NEW SITE

For my new work, please go to Jessvii Artwork.

The web site is at http://jessvii-art.blogspot.com/.

Where did I go?

So I've been running around trying to plan a wedding on my own for a few months, hence the complete lack of new art. However, the wedding day is soon and the running around is almost over! I can't wait to get back to my art.

Fleming's Class 5: Painting Clothing

Lessons learned:

• It's impossible to see everything when you look at a person - similarly, when painting a person, don't try to capture every detail
• You don't have to paint a white sweater white or black boots black - you can add some blue to them to harmonize them with the blue shirt
• When painting people, use fewer brush strokes and really blend the strokes together
• The upper lip is almost always in shadow

Woman in Blue Shirt, 14x20 in, (c) 2011 by Jess Sanaie

Fleming's Class 4: Contrast

This class was about contrast and doing several layers of painting, going from light to dark. The darkest sections received the most layers.
What I learned:

• Make adjacent shadow areas the same value. For example, when the red shirt meets the brown neck, both tints should be the same value.
• Integrate the figure with the background and do not let the background overpower the figure. Texture, contrast and color attract our attention. If the background is dry brush, high contrast and super bright, then it will detract from the figure.
• Practice practice practice - I've been doing one 5-minute figure sketch each day which helps me draw faster (we only get 20-30 mins per painting in class).
• The joy of using Raw Siena, Burnt Siena and New Gamboge paint for figures. Also, the joy of using my new filbert size 16 and size 4 brushes. Fleming uses round brushes for figures, but I prefer my filberts.
• To stop using Caput Mortum paint on the figure - that color is best left for painting landscapes only.

Captions:

top: Ready to Leave, ~10x15in

bottom: Byron Sitting, ~9x15in

both watercolor paintings by Jess Sanaie (c)2011

Fleming's Class 3: Faces

Class 3 was about doing faces. Here's what I learned:

• Combine the shadow shapes together, such as the shadow on the side of the face and the one under the chin.
• Find the big shadow shapes. You may need to make the shadow shapes darker than they really are. The contrast turns the figure (makes figure look 3-dimensional).
• Use warmer colors higher on the face; use cooler colors as you move down.
• There's a warm shadow in the following places: corner of the eye, going from side of the nose up towards the eye, the underside of the nose, and above and below the lips. The shadows around the lips are warm because of reflected light (lips are reddish so the shadows are reddish)

Portrait of Michael (c)2011 by Jess Sanaie, 11x16in

Sarah's Dog

I've been trying to do new artwork each day. Today my friend Sarah bought some art supplies and we tried them. I used one of her charcoal pencils (unusual for me since I rarely use charcoal).
Sarah's Dog Mica, 11x14in, Drawing in Charcoal Pencil,
(c)2011 by Jess Sanaie

Iceberg?

I was inspired by the artwork of David B. Reeves. Specifically, his painting Free Falling. I found his site through StumbleUpon, a website that recommends webpages based upon your interests (in this case, painting).

Reeves' painting reminded me of an iceberg, so I painted one this morning. I think tomorrow I will try doing something much more abstract, but use similar inspiration.

Iceberg, 8x10in, watercolor painting,
(c)2011 by Jess Sanaie

Fleming's Class 2

Michael Sitting, watercolor over graphite
14x17in (c)2011 by Jess Sanaie

We did three 6-minute sketches to warm up, Steve did a demo, then we did three 30-minute poses. Even though I was really sick and had a fever, I came to class. I learned to:

• Use more saturated colors - I'd been using really diluted fleshy colors, but when viewed from afar my paintings weren't as good that way
• Paint bigger - The larger I drew the figure, the more room I had to play with color
• Consider painting on the back of the paper - it has less tooth but can make for smoother color-mixing
• When dragging one color towards another, sometimes a brush stroke going upwards (instead of top to bottom) works better
• Redraw some of the pencil marks halfway through, otherwise they can get lost
• The whites of the eyes shouldn't be bright white because they're still in shadow
• Leave more white space on the figure
• Remember to have fun - people can usually look at a painting and tell if you had fun painting it

Bagels are Delicious

Following the paint what you love theory, I did this.

Colors used: Titanium White, Cad yellow, Yellow Ochre, Orange, Cobalt Blue, Burnt Siena, Burnt Umber. I used Matte Gel Medium to capture the texture of cream cheese.

Bagel with Cream Cheese, 8x10in, Acrylic painting, (c)2011 by Jess Sanaie

Artistic Influences

I look to other artists I admire for inspiration for my own art. I was reminded of this today by Google's home page image, which honored Cezanne's 172nd birthday. Here are some of my favorite artists.

