As you know I work from the live model at least once a week when our figure drawing group meets in my studio. Most of the time I work with pastel (Nupastels are my favorite) or watercolor. Lately I have been using my oil paints more and more to work from the live model.
A couple of weeks ago I painted this 11" x 14" panel in oil, about 80 minutes of painting time.
A couple of weeks ago I painted this 11" x 14" panel in oil, about 80 minutes of painting time.
One of two paintings I did that evening, the other was a study in watercolor. I especially like the stool she is sitting on - I didn't fully paint all four legs, a couple are only implied, but work very well.
This past Wednesday we had another wonderful model, and I chose to create two more oil sketches from the longer poses (about 50 minutes to work on each) These are 6" x 12" textured panels.
I like the horizontal pose, the way she fits into the space, her pressure on her elbow, the subtle indication of the knee under her leg.
I only did a little work on it the next day, filling in the rest of her leg. When I do work on these paintings the following day, I have to find that balance between defining shapes and keeping the loose, immediate quality of working right from the live model.
I also worked on the vertical pose, filling in the background the emphasize the sheer white drapery.
I was tempted to "fix" her hand - define the shape and the fingers, but restrained myself! It would have eliminated the "abreviation" I used the night before - the quick stroke of dark skin tone on the back of her hand and the quick dab of yellow to show the light on her fingertips. Sometimes less is best!
No comments:
Post a Comment