Still Going!

Yikes!  I've been working on this painting for almost a whole year now.  My goal is to finish it before 2010.  I think it's starting to look better.   I just need it to be done. I think I'm almost there.  I've just decided that this is going to be the last coat of paint.  The first coat of color paint took a whole 5 months to dry.  During those 5 months all types of crud dried in the paint.  I'm not going to let that happen again.  Cleaning that crap is a pain in the @$$.

This painting has turned into the same thing.  On the flip side, I will enjoy framing it, and then mounting it:)

Apple, WIP Day 2

I'm now in the 'dead layer' stage of this painting. I think that it will be dry tomorrow, and then I'm going to apply the first color layer.

Some notes about the painting:

1.)I skipped the second umber layer, and I believe that is why the background looks more brown, instead of black. I applied black to the background, but the umber layer is still shining through. I'll just have to correct that in the color layer.

2.)The top of the apple still needs some work. One of my options is to fix it in the color layer. This will probably be quicker and more practical instead of fixing the (drying) dead layer.

3.)Some of my highlights are popping a little too much. BUT, I read that you are supposed to make your lights lighter than what they really are. I hope they were right.

4.)I'm a little concerned about the uneven drying of the oil. I don't know if that's normal...I hope so.

So, when I wake up tomorrow I'm going to work on my first color layer. This is going to be so much fun! I'm really excited about this painting. It's part of the portfolio that I have to give my painting instructor. That's on Tuesday morning. I'm praying that it will be dry by then.

I'm going to try to start on my next painting before I go to sleep, but I don't know if that's going to happen. I was supposed to start that today, but I've been too busy. I was exhausted from the week.

This week is going to be really exhausting. I'm going to school from 9 am until 10 pm. I only have a 2 1/2 hour break during the whole day. Yay.

Apple, WIP Day One

So....I've started another painting while the other is drying. This time, I'm taking a bit of a different approach to the whole process. I wanted to change my painting style a little, and study what is now called the classic realism style. This style requires a LOT of time and patience, but the rewards are great. So, I went over to WetCanvas, and this site as well, and I found a wealth of information about how to do it.

I went to Lowe's and purchased a 4'x4' panel of 1/8 in. birch wood for about $17. Then I had them quarter the panel into 4 2'x2' panels. They do it for free! When I got the wood home I primed the panels with three coats of gesso, making sure that I sanded with a really smooth grade of sanding paper. The surface of the boards is heavenly. Today I drew my picture on the birch panel using a black Millennium zig pen that has a .05 point. After that I used acrylic paints to lay down the Imprimatura layer. I was happy with the results, and so I continued on to the 1st umber layer. I'm waiting for that to dry now. I'm still not clear on how long it's supposed to take, but I hope it doesn't take a whole week to dry. Maybe I don't have enough patience for this painting style? I would really like to paint like this man, but I don't have the skill yet. I plan on copying this picture anyway...This is my favorite painting.


BTW, I'm sorry about the glare in the photo. The painting is still super wet, and I took the picture at night.