which was based on the book ‘Sitting Pretty’ by Rebekah Taussig. I read the book, and found it enlightening and thought provoking.

From her viewpoint of life in a wheel chair, she thinks that mobile people view the disabled as either heroes to be admired or victims to be pitied. I wanted to illustrate what can be possible in a wheelchair, I hope not in a heroic sense but in the same sense as celebrating anybody else’s achievements.

This painting received the People’s Choice award.

Plein Air award

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I was delighted to receive an Award of Merit for one of my paintings from the Swope Art Museum Plein Air Event, at the awards ceremony yesterday evening.

The juror was Julio Suarez, professor of Art at Hillsdale College, MI. He gave an enjoyable and interesting plein air demo yesterday evening, accompanied by thunder, but we never felt rain.

Musallem Union, Rose-Hulman, 11 x 14 ins, oil on canvas board

This was painted in one session on the morning of 6/24/25. The main part of the building pictured here is the Dining Hall in the Union building.

I painted from the small beach on the side of the lake— a great way to spend a morning!

Swope Museum: William T. Turman Plein Air Competition and Exhibition

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6 paintings I made over the last 5 days

I love painting outside! When the Plein Air event is in my home town, it is so exciting! This is the third year it’s been held and the third year I’ve taken part. I had a great time!

It was intense in time and heat; I tried to get out early on 4 mornings to catch the morning light. I aimed at 7 am, but usually hit 8 am. By 11 am the temperature was in the mid 90s, so I came home and went out to paint again on 5 evenings, 7-9:30 pm.

I like to choose a theme to reduce the time I spend deciding where to paint. This year my theme was the campus of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, which accounts for 5 of the 6 paintings. The other one is a farewell to JoAnn Fabrics, before they take all the signs and wording down.

I had great interactions with the public (someone even wanting to buy one of the paintings!) and fun talking with the other artists. This for me is a very positive side effect of painting outside.

Recent Oil award

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Beauty Will Rise, oil on linen panel, 16 x 20 ins

This painting was awarded First Place in Oil Painting at the Wabash Valley Art Guild Spring Show in May 2024.

I took the photo 3 weeks after she had been bitten in the face by a dog, in which she lost part of her lower lip and now had a significant scar down her chin. She was five at the time, and has been a real trooper about the ordeal.

I think the painting was my own therapy, to celebrate her continued beauty and character even after such an unpleasant event.

Holding On—No Longer

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(I wrote this post earlier this year, but then did not want to publish it, as my mum was declining. Now that she is gone, I feel I can honor her by publishing it. She liked the painting and had a print of it made and kept it in her kitchen).

I miss her. This painting brings me good memories.

Oil on Canvas Panel, 16 x 20 ins

This is a painting of someone very dear to me. She was widowed at age 74, survived a lymphoma at age 79, and here in this painting at 86 is still living a brave, determined and out-ward focused life.

The painting won First Place in Oil Painting at the Wabash Valley Art Guild Spring Show this year.

Me and my mum.

Frozen For a Moment

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Oil on canvas panel, 16 x 20 ins
The photo I took of her wearing the dress I bought for her.
Full size pencil investigation
Small color study
Pencil outline (fixed) on a toned canvas
Bistre underpainting—burnt umber and a lean mixture of medium
Grisaille underpainting (over the bistre)
Section of the finished grisaille viewed through a values app.

After painting ‘Katherine in Grey’ I decided to try a full color painting using a grisaille underpainting. I bought an online class to help me—Oil Painting Portrait Glazing class by Will Kemp.

For all of the figure and dress I used two simple triads of colors—Mars Yellow, Chinese Vermillion, and Turquoise light, all by Sennelier, plus Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber and Titanium White by Geneva Fine Art.

I enjoyed the process of all the steps and layers. Maybe I’ll try it again!

Applying Lessons to Portraits I

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I decided to apply the lessons I’d learned from the live portrait group to some work at home.

Sadly, I did not have a live model anymore (working on ideas to find some!), but I revisited the time when I did have live models sit for me, during my birthday week of 2019 (one of my birthday wishes).

This is the one hour painting (water mixable oils on green-toned 11 x 14 canvas), and the photo I took at the end of that sitting.
I started the 2022 session with a charcoal drawing from the photo above, 6 x 8 ins.
Then I painted two studies using the Zorn palette, plus Transparent Red Oxide. 6×8 ins each, oil on canvas
I used all that information and practice to paint this final portrait.
9 x 12 ins, oil on canvas board.
I was pleased to see some progress over the last two years!

Live Portrait group in PA, II

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Here are the results of the second 2 hour session I attended. The model this time was a local veteran. He was a very patient and cheerful sitter!
A photo of the model.

At the end of the session, the model inspected the various representations of himself, with generous comments to all!

The group plans to continue painting veterans every other week, and in Nov 2022 have a display of all the year’s portraits of veterans at the VA hospital. At that time each veteran may choose one portrait of themselves to keep. I thought that was a great plan!

Oil, 9 x 12

Several months later, I painted the same subject again (from my photo), on a larger canvas and with a more expressive background.