Lonna's Iris and teddy bear updates

Here is Lonna's second pass on her iris. It's beautifully done.

If something is really complex, sometimes the best strategy is to just kind of transcribe the visual information in the most basic ways. That is, light areas and dark areas first and foremost. Within this general shape there are slight variations of value and temperature.

1. and 3. These are some of the slightly darker shapes. Notice that even the darks of most of the flower's darker shapes are not close to as dark as the dark greens of the background. This helps to pop the flower. Look for opportunities to set off both the light and dark areas of the flower with background light and darks. Everything is relative.

2. There are a lot of white or close to white areas that when painting in watercolor should be left white.

4. Notice that the bright orange shape and the space near it is larger than in the painting.

The blue-violet color in Lonna's painting is really beautiful.

So if I were to do this painting I would push the darker spaces of the flower just a bit as well as leaving the lights really light. And then I'd look to really push the darks and lights of the background to strategically push the flower foreward.

   Lonna has darkened the browns of her bear to great success. A very sweet peace.

The only idea I have to take Lonna's piece a bit further is to set the context of the stay at home bear a little more by adding some panes. I also am not sure what the shape is on the arm of the bear and I might consider leaving it out of the painting. I might also add a slight smile to the bear.

Fun stuff.

Georgia's sunflower and grapes still life

Hey All, this is how you paint grapes. Another beautiful alla prima painting by Georgia. Nice light and brushwork and I think that the colors harmonize well.

  Here is Georgia's set up.

A few notes to consider below:

1. In the photo, the petals appear longer and cooler in color. The ratio of the longer petals to the seeds in the photo is a bit more elegant. Painting the spaces between the petals to cover the orange under painting makes the cooler petals feel cooler and separate from the background,

2. The seed shape in the center of the main flower is larger than painted and shows the light side of the concave shape.

3. A cooler background also makes the yellow pop. I did a quick digital painting of the background. Notice that I left a lot of the warm under painting coming through.

4. Nice grapes!

5. I like the multiple colors of the side plane of the table. A nice subtle value change from the top plane.

6. I might consider knocking the purple reflection down a little. Look again at the photo.

7. Notice the darker and warmer seed shape here.

8. I'd consider finishing off the shapes of these nicely rendered grapes. I like think that the mass works really well.

Georgia has done another really nice piece here.

Hiedi's vegetables

I think this new painting by Heidi is my favorite of hers so far. The rhythm and the marks and the subtle differentiation of color are all really interesting. I like the beautiful chromatic greys of the background as well. I would just like to see more.

Here is Heidi's photo inspiration. As she has been so far, Heidi can select be selective when choosing a few more things to include in her picture.

A short list  of things to consider when going forward:

1. Raise the bottom of the bottle a little.

2. I'm not sure what the warm little spots of light are on the table but I like them and think that they're a great device for enhancing the rhythm and leading our eye through the painting. Additionally they add warm colors to a predominately cool painting.

3. This is just a note to maybe add more stuff.

4. Look closely at the reflections, highlights and transparencies of the wine and the bottle. There could be a few more dark areas seen through the bottle. This is a place where adding a few things in the area beyond the bottle would be helpful because you could distort and color them to sell the effect.

5. Push the darks in the negative spaces in the bowl and between the artichokes. Also the color of the copper bowl is nice in the photo and Heidi might consider using it here.

6. These figs are really nicely done but again, I'd consider adding a bit more between them. There could be  a little more overlapping here.

Such a great start. So many elements are beautifully done. I'm looking forward to seeing this after another session or two.

Marilyn's round table in the garden

A really sweet new one from Marilyn. It feels super fresh and feels like one of those rare ones when you just kind of nail it out of the gate. I believe that Marilyn has caught her spring groove.

I have only three quick suggestions to consider:

1. As with the last table painting, if the structure under the table is shielded from the light by the table top and therefore in shadow it would generally be darker than the top and the other objects in the light. Also the flower pop more when the main post of the table's value isn't competing with them.

3. The same issue here on the underside of the white bowl though there would be light reflected on it from the table.

2. Marilyn said she knows that the seat of the chair is tilted up and a little long but she's considering leaving it because it's fun. Here I've changed it a bit to split the difference. The thing is, in this painting everything else is pretty regular so the funky angle of the chair jumps out as anomalous more than it would in a painting with lots of tilty stuff.

I think that Marilyn nailed this one and I wouldn't touch the beautiful flowers or the fun table top. Great job.

