ITALIAN PAINTING

I am finally calling the Italian themed painting for my Aunt Valerie finished.  

Not much else to say but it's finished!  Horay!!

Dimples Paint.

I went out with a co-worker (who is 20) the other night and we being frustrated working part-time at a retail shop decided to go out and, well... whine like babies.  When I (35) should be getting off my ass and getting more film work I was swearing a lot about suffering through this retail job.  Like every other word.  I am proud of it, yes I am because it's better for me than that quiet thing called holding it in, or even meditating, which isn't really an outlet.  The difference that day was we were sitting next to a family in "Not your Average Joe's" and well... we were trying to clean it up with code word "dimples."

So "DIMPLES" get to the DIMPLES point already, Paintdimplesventure.

This week my main focus has been the detailed task of cleaning up my shaping, perspective lines, coloring, and my language.

my coffee went cold you can tell because it's the map from harry potter on the cup when it's hot.

I am having perspective issues with the cheese and cracker board.   It's been a little hard to imagine the vanishing line for me.  So feel free to steal the photo and draw over it in PS if you can see what it should be.  The "Ah HAH" moment has been lost on me.

Dimples Grapes and Dimples Sunflowers.

Dimples Highlights and Dimples Shading

Dimples Blurry Dimples Trees in window and Dimples more refined bricks in the Dimples wall.

There it is.  I hope to work more on the dramatic lighting this week but needed it to dry a bit before I went ahead and did some wash over the background wall.  I'm getting way more detailed than I have to, since the style is more like the reference photos in the background that I think my Aunt is looking for... but this is what happens when I paint.  I do whatever happens for a long while and then I go in and change it.  It's like it has to reach a certain Jess-style point before I can let it go and make it someone else's.  It's been happening since... I picked up a brush and dipped it in paint.

   It becomes more matchy of Aunt Val's Kitchen colors every time it's worked on, but for some reason, it's easier to have bright base colors to tone out with grays and tans later to create the sages and wine colors she likes so much... it takes a little mixing and not straight from the tube to get the subtle color with these water mixable oils since they only come in a few numbers of colors.  I'm getting there I swear with a lot of help from my color wheel :)  And all the other painter's say "DUH" but I must remember... this is the first time I'm using oils and now that I know it is a challenge to pull out the intensity of color in oil... I will be, you know... using it a lot more for my own work.  :)

This guy is way faster.  Watch :)

Three Months and a Wedding.

It has been, yes.  Too long.  I agree.  I blame my Brother and my new sister in law. 

 They were married last weekend, see, and I was having much more fun paying attention the the happiness involved in that 3 month preparation than, psht, making CRAFTS.  My Mom however, made my dress.  Look how great my dress is.   My Mommy made my dress, and I am a Princess.  lol.  :)


   I'm the girl giving a funny look all the way to the left hand side.  My father stole Dana's Bride Linda away the second they said "I Do" and Dana was saying that he still had all these ladies.  :)  My family.  

I was barefoot and I am still 10 ft taller than any "normal size" girl.  But I got the "cute" gene, so it has been working out.  I make fun art and I make everyone laugh so that has to be something.

   Everyone from both sides bonded very quickly over making floral arrangements and putting up decorations on the day.  I guess there was group crafting happening.  It was such a memorable wedding and reception I can't imagine anyone not having fun!  My GRANDFATHER married these two crazy kids.  

ALRIGHT!  Enough jibber jabber!  Do you wanna see some painting?  I have some for you:)

This is where I started.  Gasp.  Stop looking.

This is where it was in April.  Above. 
Easter.  Dana announces engagement.  We all come together and make it happen in 3 months.  Forward to this past Wednesday night :

  So it's coming along, slowly and surely.  So glad I don't have a real deadline.  Today. ::arrow down::

 Clean Palate as of tonight, and here are some lovely grapes.

See you soon!

Aunt Val's Painting

In High School I painted a still life in the style of Paul Cezanne.  It was the hardest assignment I had to do.  I was so frustrated with it I basically told my teacher in such a bratty teenage way, that I was done.  She pushed for me to "fix" a few things and I was like F-That, because it was me the class was waiting on to move on to the next assignment, and I didn't want to be the slow kid.  It still looks pretty good, but that teapot is just not quite right.  I don't care. It has character...lol

So here I go again, trying to do this style AGAIN.  I will get frustrated, I will be upset, but I'm going to get through it because it is for my Aunt Val, and I love her.  She just loves those grapes in the original painting.  Besides I had a ball painting the rest of the painting so this should go that way as well... it was just ... SLOW for me to pick up on the style.  Of course there will be little me-isms in there which you probably can tell already my base colors of Blue, Green, and Orange are already predominant... I will TRY to get more colors in there.  There's some red, and purple and some yellow in there already I swear!

So you'll be with me for a while on this one, but I'll post some other interesting things in between so we won't get bored.   

I was sent a few reference photo ideas for this one.  It is my first time using Water Soluble Oil Paint for an entire painting.  It takes a long time (I work with acrylics usually).  Oh and I like challenges. 

 

I really need the windows open for this one so it has been put off until the weather was better. I started the color blocking part months ago and the window in the painting was putting me off.  Mocking me, telling me it was "off" like the teapot so I figured it out working on that section mostly today (about 2 hours) So it's still in it's baby-stages but at a point where I can let you guys start following along with me.   

I hope to get some more interesting objects in there as time goes on, maybe some cheese,  but for now these are just place markers since what I really want to do is start getting the landscape in the window (I'm thinking Mt. Vesuvius) to look decent before I muck around with the table.  As you can see, I have set up my faux "still life" so as I get bored of either working on the table or the 'scape... I can switch easily between them without too much fixing.  The point for this one is going to be trying to get the light just right through that bottle. 

The photos aren't great of what (to the right) I worked on today since I have been too destitute to purchase new batteries for my good camera and these were taken on my phone,  the first earlier in the sun, the second with just my overhead living room lighting since it's now.. 2:30am.  I tend to over explain things out of nervous habit...

More soon!