Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting Oil Painting – Hall of Fame Oil-from-life challenge, Mar. 2019: optional plein air theme!

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  • #469923
    Grotius
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        Let’s paint from life! As always, feel free to post whatever you like — landscapes, portraits, figures, still lifes, whatever — so long as your work is painted primarily from life. This month we’re suggesting an optional plein air theme: paint something outdoors. As always, the theme is just a suggestion; post whatever you like. Four guidelines:

        1. Please paint primarily from life — not from photographs or imagination. 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 either last month or this month, not something you’ve done in the more distant past.

        3. Please paint in oils. That said, please feel free to post studies in any other medium, 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.’

        Optional: Tell us the title of your painting!

        —————–

        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 some point, when the stars align, we may do an almost-daily-painting-from-life thread. If you’re interested in such a theme, by all means let me know!

        You can find older oil-from-life threads in the “hall of fame” sub-forum of the Oil Painting forum.

        I hope you’ll all consider posting a painting or two! Thanks.

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

        #791020
        Grotius
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            I’ll kick things off with a portrait sketch from life class. This is the first of a two-week pose. The likeness isn’t there yet, but I think I’m off to a decent start. Next time I’ll try to refine the drawing to get closer to a likeness, and of course work on all the other unfinished business — the hair, the eyes, the clothing, etc. “A Gentleman,” in progress, oil on panel, 11″ x 14.”

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

            #791012
            moscatel
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                :clap: Grotius, excellent job with “A Gentleman”. This portrait is looking already so good and done that I’d almost be scared to touch it more, except maybe the ear, upper lip of his mouth and the top right hair line. Already another master piece. Also I like the colors in this one.

                Ronsu, thank you for your comments in last month’s thread.

                I cant find feb thread no where so I cant check al the posts and answers but I go and look later. I’m on the road again :( and pretty tired for driving, am now in Paris actually and we were driving in dark late night yesterday with crazy car traffic. I’m thinking if i find something little to paint outside today or tomorrow I might try to paint a small plein air before we move ahead.

                #791076
                ronsu18
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                    Grotius always good to see your colors and what you do with them. for now, it reminds me of an actor, whatshisname, in twin peaks 😊. how many layers do have on the face here? thanks for the new thread, i’ve plums apples&grapes from shopping excursion yesterday, and bought kiddies’ watercolor. hey guys, derailing but have you seen this, in wc forum:
                    https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1462175
                    while technique and learning are at the everlasting core of art, the humanity Grotius captured here really moves me.

                    moscatel in paris! hope you find the time to sketch a window or something small!

                    C&C welcome

                    #791021
                    Grotius
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                        Thanks for the replies! Ronsu, thanks for the watercolor shout-out! Moscatel, I agree with your suggested fixes. But I also want to push the features toward a closer likeness. It’s not quite there yet. We’ll see what my instructor advises next week.

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

                        #791022
                        Grotius
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                            Another day, another life class. The lighting today was frightful: we had to deal with three light sources. (1) A warm spotlight; (2) slightly less warm overhead lights; and (3) behind us, a wall of bright windows (covered with ineffective curtains) casting cool light on the model — and glare on my painting surface. It’s this sort of setup that makes me want to chuck everything and go to art school! But maybe studios there have bad ambient light too.

                            Anyway, I did my best. We had the model in front of us for a couple hours (minus breaks). But I confess I spent a half hour touching things up after class at home, with no photo reference. At least I had my new Revelite easel light lighting my panel for me properly. Amazingly, I still managed to preserve some of the likeness. “Jolene,” oil on panel, 11″ x 14.”

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

                            #791077
                            ronsu18
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                                all night last night babysitting a marinara and surfing, i checked for your update but it seems i forgot to refresh the browser or something…

                                either we’ve seen her before or it was her sister modelling, meaning she’s already herself here. the chin with indentation is wonderful as is the shadowy ear. there’s more and more instances just right from the get go at hour 2, the eye is developing. we’re fast approaching a stage where it feels like jinxing to adress the good parts 😀. looking forward to more!

                                C&C welcome

                                #791023
                                Grotius
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                                    You were up all night cooking a marinara sauce? I like cooking, but that level of dedication is a step above where I am. :)

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

                                    #791078
                                    ronsu18
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                                        if you ever want to heat up the house on a cold winter’s night, consider cooking traditional italian! i think the sauces (bechamel too) were done by two AM.

                                        C&C welcome

                                        #791013
                                        moscatel
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                                            Grotius, how come the light source failed in this session? It was ok last time, correct? I totally understand your desire to go to art school, I don’t know how they set up lights and model in US but in Florence schools they are perfect, after that experience no light set up is good for you! :D :D

                                            I was thinking if I could post an older sugar cube from life painting done sight-size & set up was black box carried outside? So, besides it’s still life from life it’s plein air as well. :cool: I’m thinking to continue it but I have doubts about it. At the time I hated that painting but the canvas is good and I’m not sure I want to scrape it off and paint over either. I still have the objects available for a re-set up.

                                            Ronsu, sounds like fun cooking all night along :crossfingers: and your right it gives heat to the house.

                                            i, too, was struck with horror reading the eight hours work and no chair in the photo, and immediately saw myself sitting down on the ground – and realized how to paint the canopy. just sit down! this painting is about the light playing on the grass among orange trees, the next one could be about the shadow above, joining light gradually.

                                            Thanks, that’s the solution. :crossfingers: I should have done it like that: seated on the ground.

                                            #791070
                                            DMArtist7
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                                                Moscatel, wanted to say your piece from last month rocks! Love the feeling, but 8 hours? Wow, I can only imagine how much your feet hurt from standing all day. :lol: Anyway lovely colors and brushwork! I hope you’re having fun traveling!
                                                Grotius, nice portraits :D and you seem to rock with watercolor lately too.

                                                I totally planned to do a pink themed painting before Feb ended and totally forgot that it is a short month, so I was too late! I’ll do it eventually and we can pretend I painted it in Feb. :thumbsup: *Whistles innocently* :music:

                                                "Choose only one master – Nature." ~ Rembrandt

                                                #791024
                                                Grotius
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                                                    lol, sounds good to me, DMA. These themes are only optional suggestions anyway. :)

                                                    Moscatel, the lighting definitely changes in our studio from one session to the next. It works best on cloudy days. When there’s bright sunshine, we get lots of ambient light through the windows, which are equipped with imperfect curtains/blinds. Also, the lighting depends on where the instructor sets up the model, and this is dictated by how much space is available, which varies from week to week. It’s all a bit frustrating.

                                                    One thing I like about the Art Students League in New York: that creaky old building has lots of interior rooms with no windows. That might sound gloomy, but it makes for great lighting!

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

                                                    #791102
                                                    Iriswyld
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                                                        #791103
                                                        Iriswyld
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                                                            Sorry not sure how to post! No idea if this image worked. Think i forgot to resize as well. This is tiny 5” by 6” Oil on board from my car

                                                            #791079
                                                            ronsu18
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                                                                hey you! you found here 😊.
                                                                sometimes with beginners i hesitate to compliment sheer talent so i don’t jinx the good stuff. how long have you been painting? you have a way with brushstrokes that feels beyond natural. the composition feels lighthearted, the houses huddle and crowd in a humorous way and the empty works surprisingly well due to your mark making. i love texture, and here’s plenty. the sense of color works also by surprise, but the quality of the photo works against the painting. i would love to see a better one! if that’s your landscape, east light indoors midday when sunny, south if cloudy tend to work. not well, but they can work.

                                                                C&C welcome

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