***I CHALLENGE YOU*** Variations on a Theme

[Nansketch]

Deborah,

Please explain how to group a small set of drawings in a -- I enjoy seeing them next to each other -- just don't know how to set it up.

thanks

nancy

[marionh]

Nancy do you have Photoshop (although I am sure that other photo editing programs will do the same).

Open PS
Under File menu select New
For image size select you image size - this will be your 'canvas' I made mine 800x300 pixels. (my paintings are 20x30 cm so I used this proportion for the canvas size) Then click OK. A white 'gallery' canvas should appear.

Open the image that you want to use (I use the scaled down image that I uploaded in the thread). You will now have two windows open.

In the window with your painting, under layers you will see an icon image of the photo. Drag and drop that onto your Gallery canvas. Rescale the image to fit the height of your gallery canvas.

Repeat for all your other paintings, dragging the image icon from the 'layers' onto your gallery canvas.

Hope this makes sense. PM me if you need to.

[Colorix]

Originally Posted by Deborah Secor

I hope everyone will visit each other and see the work. I suspect we can share some good ideas over time about how to approach doing this.

Deborah

Could we pool/list ideas? Like, here, in this thread?

[Studio-1-F]

Originally Posted by Colorix

Could we pool/list ideas? Like, here, in this thread?

To keep this up for 100 variations, I need to think hard. My own brainstorming/variations ideas:
-- value variations within a color "family" (monocolor)
-- high key overall
-- low key overall
-- complimentary duos
-- triads
-- Josef Albers' "simultaneous contrast" combos
-- mark texture variations (directional strokes vs. squiggles vs. dashes vs. blended smooth areas etc.)
-- moving (or trying to move) the "center of interest" to odd places in the scene by manipulating edges and contrast (Harrison's "refraction" ideas)
-- underpainting variations (water vs. alcohol vs. Turpenoid)
-- support variations (dif papers, dif grades of UArt, dif surface preps)
-- different sequences of application (ie using hards on top of softies, hards on top of pans, pans on top of softies, etc.)

Just a few thoughts.

Jan

[Colorix]

Jan:
-- value variations within a color "family" (monocolor)
-- high key overall
-- low key overall
-- complimentary duos
-- triads
-- Josef Albers' "simultaneous contrast" combos
-- mark texture variations (directional strokes vs. squiggles vs. dashes vs. blended smooth areas etc.)
-- moving (or trying to move) the "center of interest" to odd places in the scene by manipulating edges and contrast (Harrison's "refraction" ideas)
-- underpainting variations (water vs. alcohol vs. Turpenoid)
-- support variations (dif papers, dif grades of UArt, dif surface preps)
-- different sequences of application (ie using hards on top of softies, hards on top of pans, pans on top of softies, etc.)


Charlie (may repeat Jan's unintentionally):
-- one colour plus black stick
-- one colour plus white stick
-- flat painting, silhouettes
-- planes of objects painted flat and angular
-- reversed tonality (like a bw negative)
-- all hard edges
-- all soft edges
-- all blurry edges
-- no drawing, just broad strokes of colour, letting them overlap (think Alicia)
-- split complementary
-- colour negative
-- a "mother colour" mixed into *every* part
-- high chroma
-- low chroma (mouse power)
-- underpaintings (greyscale, brownish-red in values, green values, all shadows blue all light yellow (Maggie Price), vivid, neutral, etc.)
-- painted with *other* hand
-- painted with a mirror, only look in the mirror not at paper.
-- paint it all upside down (a la Betty Edwards)
-- make a cubist Picasso
-- Dalí
-- Pollock
-- cave painting
-- mosaic
-- pure abstract

Charlie

[Studio-1-F]

All very good suggestions. Thanks!

However, explanations and expansions please, Charlie:
-- colour negative -- is this just reversing the colors, like what is green IRL is painted as magenta?
-- cave painting -- ? - painted with a handmade pastel stick made from the red ochre clay earth found in a seam next to the creek in the local park?

Jan

[Colorix]

Originally Posted by Studio-1-F

All very good suggestions. Thanks!

However, explanations and expansions please, Charlie:
-- colour negative -- is this just reversing the colors, like what is green IRL is painted as magenta?
-- cave painting -- ? - painted with a handmade pastel stick made from the red ochre clay earth found in a seam next to the creek in the local park?

Jan

Brainstorming. Any idea that sparks another idea is valid. :-) Well, Ok, maybe not using dewdrops and moonbeams on the tip of a unicorn's horn... Moot, anywa, as there's no-one here qualified to catch a unicorn.

Question a: Yes, I think it is the same... what about solarize, then?

Q b: Definitely! or, perchance red and yellow earths with black outlines?

Keep 'em coming, we're gonna need them!

