In-Class Oil Demo

This is an in-class oil demonstration that I painted a few months ago for my Illustration 1 course at RIT. I do a good number of these each year. This one is on 12 x 16 canvas and shows the classic dark to light and thin to thick method. I start with a very limited palette and then add a bit more color as the piece progresses.

Had A Great Fall?

A few years ago I worked on an advertising campaign for a New Jersey law firm. All of the images were based on nursery rhymes and children's book imagery. The top image that you see here (in blue pencil) was one of my sketches for the campaign. The agency chose a different sketch of mine to be completed and subsequently go to print. I finished the job with the client and Ad agency happy...but I always liked this sketch better, so I decided to paint this image as an in-class demonstration for one of my classes at RIT. It shows one of the many ways that I use oil paint.

The center image shows a monochromatic underpainting, and once that is dry, I glaze transparent and semi-opaque color on top.

New Approach...

This is a recently completed 24" x 30" oil painting that represents a slightly different approach for me. In the past whenever I have dealt with architectural subjects, I would have taken the time to do a fairly tight pencil drawing on the canvas before I applied any paint. This would ensure straight lines and technically accurate perspective. With this piece, I jumped right in with the paint and no under-drawing. I was inspired by a few Edward Hopper paintings that I saw last summer at MOMA in NYC. They were part of the permanent collection and I was amazed at his simplified approach. They suggested architectural detail without a lot of rendering.

Two Drawings

Most of my drawings while working from the figure are from poses that will last about an hour.

I usually work initially with graphite in an 11 x 14 sketchbook and then if I like the pose I will have the model repeat it for another forty minutes to an hour. While working the second session, I will change my medium just to keep things fresh and to prevent boredom. The example above shows my first drawing with graphite and the second larger drawing (18 x 24) which was done, in this case, with charcoal and gray value pastels on toned paper. It amazes me sometimes at how quickly the second drawing comes together. This, I believe, is due to the intense observation as well as the aesthetic decisions and thoughts that come about while working on the first sketch.

Plein Air Painting

After my Hudson Valley Workshop experience last summer I continued to work in my sketchbook every week. Usually this was from the model, but occasionally I would go into the field and sketch. The next logical step was to get back into painting on location from nature.

I bought a French Jullian easel and some bug spray and started painting with oils in the classic Plein Air tradition. Here are my first few paintings from that experience. Both are oil on canvas 16 x 20. Total painting time was under three hours each as the lighting changes so rapidly that you must work quickly.