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WIP. Saint Matthew and the Angel
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Posted
I wasn't going to put this on as a WIP until it was done but I regret that now as I'm sure Alan or Robert would have steered me in the right direction. Biggest mistake, I didn't put my white on right. My first coat was too thin, making my second coat of white sketchy. So, I am now doing a third thick coat. I've started introducing my darks, while still continuing to work on the whites. This is the most difficult study I've ever done and it is slow progress but I'm working on other things in between. The oil sketch didn't need to be as detailed as the charcoal sketching I had done over the past year as I've worked the detail and shadows in with the paint as I've been going along. I do wish I had put it up sooner as I probably would have saved myself some time. I'm hoping to have the whites and darks finished at the weekend. Maybe start on some colour next week. Here are some of the stages. you can clearly see I have gone in weak with the white on the first application. I'm still hoping to do a fair job of it.
Posted
Thanks for your Comments Gudrun. Alan your thoughts are greatly appreciated as I am sure you would have said if there were major issues or anything chronic and I will take my time, it has been slow going. Helen, I think because I came late to art, I'm not always sure when I start something, that I am actually going to have the experience to complete it the I would wish to. Even now, I don't know how the finish will look but I know I'll give it my best. Thanks for your comments. I definitely feel more encouraged by your thoughts.
Posted
Funny old thing is art. The highs and the lows…feeling dispirited, pushing through and emerging more optimistic and with a will to continue. This is looking so much more positive Denise - you can see beyond the trees! This is the moment I shout CHARGE!!! ( well, you get what I mean, I’m sure).
Posted
I've not commented before because, though I've used similar method - in my case, with genuine Flake (i.e. lead) white, and Terre Verte, I've not used quite this method, and certainly not on so complex a composition as this one. In theory, the idea is to get as much of the drawing - drawing with the brush - done in monochrome as possible, and then to glaze over it: in my experience (which is limited with this sort of thing) you always need to keep strengthening the drawing (and sometimes to subdue it): and will often find you need a lot of glazes; working in oil, this makes for an extremely long process: much quicker with acrylic - though while that's true in terms of paint drying time, you may need more layers, and acrylic medium, to stop things getting flat. Proving once again my contention: that the only "easy" painting is one someone else did - I've never yet found a painting easy to do; though have generally enjoyed doing them (well, after 55 years, I suppose you'd have to enjoy it or it would be sheer Masochism to keep doing it...).
The other reason not to comment here, in terms of offering any advice, is that you're an experimenter - that's what you're doing here and what you do generally: you work out your own processes, taking what you can from historical precedent and essentially just trying it and persisting: which is much the best way to do it if you don't have art school training (and probably still the best way, even if you have). I wouldn't want to stand in the way of that, because it's so obviously working for you - and much faster that I've ever observed in anyone else, except perhaps for the late Paulette Farrel, whom I was able to help years ago: after which, she took off! I don't claim the credit - though I'd love to... All she needed was to think about volume rather more - when she got that, she was a lot more adventurous than I've ever been.
You, I think, have that already - you understand shape and volume: my one bit of advice now would be to identify the things you're not so hot at (if there are any!) and - when you've finished this fabulous project - work on those.
I wonder what white you're using - I doubt you'll have been able to get your hands on genuine lead white (and if you have, tell me where you got it!) so you'll have to wait that little bit longer for the paint to dry enough for you to glaze over it. If not lead white, I would have suggested Alkyd white - dries much faster than Titanium White in regular oils.
Posted
Yes, Marjorie, I know what you mean and yesterday, I did feel positive. I haven't had any time to work on it today. I'm using a Flake White Hue Robert. I'm still working some of the drawing in using my whites and shadows and leaving the base colour to create some folds and small creases that I can see within the painting. I admit, it is a complex piece and sometimes I'm spending hours in one particular spot. Very enjoyable though. Yes, my next project, I'm about to start that in a few days while continuing to work on this. Another oil using the Verdaccio technique. I think I have learned so quickly by all the support, helpful guidance and advice from yourself, Alan, Marjorie and others on here. It has always helped me greatly when moving forward. Something I am always grateful for.
Posted
Norrette, I think others sharing their knowledge at all various levels, helps to propel others along their journey. I believe in hard work and being open to constructive criticism and continual learning. I do think I've come a long way since I first took it up but I'm under no illusions, really, I'm just at the beginning.
Posted
Today, I started work back on my Caravaggio. Now the days of light are becoming longer, I can paint longer and it is not cut short by the winter months. It is true that I have painted all through winter but I wanted good light to carry on with this. I feel refreshed and have spent a good 7 hours on a bit more detail with the lights and darks. You may not notice but I have spent time refining, hands, knees, part of the faces. I think after a little more refining, I should be ready to start on the glazes in about 4 or 5 days. I don't know how it will turn out but I surely do love painting it.