Leah's sunsets

Leah has made further adjustments to her sunset painting. I think that the values are set up pretty well here. I like the silhouetted trees. The top cool cloud may be a little too uniform for this painting but it's a very nice lead into these beauties...

Leah has a real knack for abstracting forms. I like them both but the ground plane on the left is just so beautiful so it's my favorite.

I did just one little thing in Photoshop—extending the light across the horizon and starting the break up the shapes of the foreground trees. The purple hill color is really lovely though I might keep it on the lighter side in both the oil and watercolor versions. And as in the oil versions, lighten the darker colors in the sky and keep the tree colors dark.

In the watercolor on the left, if Leah just pushed the darks on all of the foreground tree shapes it would make the sky seem lighter and be perfect for a frame.

Nicely done.

Susan's Carolina red barn second pass

Susan has done a new version of her red barn. I like how she's punched the color up and emphasized the barn more in the composition. Really solid drawing here without feeling stiff.

I did just a few Photoshop suggestions below:

1. I might consider taking a larger piece of the foreground for the road (or driveway or plowed field). It's a shape that can make the piece a little more dynamic with a sharper angle that leads us into the painting. I might also make it a warmer color to differentiate it from the silo and roof color.

3. The direction of the clouds can be a nice counter angle to that of the driveway. Both shapes kind of lead us to the silo and...

2. the shadow shape being cast by the barn which curves back to the barn and the surrounding trees behind it.

4. I like the variations in the warm and cool trees. This could be taken a little further and it would be nice to see a light and dark side of the trees indicated. The light and dark sides of the barn give us the general direction of the light and it would be seen in the trees. It's also what indicates that the barn is casting a shadow on the silo and lighting it's left side.

The red of the barn, though beautifully done, might be knocked back just a tad.

With a few simple changes, I think that Susan can enliven the composition and with a little more of her magic brush/knife work, make this a sweet little piece.

Barbara's flowers round two.

Barbara has done a great job of establishing a scale hierarchy for her flowers and lemons and also balanced her composition while retaining a nice energy and rhythm.

I have only a few suggestions for Barbara to consider as this piece is nearly there. Her flowers and lemons are looking great.

1. I might break up the invisible line constraining the leaves on the left side by altering the size of a few of the leaves.

2. On the vase I'm sure that Barbara simply hasn't finished it yet but I'm just suggesting to make sure to give it some volume. I might also consider changing the color to the dark blue of her original set up as I think that the reddish purple color may be stealing a little juice from the red flowers.

3. Though reflections mirror the colors of the objects being reflected, shadows are generally a silhouette of the shape of the object casting the shadow onto another surface or object. So, the color is a darker version of the color of the surface the shadow is cast upon, in this case the table cloth. It's often a warmer or cooler version of the color of the darker surface color depending on the light and atmospheric conditions of the environment. Please don't use my hasty shadow shape as a template. It's just an indication.

4. The iris may have a little more impact if it were darker again.

5. I might consider altering the tablecloth color a bit so it isn't so close to the color of the leaves.

I think that Barbara's painting is looking fantastic and is only a few adjustments from being finished.

Lonna's quarantine teddy bear watercolor

 

  Here is Lonna's photo of a teddy bear on quarantine on her block.

   And Lonna's painting. I love the background color and marks. I might not have put the object in front of the bear's arm. It makes it difficult to read what's happening. There might also be a little darker value on the bear to integrate it more with the dark background.

   I might also suggest a few variations based on Lonna's photo. I think that she should let her fertile imagination run wild.

Have fun ya'll!

Lonna iris watercolor painting

   Here is Lonna's beautiful, delicate watercolor of an iris from her garden.

Here is Lonna's photo. I have little to add to Lonna's painting except to say to push the color and values few more passes.

The basic drawing is all there. I've made just a few marks  to indicate the twists and turns of a petal.

1. These arrows show a few areas where the background color might be darker to make the flower in front of it to come forward. Lonna's painting is set up to make these areas darker with a few more passes.

2. Notice the directions and changes of the planes of each petal as they twist and turn in and  out of the primary light source.

Just a few more passes and this will be really sweet.

Barbara's flower still life painting

  Here is Barbara's flower still life set up and here painting is progress.

  And here is Barbara's finished painting. There are so many things to like about this painting. I like the the sweeping rhythm of the leaves and lemons around the vase and the counter curve of the two red roses. The energy is great and Barbara's personal style is really developing.

  Here is Barbara's photo of her nice set up. I've noticed a few things that I might have looked for if I were to paint from this composition. Any style used or pushing or pulling of the pieces in this composition that I've broken down in this analysis to create an individual statement is fully legit. I think that looking for these kinds of relationships give us an informed basis to make decisions. This doesn't deal with color or value mostly just compositional stuff.