I Have Boots

I bought these for 39 dollars on Overstock and love them - so comfortable (paint what you love).

Last night I drew them on gray pastel paper. Colors used: white, black, light gray, dark gray, silver.

The boots were splayed out on my bed, insides facing me, when drawn. If I drew them again, I'd put the left boot on the left (here it's on the right) and would flip them around.

Gray Boots, oil pastel, 11x14in,
(c)2011 by Jess Sanaie

Gift for Sarah

I did this painting for my friend Sarah. She's French, so I did a painting of French bread.

Although I usually paint in watercolors, for this I used acrylics. The colors I used were: Cad Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Dioxazine Purple, Titanium White.

French Bread and Butter, 8x10, Acrylic painting, (c) 2011 by Jess Sanaie

Practice with Figures

 

While taking Fleming's class, I'll try to practice figures during the week:

Don, pen drawing (left)
8 Minutes of Sitting, graphite pencil drawing (right)

Both 5x7in and (c) 2011 by Jess Sanaie

Paint What You Love

My advice for anyone who asks "What should I paint?" is the same as the advice one of my favorite painters, Wayne Thiebaud, who said "Paint what you love."

Thiebaud painted cakes, ice cream, pie and sweets, among other things.

I love sweets such as an ice cream sundae. I am looking to do a hot cocoa series under the same line of reasoning.

Ice Cream Sundae, 11x17in, (c) 2011 by Jess Sanaie

Steve Fleming Class 1

I have signed up for Steve Fleming's The Figure in Watercolors class (class details). During some classes the model will be nude - I will not post the paintings from these classes, but will blog recaps of what I learn, and will try to do clothed figure paintings during the week to practice.

What I learned from Class 1:

• Put some of the figure's color in the background and vice versa
• If you use a lot of red to paint figures, they come out looking cold - use warmer, more yellowish colors
• There is always a contour below the check bone and a highlight on the nose
• Pick one side of the figure and make it a hard contour, usually the side being hit by the light
• Use white paper for the light areas of the figure if you want to paint like Fleming
• Simplify the shadow pattern on the figure
• Use a round brush to do figures

What Fleming said which I already knew:

• Paint the figure as a shape
• Try to avoid harsh brush strokes on the figure
• Lose the figure in the background in some places, usually the side not being hit by the light

Painting Faces

As I've mentioned before, I'd like to get better at painting people. These two paintings are part of a series of paintings I'm doing on hot cocoa. My advice: paint something you love (I love drinking hot chocolate).

For the first painting, I did the undertones in flesh colors, then did a wash over most of it, then added in the darks, then did a warmer wash over certain parts (like the cheeks).

For the second painting, I did the undertones in Lamp Black, which I found very limiting. In the future I will paint facial undertones in flesh colors like in the first painting.

Note that for painting people, I am doing a pencil drawing on the paper first - this is different from how I paint other subjects.

Above: Girl Drinking Hot Cocoa, 12x15in
Below: Woman with Hot Cocoa, 12x16in
Both are (c) 2011 by Jessica Sanaie

Art on Vacation Part 5

Last drawing done on vacation.

Froy started to fall asleep while I did this!

Froy Laying in Chair, 8 1/2 x 11in, graphite, (c) 2011 by Jess Sanaie

Art on Vacation Part 4

Looking for something to draw, I used the photo below in Northern New England Journey magazine as inspiration.

Man in Chair, 5x5in

Girl with Tea, 9x7in - this was the second time I drew this figure, the first didn't work (except for the table, also shown below)

Both ink drawings by Jess Sanaie (c)2010

This was done on vacation and the last art I'll do in 2010!

    

 

Art on Vacation Part 3

I'm still on vacation sans watercolor supplies. It's a time to get back to basics: drawing. Growing up, before I started doing watercolors, I had to learn how to draw.

I did some preparatory sketches before doing this drawing.

Froy Sitting (c)2010 by Jess Sanaie, 8 1/2 x11in, graphite pencil, final drawing.

The cat changed positions a lot. First I did a quick sketch, then a second sketch. Then I did the final drawing.

The photo below shows what Froy actually looks like, after he slunk down in the chair some more.

Art on Vacation Part 2

 

I am still trying to improve how I draw people.
These are drawings of Ben's grandma.

Art on Vacation

This month was very hectic getting people's gifts and distributing them while coordinating renters moving in and out of my condo. I drew these while looking around Ben's grandparents' living room on a calm day.

