Sunday, December 10, 2023

Monday, November 27, 2023

Friday, November 17, 2023

Friday, August 11, 2023

“Uliveto e Trattore”


I've been studying Van Gogh's olive grove paintings a bit. I then remembered that I took some pictures of some olive groves when I visited Italy a few years back. Digging them out, I discovered a few I liked. As a result, inspired by Van Gogh, I started on this small painting. I mean, it's not Van Gogh. It is just not. But, the inspiration is there.

Later
After working on it for a while, I might have been going for Van Gogh, but ended up with Bob Ross. I'm not sure.

Even so, I've learned a few things: First, a stiffer brush is better than a softer brush. Two, structure in trees is better than too many curves. Three, Van Gogh may have outlined the trunks of his trees, but thinner lines are better than thick. Also, it is best to vary your line weight. Finally, alizarin crimson does not make a good trunk. Transparent oxide red is better.

Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4

Sunday, May 7, 2023

“The Veil is Thin”

Some notes:

First attempt at using the Zorn palette.

So far, I've found a few things. With a wider palette, one usually paints with pigments. With a limited palette, however, one paints with colors. There is a difference. With a wider palette, you learn the properties of each pigment and what you can do with them. Not every pigment is the same, and when mixed they perform differently. With a limited palette, you have only four pigments. The mixes with these pigments behave the same no matter what. You really truly paint with color and value.

The other lesson is this: with a limited palette, you really have to mix all four pigments in some way. Pure pigment with no mixing does not look right. Compare that to a wider palette. In that case, you might mix maybe only two pigments, or you may end up with mud. In fact, only in the rarest situations do you mix more than two and only with very specific pigments. With a limited palette, however, no matter how you mix them, you can't make mud.

Lastly, opacity is not 100% opaque. There is some translucency.

Oh, and one last thing. There is no such thing as beginner's luck.

Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Final

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Graffiti Of: “Bikes in Amsterdam”

I’ve got a new blog for my digital work called Graffiti Of.  This is my first new post:

Bikes in Amsterdam