  1. To get a grounding on complex subjects it's helpful to find things like the center of objects and create units of measure. Here I measured from the bottom of the vase to the main oval of the dominant flower, then to the top of the flower and then to the top of the iris. So that length was the main building block measurement. I then turned it to the horizontal axis and found that the bulk of the composition fit into two units of our basic measurement. The line labeled 1. is the center line of the composition horizontally. I find the unit of measure somewhat roughly as I would working live from a still life, a model or a landscape, by holding my arm at full length and using a pencil to measure.

2. Notice the large, rough triangle the main triangles fit into.

3. There is another triangle containing the grouping of lemons. Note in the photo, the size relationship between the lemons and the largest rose, which I would usually use for comparison for all of the elements in the composition.

4. A note to indicate the bigger basic containing the shadow shapes.

4. Oops, a second number 4. This indicates the sweeping curves of the leaves which Barbara has captured so nicely.

5. A reminder when painting many flowers to look for the basic cup shape of the circular shapes emanating from the center and then peeling outward.

6. In the main rose there appears to be three main shapes starting with the main cup-like center to the second tighter group of petals to the third circle of petals expanding and curling back a bit more.

7. Even though the ends of the peach colored flower on the upper left look kind of spiky, they fit into a general curve shape.

  Here are a few notes on Barbara's painting directly to consider in future paintings. None of these things I'm pointing out need to be heeded. These choices are all the artist's prerogative of course.

1. As I noted above, I love the sweep of this area featuring the lemons and leaves however, the scale of the lemons is relatively large in the composition and they are floating. The lemons are sitting higher than the vase they are sitting in front of on the same plane.

2. This is indicating the center of the canvas. Barbara had a concern that the main elements of the composition are all pushed to the left of the canvas to allow room for the cool shadow. Frankly that was one of my first impressions of the piece. It might be something to be aware of next time but may not require a huge change to make the viewer more comfortable. For instance, 8. consider cutting the size of the peach colored rose back to the line I've indicated or so to create a little more air on the left side. and maybe making the lemon furthest back a little smaller.

3. Barbara might consider not cutting the cloth on the table top off at the corner. Cutting it off creates a dynamic shape in the corner that pulls our eye to it and off the painting.

4. I might consider reducing the size of this flower and reestablishing it's shape a little.

5. a note to point out that this in the arraignment the front red rose is dominant.

6. If the bottom of vase were shortened the lemons wouldn't be floating. Also the handle could be moved down a bit and maybe the vase could be wider/seen more.

7. Noting the nice rhythm of the leaves.

8. See above.

A few more notes, Barbara might consider dropping the line of the table top behind the vase and inch or two. The iris might be darker and the color of the peach colored rose just a tad more delicate.

I think that Barbara's painting is successful in many ways and with a few pushes and pulls can get even stronger.

Georgia's turnip and carrots still life.

  Another lovely still life piece by Georgia. My favorite parts are the painting of the turnip

and the carrot greens.

  Here is Georgia's reference photo. A very classical feeling image.

A few notes in Photoshop:

1. as I noted above, I love the juicy painting on the turnip.

2. I might consider Going with a cooler background. It can support rather than compete with the neato copper mug/vase thing.

3. Notice in the photo that on general the mug is darker overall and the there is a lighter set up color and generally smaller highlights.

4. The rim of the mug is not uniformly light. It's lighter that what is below it but has a highlight in line with the others

5. Again, this may be personal preference but I like the wood color of the table top as a nice intermediate value and color set up for the primary objects in the painting. Here there is also a delineation of the top and side of the table top. By extending the top further forward the carrots won't appear to be floating.

6. Speaking of carrots... As we can see in the photo, the lights of the carrots are darker with smaller highlights that aren't as light as the those of the mug. Remind me to talk about that on our next zoom meeting if you'd like to know why. Georgia has done another really good piece here highlighted by the confident brushwork and paint handling.

   Finally an idea that I had about working from online tutorials. I'm not sure if any of you are painting with the video in real time, However, if you have a photo to work with from the session later, you all might consider just watching and absorbing the presentation and then painting your piece later rather than trying to paint with the video in real time. 

Georgia's fruit still life in oil.

  Here is Georgia's beautifully painted still life of oranges, lemons and grapes. The fruit looks better than real fruit.

Here is Georgia's reference photo.

Here are a few suggestions to consider on the next one. First, A+ on the paint quality.