Zoe (c) 2010 by Jess Sanaie, 8x6in, pen drawing

I used three different widths of black pens and one brown marker on this drawing.

Grandma's Rocker (c) 2010 by Jess Sanaie, 8 1/2x11in, pen drawing

I used three different pens to create this drawing. What attracted me to drawing this chair was its dark graphic pillow.

I made its seat padding lighter than in reality in order to get enough light values in this drawing.

 

Hershey's Kisses with Almonds, 5x5 in each, (c) 2010 by Jess Sanaie

I used crayons* and graphite pencil to create these drawings. What attracted me to drawing this candy was its shiny wrapper.

This was actually one piece of candy that I rotated and drew from different angles.

*Crayon colors used: silver, white, lime green, forest green and black

New Hampshire Painting

Ben loves lakes. I grew up in Virginia going to the beach, and have yet to develop a full appreciation of lakes.

I did this painting after staining the paper with Winsor Blue and letting it dry thoroughly.

New Hampshire Lake by Jess Sanaie (c) 2010, 13x17in.

Herron's Classes: Beach Painting

At the last Susan Herron class, I wanted to learn how to do waves and rocks. Here's what Herron said:

• Water gets dark at the horizon line
• Add a bit of green to the water
• Concentrate on the big shapes

What do you think of my painting??
Waves and Rocks (c) 2010 by Jess Sanaie, 7x10in

Pure Pastel Painting

While on travel this week, instead of my usual watercolor supplies, I took only oil pastels. I drew this image on yellow-tinted pastel paper. Do you know how hard it is to draw details using a pastel stick with no point whatsoever?!

This painting straddles the line between a bygone era when most women stayed at home and the modern era when women dream of stainless steel appliances but usually cannot afford to be at home.

Woman Baking a Pie (c) 2010 by Jess Sanaie, 11x14in.

Paintings of Friends' Pets

This Sunday I painted my friend Stacy's cat Ozzy and my friend Bob's dog Oliver. Both Ozzy and Oliver were very good sports.

Ozzy on Dining Chair, 16x12 in

Oliver Sitting, 7x8 in

Both paintings (c) 2010 by Jess Sanaie

Paintings for O

I did some paintings for my friend O. Here's what O said he likes:

• The colors brown, green and red
• Landscapes, including my Tree in Field Painting
• Abstract artwork, including my Finger Colors Painting
• My Paintings Inspired by Meredith Kuntzsch

First I painted Weeping Willow, 12x17in, from the rough paper*. If you look closely at the tree, all the strokes are really abstract, and the brown mountain in the background grounds the whole design.

Second, I painted Red Sky, 7x10in. For this painting, I used the same oil pastel over watercolor technique I developed in my Kuntzch series. However, this painting was done using my own ideas. I also incorporated red, green, and brown (the color you make when you mix those two).
*Note: A coworker was nice enough to give me some old rough watercolor paper. I've used it here and also for the paintings Fisherman Casting Net and Self Portrait with Paintbrush.
All paintings in this post are (c) 2010 by Jess Sanaie.

More Favorite Past Artwork

I enjoy painting animals. Here's a painting I did of a dog longingly waiting for his owner to come back - It has been one of my favorite paintings ever since.

Lonely Dog by Jess Sanaie (c) 2007, 12x12in

Froy

I did this painting of Froy without sketching first - I just jumped right in. I think at the very least Stacy will like it. What makes this painting unique is that it's not completely black and white - some areas are very slightly tinged with blue or pink.

Froy Dreaming of his Toy Red Ball by Jess Saniae (c) 2010, 12x16in

Painting People

I freely admit it: I'm not great at doing people.

But, I'd like to get better.

This painting was practice in anticipation of working with a friend of mine who agreed to model for me for a few people paintings in the future.

Self Portrait with Paintbrush, (c) 2010 by Jess Sanaie, about 12x16 in.

Below are two of my favorite self portraits from the past.
Left: Red Girl, 12x16in (c) 2002; Right: Red & Green Artist, 6x10in (c) 2007

   

Paintings Inspired by Meredith Kuntzsch Part 2

 

 

Like the other works I painted in my other Kuntzsch post, these are very similar to Meredith's own work, and not my own subjects or color schemes.

From top left: Yellow Sky, Blue Trees, Yellow-and-Blue Grass, Pink Grass, Pink Sky and Orange Trees. All about 4.25x6.25in.

In these, I used the oil pastels more sparingly than before, and in Yellow Sky I didn't use pastels at all.