Bottle tops

When one is doing a still life and there are various

things in it, most of us work to get the shapes and

proportions right. But that is not where it should

end.

After getting all that down in the best way you can,

take care to focus in on the details and really confront

what is there. I have seen many students just sort of

toss on a suggestion a bottle top.

So really confront the contours of it - the perspective

of the cylindrical opening and what part of the back

ring comes around into the curves in the front.

And if the bottle top is below your eye level, as in

this photograph, really get the curves right so it looks

three-dimensional!

Make a personal color chart

I have so many tubes of oil paint that I finally decided to make the chart you see here.

I got out all my tubes of paint (of course now I have even more!) and laid them out in color groups. I then arranged them in the color order I wanted.

Next I counted them and decided on the size canvas I needed to fit them all in.

This is an 18 x 24 inch canvas and the sections are 2 x 2.

Then I used a small oval shaped painting knife to apply the paint.

There is first the mass tone (the paint straight out of the tube) followed by a middle tone and then a very pale tone of the color. I used Titanium white.

If you have way too many colors to really know what they look like,

do this for reference.

There are about 6 difference brands here, but mostly Winsor and Newton.

I have a key in the lower right hand corner, so do allow for that.

Browns and greys are on a separate canvas.

Painting in one color

A while ago I decided to set myself a

painting challenge. Paint a set up that

had objects and background of all one

color.

This was the result of that endeavor.

I found that it was more important than

ever to have the tones or values correct.

And then I just couldn't resist little touches

of other colors in adding the marbles.

What do you think?

What to do if you can't leave a set-up up!

#1 is a front shot of the set-up.

#2 is a shot of the set-up with where the light is.

#3 is an overhead shot of the set-up.

If you can't leave a set-up in place, take these

photos. I do this for my students because they

have to take down their arrangements in between

lessons.

TIPS: Do NOT use a flash. You want to get the

lighting correct in terms of how the set-up

is actually lit.

Put pieces of tape on the floor for each item

(the light, easel and table). You may have to

move them around in between painting sessions.

This way you can mark the positions for easy

re-locating of their original positions. If you need

to, write on the tape which pieces of tape are

for what item!

Do shoot a photo from above so you can see the

distances that things are from each other. It is

difficult to tell when only having made a front

photo shot. When setting up the arrangement

again, lay that photo on the table and make your

things match what you see in the photo!

Remember that these are reference photos, and

are never the same as looking at the real things

with its actual lighting and color. So don't paint

from the photos you took of such a set-up. Paint

from life!

And last of all, know that as carefully as you do this,

the painting gremlins will conspire to have something

not quite as it was, no matter what you do!

Tubes of Paint

First I have to admit that these are not my paints,

even though I have this many and probably more!

I have amassed quite a large collection and finally

had to do something to help me see what I actually

had so I could use them more effectively. It's a little

like having clothes at the back of your closet that

you never see, and so you never wear them!

I did two things to help me. One is that I made a

big color chart, adding white to each color so I could

really see it's true color. And then I divided each of

6 main color groups up so I could FIND what I was

looking for! (The 3 primaries and the 3 secondary

colors = 6!)

I will speak more on this later. By the way, these

paints belong to one of my students who bought many

of them, if not all, from Ebay for a GREAT price!

Fan Brushes

Fan brushes have their special uses. You will see from

this photo that there are not only various sizes, but they

are made from different things. The top one is a bristle

brush and because it is stiff (hog bristles are definitely

sturdy and stiff), it will drag more paint. The bottom one

is badger hair and is soft and is great for blending. The one

in the middle is a tiny thing that is just right for small

works. It has synthetic hair and is very soft.

Fan brushes are a sort of novelty when you see them in

the bins at the art store. But what you don't want to see

in your paintings is the tell tale strokes that say 'look,

I used a fan brush!'.

I suggest experimenting with the various types. Get a

stiff bristle one and a soft-haired one. Try out some

things with it. You can get really good effects with just

dabbing the tips, or you can pull paint in a direction that

contributes to making that cloth look as though it is falling

over the table edge.