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