Oil Sketch over Grisaille of Sharon Posing

Oil on Linen, 4 1/4" x 6 1/4"

click here to bid

This is a loose color study over
a black and white oil grisaille
(underpainting).

Painting this way is really fun,
because you do a black and white
version first, let it dry, and then
paint over it.

This is the way oil paintings were
first done in the 14th/15th Centuries.

I painted into a wet glaze of Gamblin's
Transparent Earth Red, a wonderful,
all-around useful color that I have used
many times for this same technique.

Figure Sketch in the Studio

Oil on Belgian Linen monted on board,

5.75" x 7.5" , click here to bid

This was really fun to do. It started out as a quick

sketch in mechanical pencil on some linen canvas

that I had. Then I coated that with polymer medium

with a little turquoise acrylic in it.
Then I painted in the light areas with a little white

and yellow oil paint.

After letting it dry over night I glazed it with Liquin

and Gamblin's Transparent Earth red, and it was all

stream-of-conciousness after that. I know it is loose,

but I rather like the effect, particularly the balance of

the bright turquoise blue and the bright spotlight.

Unfortunately, the beautiful effects of the paint don't

really come across in this photograph. Belgian linen

has a tighly-woven, exquisite surface that is unlike

anything else. It gives a delicate quality to your paint

passages that you sure can't see here! Just try to imagine

it....

Sonia's Back

Oil on Stretched Canvas, 7.75" x 10", SOLD

Here is that painting I showed the beginning of a few

months ago. I finally finished it! Don't ask me why it

took so long....you don't want to know. It's a loooong

story.

Anyway, I have another post today - a small landscape

painting I partially made up. But I am very happy with

this one, if I do say so myself. I love the colors. I used

my chromatic grays that I mix to paint the drapery that

she is sitting on. It came out perfectly. Just a little

dioxizine purple and some chromatic gray warm!

So much fun.

Sorry about the glare.

Thanks for visiting today.

Milena in "Essence" Technique

SOLD

This piece was done in the "essence" technique, which, I

just recently learned, Degas invented to be able to work in

a medium that looked like pastel which he would not have

to frame. -- Although Degas is thought of as being wealthy,

and was, in fact related to Italian nobility, his brother's

erstwhile, failed cotton business in New Orleans placed a

great deal of financial pressure on him during many years

of his life, so I guess he was looking, like most of us do, for

ways to economize. -- In this technique, the oil is soaked out

of the paint overnight on blotters, paper towels - Degas

apparently used cardboard - then scraped onto the palette

the next day.

Then, the paint is diluted with solvent (essence in French)

and can be painted on any unprepared paper surface.

Fun!

Demo Drawing of a Recumbant Figure

NFS
This small drawing is a demonstration in graphite pencil of drawing a

reclining figure. The arrow that seems to be shooting out from her

right breast is pointing out the concept of "negative space", or "background

shapes" - those shapes within, and outside of, a pose that one can utilize

to make it easier to get the figure in proportion.

Leslie and Reeds Triptych - Oil Painting on Board

NFS
I did this oil painting several years ago, and I really like it. I like
the contrast between the muted colors in the side panels with
the more vivid colors of her clothing and drapery. I also love the
angle of her head which is so graceful.

Thanks for visiting today. I have a brace on my hand, because I
seriously pulled several ligaments in my arm when I fell off of my
bike, so my dreams of painting are going to have to be postponed for
a little while, hence, the exhibition of past works....

Demo Essence Sketch of Figure Model

NFS
7.5" x 11.5", Essence on Canson Paper

This is a demonstration that I did in my

workshop at The Art League School. This

is why it is not finished. The focus of the

class was gestural painting. We were deli-

berately trying to keep things loose.

Academic realism was not our goal.

We had a great time! For and explanation

of essence, look at previous posts.

Thanks for visiting.

"Essence" Nude Sketch of a Very Pale Model

7" x 9", "Essence" on "Sand" Canson Paper,

SOLD

This sketch was done in a technique called

"Peinture a l'essence" that was commonly used

by Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec. I think I may

have mentioned this previously a few months

back. To do this, you have to soak the oil out of

the paint on blotters or paper towels overnight.

Then, you transfer the paint to a paletter, and

use it, without adding any medium (this is very

important), but just diluting with solvent ("essence")

means "solvent" in French). This enables you to paint

right on any paper, without preparing it with a ground,

such as gesso, rabbit skin glue, or shellac.

The effect is a very mat one, and sometimes people

think these paintings are pastels. Toulouse-Lautrec's

famouse paintings on cardboard in the National

Gallery were all done this way. And, while they are

more than one hundred years old, there is still no

oil stain around the images.

I am going to be teaching a workshop in this soon.

Thanks for visiting today.

Tribute to my most esteemed model, Sharon

These are three of the many pieces of artwork

I have done over the past fifteen years with

Sharon as my subject. She has been a never-

ending inspiration, and I just thought she

deserved a little bit of a tribute. The painting

on the top is not for sale, unless someone is willing

to pay me about $8000.00 for it (seriously).

The second piece is just some 2-3 minute gesture

poses on newsprint, and isn't in saleable condition.

The drawing above is in pencil on white sketch-weight

drawing paper. I did it as a portrait demonstration

exactly ten years ago. No one else has eyelids like

that. Her father was from Ireland, and I think it shows

in her soulful face. Thank you, Sharon.