Charlie

[Nansketch]

Thanks to everyone, I'm sure we will need suggestions as we move along.
Marion, thank you for the explanation -- I'll see if I can figure it out. Tho, I will be honest -- I work on computers all day in a variety of software -- when you said PS and layers -- that may do me in. I've spent multitudes of hours trying to figure out ps -- just doesn't kick in. but I will try.

Looking forward to week 2 galleries.

Nancy

[Deborah Secor]

Wow, I go out for the day and look at l this! Good ideas, and I love the list.

In my class we plan to paint with an analogous color scheme, using three hues next to each other on the color wheel, a split complement scheme, using any hue and the colors on each side of its complement, or a triadic scheme, using any three hues of equal distance from each on the color wheel, so there are three more (though I suspect maybe mentioned already if I study the lists!)

Nancy, you can also get a ladder, place your paintings on the floor and shoot them all together from above! (Not easy to do...I'll unravel PS any day.)

Deborah

[Colorix]

Nancy, do you have professional PS, or PSE (Photoshop Elements)?

Deb, yes, can't turn away for a minute, or class runs wild! When does week 2 start? Tomorrow, the 8th?

Charlie

[Deborah Secor]

Yep, tomorrow is the beginning of week 2.

I know because it's my second class here. I hope some of my students will bring in their challenge paintings. The class is devoted to painting night scenes, and I found a wonderful blog entry by Marc Hanson on changing day photos to night paintings. I may give that a try, and suggest it to my students as another option for the series... Is that idea in your lists anywhere?

I'm behind on my commitment to 5 a week, but my mother's health has taken a nosedive, so I may just regard this as a teaching opportunity and not stress myself to do what may be impossible right now.

Deborah

[Colorix]

Deborah, of course, life happens, and I hope your mother will get better soon. Now wasn't the time for you to paint 5/week, but maybe fewer? Or, if we continue next month, and all is well?

Charlie

[Susan Jenkins]

Okay... Here goes... AHHH! I have been dying to do this before I even saw this challenge because I know it will only help me to grow as an artist. I have hesitated, because when I make a commitment I REALLY want to stick with it.

I will paint
3 paintings per week for the month of October (I started late so I have some catching up to do)!!!
in this size: 5 x 7 (easy to find premade frames if I choose to frame any)
and in this amount of time: 30-45min
Signed: Susan Jenkins

I've got two done and I'll post right now in another thread.

Thanks Deborah... this is a great exercise!!!
susan

[SonyaJ]

Okay, I've finally got my first three challenge paintings done, photographed and ready to post after I post here. I think the last pastel painting I did was 10 years ago, aside from one I started this past Dec. and abandoned.

I originally said I would do 3 paintings, 9x12" in 45 min./ea. per week, but I've decided to change that to the following:

5 paintings per week - the practice is much needed!
6x8" (or thereabouts - I decided it would be better to cut my papers in half, which will be cheaper and the smaller studies less, um, daunting than the 9x12" and 9x11" I'd originally planned).
30 min. each.

In a notebook, I wrote out several "themes" that I wanted to try and do, and I've thought of more since then. Here are some of what I've listed:

-monochromatic #1(done)
-summer #1 (done)
-fall colors #1 (done)
- winter day
-high-key
-low-key
-"as is" - using the original color photo
-analgous #1-x (x= whatever I end up with )
-triadic #1-x
-complementary #1-x
-split complementary #1-x
-fog/mist
-sunset(s)
-sunrise
-spring
-storm sky
-high chroma colors
-"painted in the style of":
-Degas, Van Gogh, Maynard Dixon, and probably some others as I think of them. These artists have such vastly different painting styles, but I love them all. Their use of color and line intrigue me and once I get more experience, I'll try these.

I'm going to post everything I do, even the really bad ones I'd rather throw into the trash right away , since mistakes are useful learning tools as well, and maybe others

The papers I'm using, at least to start out with: Canson Mi-Tientes and some 400-grit black sanded paper from Finland (aka - wet/dry sandpaper from the local Tru-Value hardware store ). I have some Wallis paper but don't want to waste any on these studies. With these papers, I won't feel bad throwing them away.

Here is the value study (posterized b/w version of the ref. photo). I also tweaked it a bit to add some sky. In the original photo crop, there is no sky visible; the upper "V" is another part of the mountain. But, I wanted to add a sky element and hey, it works!



Okay, enough rambling. I'm going to go post the photos of the first three in a new thread.

ETA: link to pictures for week one: http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=587177

Also: I haven't had time to comment in the other challenge threads yet, but they are all super! I love seeing how everyone has decided to approach their challenge subjects and this will be so fun to watch over the weeks that it continues. I hope more people join in, too .

Cheers,

[creatividee]

Deborah, Is it too late to join in? I've been thinking about this and think it's a great opportunity but didn't realize the challenge actually began on the 1st. Thanks,