Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting Oil Painting – Hall of Fame Oil-from-life challenge, Nov. 2017: any subject, but especially still lifes!

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  • #448671
    Grotius
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        Happy November, everyone! Let’s paint from life! Please feel free to post any oil painting of any subject — landscapes, portraits, figures, still lifes, whatever — so long as it was painted primarily from life. This month we’re especially encouraging still life paintings, but any painting from life qualifies for this thread. Four guidelines:

        1. Please paint primarily from life — not from photographs or imagination. I would like to see your direct impressions of your subject, unmediated by cameras. (It’s okay to post finished studio works based on studies from life; in that case, please post the original study as well as the finished work.)

        2. Please submit something created new, this month, not something you’ve done in the past. (Optionally, you may post a photo of your work on the easel, with the subject in front of you, but this is not a requirement.)

        3. Please paint in oils. That said, please feel free to post studies in any other medium, (e.g., pencil, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, gouache, casein, acrylic) so long as you also post your oil painting(s).

        4. Please list the size of your painting and support. E.g., ‘”8×10″, oil on panel.’ All sizes and supports welcome.

        Optional: Tell us the title of your painting! I think it helps us grow as artists to think about what we’re trying to say in our work, and titles are a part of that.

        —————–

        Unfinished works, studies, and outright failures are all welcome. There’s no requirement that you invite comment & critique. If you’d rather post without being critiqued, just say so; that’s fine by me!

        At the end of the month, I will sum up the proceedings with a written awards ceremony in which every artist will receive at least one written commendation from me, in the form of a post here in this forum. If you’d rather opt out of receiving such a commendation, just let me know. (Incidentally, you can find older oil-from-life threads in the “hall of fame” subforum of the Oil Painting forum.)

        I hope you’ll all consider posting something! Thanks.

        - Geoff.
        My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

        #534509
        Grotius
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            I’m still working on the awards ceremony for October. I have to run out for a few hours, but I should have the ceremony posted this evening. Let’s hope the accountants don’t hand me the wrong envelopes during my witty monologue.

            - Geoff.
            My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

            #534553
            AllisonR
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                Day 1 Paintbrush
                20 x 40 cm oil on canvas

                Starting my Painting A Day Challenge, yea! Just a touch of color.

                Being born places you at a greater risk of dying later in life.

                http://www.artallison.com/
                #534510
                Grotius
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                    Hi Allison, and welcome to the oil-from-life thread! I like that painting a lot! The dash of blue on the brush is fabulous. :-)

                    - Geoff.
                    My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

                    #534511
                    Grotius
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                        In October we had 25 plein air landscapes, 3 portraits, 2 figures, and 2 still lifes. With the colder weather in the northern hemisphere, I’m guessing we’ll see more indoor work this month, which is why I’ve suggested an optional focus on still lifes, but by all means keep those landscapes coming!

                        Anyway, let’s get to it — the October Oil-from-Life Awards. The envelopes, please!

                        The Welcome Award: franflair, who posted a half-dozen landscapes and sparked lots of interesting discussion about technique.

                        Portraits:

                        Best self-portrait: T1barkode. I hope we see the final version of this one!
                        Best portrait of a woman: DocPro, “Autumn Lady,” a lovely work from a life-painting session. I hope we see more of these from Philip!
                        Best portrait of a man: me, “Harry,” looking angry. Harry poses for my life class a lot. This weekend we had a class show, and it featured four paintings of Harry! (Not mine, though.)

                        Figures:

                        Best nude:- AnnieA, with her excellent reclining nude.
                        Best clothed figure: DocPro, with “Autumn Girl” and “Autumn Lady.” Glad to see DocPro embraced the “fall colors” theme even in his figures and portraits!

                        Still life:

                        Best flowers: DMArtist, with “October’s Flowers.” It was great to see this painting progress through several stages, and it ended up looking beautiful.
                        Best pie: SoftRoses, “Signs of Fall.” This is one of my favorite of SoftRoses’ paintings! I hope she does something similar for Thanksgiving. :)

                        Landscape:

                        Best autumn colors in the sky: DMA, with the breathtaking “First breath of October.” This was the first painting posted last month, and one of my favorites. Great composition, lovely colors in the sky, good drawing — just lots of goodness here.

                        Best use of figures in the landscape: DocPro, “Heavenly Garden.” The figures really struck me in this one. The picture is also notable for its rich warm colors.

                        Best light and shadow: T1, “Church study,” done as part of T1’s work on a commission. As usual, strong lights and shadows!

                        Best bridge: franflair, with her picture of a bridge guarded by trees. So glad to see Fran posting her work here!

                        Best leaves: Stapeliad, exquisite autumn leaves in her Central Park 8×10. I read that relatively few trees in the park have turned this year. She found one and did a lovely job with it. I hope she can tear herself away from her pastels to do another couple oils-from-life this month.

                        Best red foliage: KarenDArt, “Scenic overlook, Carbondale.” We’ve hardly seen any red foliage in my area, so I’m glad Karen recorded some for us in this painting!

                        Best bird: franflair, “Heron poses.” Birds are all around us, so it’s always good to see them in paint!