1. Though the grapes are painted so nicely it feels as if the scale of them may be large relative to the other fruit.

2. In the original painting there is a yellow glow in the background around the lemons. A quick pass over that area after the paint is dry will allow Georgia to quickly overcome that is she'd like.

3. Notice in the photo how the underside of the bowl is darker. I think that this allows the fruit to pop more as the large shape under there doesn't compete with the fruit in value.

4. Look for the curve in the circle at the base of the vase. This light area might be knocked back just a little so it's a secondary light area and doesn't compete with the fruit.

5. It may be just personal preference but I prefer the warmer and darker table top. In Georgia's original the lightish yellow color competes just a little with the lemons.

6. Here I just note that the table is flatter, we don't see as much of it as in the set up. It's artist prerogative and not anything that is wrong. Just to be aware so one can make a conscious choice about little things like this.

I love the broken blues in the background with a subtle indication of the light direction. Really beautiful. 

Another good one Georgia.

Leah's sunset painting revisited

   Here is a cool shot of Leah's sunset paintings in process. Bottom left is one of her paintings that she'd like to carry the style over to her sunset paintings. The bottom right is her first painting of the subject. The latest version is on top.

Here it is on it's own. I think that Leah has done a great job on the sky. The color feels dynamic and the colors feel cleaner. If there is one thing I might do there it would be to clean up the open sky part at the top to have a cleaner sky with just a few softer secondary clouds. Thinning a darker color and scumbling it is not an optimal substitute here for mixing the right color and making a definitive mark as she has done with the lower clouds.

  Here is Leah's original reference photo. Notice in the latest version Leah has simplified the ground plane to indicate a field instead of suburban area with trees. It can work well either way.

I have just a few suggestions and for reference, shot I took on a walk on my road. Yes, think of you all outside of our sessions.

First looking at the photo I'll point out a few things and then bounce back to the marked up painting. In order of value from lightest to darkest is 1. The sky, then 2. the open field, then 3. the tree line and finally, 4. the silhouetted tree. Notice that the color of the grasses in the field are not nearly as intense as the field would be in light. There is a little variation in value within the field and the treeline but within the value range of each. The sky color is not as intense as Leah's beautiful shot.

So, the numbers I've put in the painting above just reiterate the points about value I've made below. The only additional thing I might consider would be to make the marks in the field smaller as it recedes. Maybe consider a horizontal mark or two in the field closer to the treeline.  The silhouetted tree should be the darkest thing in the painting. It doesn't need to be black but just darker than the other areas.   I think that this painting will really sing when Leah pushes and pulls a little more with her value to fully compliment the stunning sky she's painted.

Marilyn's flowers on a table

   Marilyn's final painting. I feel that she has improved her painting at every step. She has kept her individual style throughout the process. The opening between the curtains creates a nice frame for her flowers. A very interesting painting. I've changed one thing in the version below. See if you can find it. It's relatively minor but it supports the downshot perspective of this piece to a degree.

Another fun painting by Marilyn. Looking forward to seeing Marilyn's next painting.

Georgia's Tulips

Georgia did several variations of these tulips in a glass vase. The first from an online tutorial and the others from the photo used in the tutorial. I apologize but I haven't necessarily presented these in sequence. They all work well and each have their strengths that I appreciate above the others. These paintings all have nice energy and a good combination of fidelity to the photo reference and Georgia's own interpretations.

  This may be my favorite because of the vigorous brush strokes and the deeper color in the dark sides of the leaves.

   I like the warmer table top and it's relationship to the greens and reds of the tulips. This like the piece above it has a nice, rich background which sets off the tulips well.

   Here is the photo Georgia used as reference. I like the color and the lighting. However, I'm torn about the basic composition of the set up of the flowers with the large negative space between the two groups of flowers. Below I've added another flower to that space. More fundamentally, I've changed the orientation of canvas. One thing that I've felt about Georgia's studies is that the compositions have felt a little squeezed by the shortening of the length of the stems. I've just flipped the orientation here and opened up the composition though there may be too much negative space on the edges. The version on the bottom is for a square canvas. It allows for the extended stems but crops the excessive negative space at the edges.

This highlights a common issue. Before we commit to a painting we should all consider one of the most basic compositional issues—the ratio of the image we want to paint, to the ratio of the canvas and it's orientation we choose to paint it on. In these photoshopped images, the shadow side of the leaves have been darkened a bit and there is a little more transparancy through the glass vase. The pinker flowers work well. I did the flower on the table top redder as in the photo just to consider.

   More great work Georgia.