- This topic has 6 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 8 years, 9 months ago by
.
-
If you haven’t seen my trailer on my portrait methods of drawing the portrait and teaching, a unique approach…starting with the eyes working out…here is the YouTube trailer for that..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ6QtsmRMWg
What is exciting for me, is the opportunity to teach my alla prima oil painting methods…a four week online course with complete videos, downloads, PDFs, images..lesson plans, assignments that will be followed up with my offering of critiques. I shot the filming of these four mudhead paintings last night…
These were quick “mudhead” portraits I did last night, put to video…to help engage the learning curve my new iMac and Final Cut Pro video editing as part of my convalescing with knee surgery I had this morning.
The paint is laid out with a mid, dark and light value of flesh tones, then darks, mixed piles for negative space. No concern of finishing with attention to detail, but only squinting eyes, seeing color/value shapes, and leave it as that. It is yet uncanny how a likeness is yet transmitted.
I used one #8 Rosemary Ivory flat…to paint all three, and no other brushes. The exercise helps learn how to wipe (paper towel) and encourage the Alla Prima axiom- “a brushstroke laid is a brushstroke stayed”, take 3-4 strokes before getting more paint; and have no problem with what color or value the brush lays down. Painting with the paint of the brush…and wipe clean (pulling brush thru towel in hand.)
This exercise serves several benefits…it allows you to explore and play with color strategies, (color wheel- triadic, complementary, split-complementary, values driven neutral mud, pigment soup etc); develop confident brushwork in an Alla Prima style; and establish a working routine wet into wet manner of painting, getting a feel for color and value shapes to establish the painting.
As fifteen minute (on average) exercises, this requires and makes no large demands to affect your otherwise painting regimen. But, as an exercise will create new approaches, new ways of seeing, and add to confidence.
Each is about 6″ x 4″ in size, the larger horizontal about 6″ x 12″Larry Seiler- Signature Member IPAP; Signature Member American Impressionist Society AIS
Main website! https://larryseiler-artist.com/Worked on week two’s demo exercise on expressions… 4″ x 8″ alla prima… not just anatomy, and mood…but Reenforcing the process painting wet into wet….
Charcoal vine stick drawing allows to work out the draftsmanship if painting direct is a little unnerving…but you can also wipe off if you have a feel, and here I made little marks on the masking tape where I determined eyes to be located…
Then I mix up a mid-value color matching the reference, block the entire area in, and paint lights and darks directly in wet on wet…
Larry Seiler- Signature Member IPAP; Signature Member American Impressionist Society AIS
Main website! https://larryseiler-artist.com/A closeup of one eye, as there is a lot of color actually…and you can see the brushwork alla prima invites, namely that axiom, “a brushstroke laid is a brushstroke stayed”
Larry Seiler- Signature Member IPAP; Signature Member American Impressionist Society AIS
Main website! https://larryseiler-artist.com/About to start a new one…the major concept explained in PDF on this first one, this one…a single eye will be filmed for educational instructional purposes.
Same process and steps…but, I will mention…if using charcoal is your preferred method, there are a couple suggestions to try if preserving that drawing rather than risk mixing into the paint.
Myself…I usually start with a few solvent and paint sketched lines…but, use Krylon Damar spray varnish, which dries fast…then use Krylon’s Conservator Retouch Varnish…and begin painting…
I’ll take a still pic at the end to share…likely sometime tomorrow…
Larry Seiler- Signature Member IPAP; Signature Member American Impressionist Society AIS
Main website! https://larryseiler-artist.com/Just finished this a study of eye expression and demonstrating a wet in wet manner of working…the pair of eyes was made for a PDF…and the single eye here filmed. Anyway…time to clean up, make dinner…and then tomorrow I shift to videographer film editior mode…
Larry Seiler- Signature Member IPAP; Signature Member American Impressionist Society AIS
Main website! https://larryseiler-artist.com/Painted one more demo alla prima eye exercise for this instructional I am putting together, this one more direct, less wet on wet…and less refinement as the others.
I include a smaller pic…since the “brushstroke laid is a brushstroke stayed” axiom reveals more a controlled chaos up close…and a few paces back snaps or pops into more realism.
Years ago…I spent hundreds of hours so it appeared realistic from six inches away. Now…I realize all that time invested is all over where ideally you would have a viewer stand to look at the work. If it pops from 3 paces back…and I can paint the work in 1-3 hours, it challenges me to consider why it is so important to invest hundreds of hours in case someone stands with their nose just inches away? Rembrandt had unique methods he employed in his day, that were considered radical. Some of the critics writing negative reviews led him when seeing someone up very close say, “Hey…you have no right smelling my paintings!”
Larry Seiler- Signature Member IPAP; Signature Member American Impressionist Society AIS
Main website! https://larryseiler-artist.com/This might be of interest…
This is my taboret…a clear plexiglas over wood cabinetry/taboret on wheels, before my wallmount easel.
It shows how I use those old phonebooks, to wipe my brushes off on rather than use up so much paper towel.
I premix my color piles…so I don’t require a whole lot of additional paint mixing area, but could always move my phonebook if I need to. I also show having used only two brushes, and as a wiper…don’t really need to use a lot of brushes.
Larry Seiler- Signature Member IPAP; Signature Member American Impressionist Society AIS
Main website! https://larryseiler-artist.com/
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.