                        Best rooftops: me, with “Looking Up,” “Swains Lockhouse,” “House and Pole,” and “Sunset over the Irene.” For some reason, I kept staring at roofs this month.

                        Best nocturne: DMA, with “October Moon,” a superb nocturne. DMA really got into the “fall colors” theme last month!

                        Thanks to all who participated! I hope you continue to post things this month. Don’t feel you have to paint a still life, especially if the weather is warm! Plein air landscapes are always welcome. Thanks again!

                        - Geoff.
                        My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

                        #534554
                        carolkay
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                            I just finished a stillife from life … how does one post it here…?

                            [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Carol Sometime's failure is the opposite to success~ but sometimes failure can be the pathway to success
                            #534512
                            Grotius
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                                Hi Carol,

                                Thanks for your interest! Post as you would any other image here. I see you’ve just posted a fantastic still life from life in another thread. Please feel free to post it here too!

                                For all those who are wondering how to attach in image: Just click the little “picture” icon at the top of this text box; if you hover over it, it says “insert image.” Then click “choose file” and select your image from your computer. Then click “upload image.” Then, importantly, click on the image to embed it in the message. Then just go ahead and post your message.

                                - Geoff.
                                My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

                                #534486

                                Thanks for running another cool challenge Geoff!

                                Congrats to all the award-winners! :D :clap:

                                Lady Mars Orange Marmalade Stapleford
                                Moderator: OIls, Pastels, Plein Air

                                Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde

                                #534487
                                AnnieA
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                                    Thanks, Geoff, for posting another month’s thread and for the award!

                                    Allison, that’s a beautiful painting of the brush – masterful!

                                    Here’s another painting from my figure painting class. As always, not really finished (I’m so slow!) but I’m learning a lot. This exercise was about color temperature. I would never imagined that color that appeared way to bright and saturated on the palette could create believable skin tones. This is a terrific class!
                                    …Well, I guess you’re not going to see it today. I’ve already wasted an hour trying to get it posted. :(

                                    [FONT=Arial]C&C always welcome ©[/I] [/font]
                                    [FONT=Palatino]
                                    “Life is a pure flame and we live by an invisible sun within us.” ― Sir Thomas Browne [/size][/font]

                                    http://s3.amazonaws.com/wetcanvas-hdc/Community/images/29-Jul-2007/85002-sig-thumbnail_composite_2.jpg]/img]

                                    #534513
                                    Grotius
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                                        Great to hear from you, Annie! I’m so sorry the forum is giving you so much trouble again. I hope you find a way to get it posted, because I love seeing your figure studies. :)

                                        - Geoff.
                                        My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

                                        #534571
                                        SoftRoses
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                                            Congrats to the award winners! Thanks Geoff for my award!

                                            Carol your still life in the other threads is so beautiful. I hope you can post it here.

                                            I need to finish up my current still life. Hope to get to it today!

                                            C&C always welcome!

                                            #534575
                                            DaveCrow
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                                                Allison, I love the brush painting. Simple elegance.

                                                "Let the paint be paint" --John Marin

                                                #534555
                                                carolkay
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                                                    I hope I did this right !
                                                    This is one from my bucket list to do .. it’s oil on linen – from life- 12×24

                                                    [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Carol Sometime's failure is the opposite to success~ but sometimes failure can be the pathway to success
                                                    #534488
                                                    AnnieA
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                                                        Carol, very nice! You nailed the pearly finish on the pottery – I recognized it immediately, as my grandmother had ceramic pieces like that.

                                                        Trying again on my image, but for some reason, it tends to get washed out when I post, even though the image looks fine on my computer.

                                                        Classroom Study #4, Temperature
                                                        16×20

                                                        Hmmm…not exactly right, but close enough, I guess. He ended up looking a little stiff. Part of that may have been the actual position but I think the tilt of his head kept changing slightly and I still haven’t figured out how to deal with that in the middle of a painting. He told me that the way he keeps still for the long modeling sessions is to do math problems in his head. :lol:

                                                        Geoff, you might want to ask one of the mods to add the butt icon to the thread…my easel position in the studio resulted in quite a “full frontal” and I don’t want to shock or offend anyone!

                                                        [FONT=Arial]C&C always welcome ©[/I] [/font]
                                                        [FONT=Palatino]
                                                        “Life is a pure flame and we live by an invisible sun within us.” ― Sir Thomas Browne [/size][/font]

                                                        http://s3.amazonaws.com/wetcanvas-hdc/Community/images/29-Jul-2007/85002-sig-thumbnail_composite_2.jpg]/img]

                                                        #534514
                                                        Grotius
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                                                            Carol. that still life is exquisite! The light on the big pitcher is delicious. And everything is modeled beautifully. the color composition is fascinating: all those lovely cool greens and blues make the warm light pop even more. Also, it looks like it’s in a very nice and suitable frame. What a wonderful work of art. How long did it take you to paint?

                                                            Annie, I’m so glad you managed to get that painting posted. I think it’s your best figure yet. I love the rich warm light in the lights and the cool colors in the transitions from light to shadow. The sitter’s face looks good too. Also, how in the world did you have time to do such a detailed background? In life class I always seem to neglect it. And yes, I’ll ask about adding a butt icon to the thread. ;-)

                                                            - Geoff.
                                                            My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

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