Category: Process Studies

1 Down – 99 To Go

First, I have to admit what I posted before as a Notan, wasn’t.  A Notan shows a division of value, so the picture should show light, medium and dark values.  That’s what I get for posting late at night….or maybe that’s what you get!   Anyway, the picture below shows the real Notan for the 100 painting challenge.  The drawing that I posted before would normally be done after the Notan.   Anyway, here it is drawn in the actual 5 X 7 size…..which I may already be regretting.  I thought they would go faster, but perhaps my choice of landscape is too detailed for this………never fear!   I am ready and willing to meet the challenge!

Real Notan 11-12

Now, below you will see two photos.  First, is the basic drawing lines  when I started and second is what I accomplished in 30 minutes.  BOY, DID I LEARN A LESSON TONIGHT!

Many of the artists had been talking about using up small pieces of various pastel papers….which sounded great to me.   And then I decided to get VERY brave and start out with black paper.  Many pastels are done on black paper and I had a couple small sheets, although now I’m not sure why I saved them because I don’t really enjoy working on black.   BUT the biggest surprise of all was learning that it wasn’t in fact pastel paper!

So, the 30 minutes were spent smushing pastel into this slick surface and covering up the black while trying to make the painting resemble in some way the landscape I had decided to use.  Consequently, there is very little detail in the painting.  I could have stopped at any time and moved to the proper paper, but I admit I’m stubborn and decided since the clock was ticking, I would do the best I could.

Who knows?  They may all turn out this way…..but, I hope not.

In each of the following 99 paintings, I will be shifting values, color combinations, etc., with the aim of learning what happens when you break the rules and just go for it.  (Seems like I already know how to do that, doesn’t it?)

Here are the sketch and Painting #1  (despite paragraphs above, IT WAS FUN!!!!)

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Autumn Leaf and Challenge Announcement

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This is a quick watercolor done this evening of a leaf collected while walking my dogs.  Fall in L.A. is a strange affair. Hot temps and very few beautiful leaves.  Most trees just go from green to brown and drop leaves when the wind blows.    The image is 4 X 4 done with Winsor & Newton watercolors in my sketch book.  Not really watercolor paper, but works ok.

And now for the challenge announcement:

I’ve decided to bite off probably more than I can chew, but I’m going to try.  There is a movement going around in the art world about a comment that has been attributed to several people over the years, so who knows….that to really know a medium, one needs to complete 100 paintings in that medium. In last month’s issue of the Pastel Journal,  artist, Maria Bagetta, wrote an article about her having achieved that goal.  In order to make this workable, Maria confined her paper size to 10 X 10 and decided to restrict herself to 30 minutes on each painting.

The photo of the 100 paintings is amazing!  Debrah Secor, a pastel artist and teacher in Albuquerque, N.M. challenged readers of the website, Wet Canvas, to do the same thing.  She opened up the challenge to any medium, not just pastel, and each person could choose the size of painting and time limitation.  She had a great response in October that has rolled over to November.  There’s one member that has completed something like 70 so far and is expecting to complete the 100 this month.

So………….I decided to pick up the challange (there is no time limitation, of course and many may not finish, but so far they are  having a great time of it.   I will work in pastel, 5 X 7 size and 30 minute time limitation.

The following illustration is called a Notan.  A Japanese word for simplified drawing of the values (dark, medium & light) of the proposed painting.   Unfortunately, I skipped the medium value, but you’ll get the idea.

That’s as far as I got today.   Let me know if anyone in Vegas makes book on my finishing!

notan-landscape

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Country Home New Photo

Country House Redo

Well, since this is a process blog, I decided to leave the last post with the weak picture of this house so you can compare it to a better photo.  I also placed it in a wide maroon mat because I am going to frame and hang it here in the house.  The proof is here.  Outdoor light is the best.

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Preparing for Spring Show

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Once I had chosed the entries, the next job was to convert them form the metal hanging attachment that you find on most purchased frames (looks like a row of allegator teeth!) to wire hangers.  This meant inserting circle head screws on each side a couple of inches or so from the top and attaching strong wire that would go from one side to the other somewhat loosely, but not so it would show above the frame after hanging.  This now became a family endeavor with Chick the Woodworker stepping in.

Birdhouse- A Process Study

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Today, I did a quick sketch of a bird house in our back yard.   I thought I’d show you how I work on the dining room table some times, esp. if the paper is small.  This is my 5 X 7 sketchbook and my travel watercolor set .

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And here is the finished sketch drawn in thin black ink and then colored with watercolor!

Poppies- A Process Study

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Just a quick flair drawing with water brushed on.  Size 7 X 5

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I decided to paint the poppies, later the same week…  Size 6 X 9.

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Landscape – A Process Study

This was taken near Lompoc a few years ago looking East.

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#1:  First I sketch positions of trees, mountains, etc. with vine charcoal.  I always begin my landscape with the sky.

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#2  I’ve started adding clouds, using a peach tone at the bottom.  This will probably be modified as I paint depending on several factors, like how bright the fields will be.

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#3.  I’ve contoured the farthest range of mountains and started the closer elevations that have trees.  These are just beginning colors that will be brightened and darkened as I go along.  I’ve also added the base of one of  the roads that leads toward Hwy 101.   There are at least 3 ways out of Lompoc.

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#4 I’ve started adding fields and the trees that line their eastern edge.

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And cropped, then done!

Grapes – A Process Study

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Grapes
6 X8 (approx)
Flair pen drawing

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Version 2 with flair pen & brushed water

Sunflowers – A Process Study

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This is the original sketch done with a flair pen prior to shading with brush and water.

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This is the shaded version.

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And this is the watercolor version!

I may be done with sunflowers for awhile!

Flowers: A Progress Study

Here’s a progress study!

I took an earlier drawing of the tulips done in flair pen and water and did it  again using the traditional pen and ink drawing method.

Here are the steps:

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Tulip sketch was traced onto heavier watercolor paper and a very diluted wash of india ink was started.

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First light wash was completed.

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Second layer of wash was added into some areas for contrast and modeling.

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Drawing was completed over the wash layer using full-strength india ink and both a bamboo pen and a mediam dip pen.

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