Color Temperature

This is a recently completed in-class demonstration of acrylics. It is a continuation of my newer habit of leaving my paintings less refined or over-worked. When I start a piece like this, I am mostly aware of the color temperature of the underpainting. Usually the dominant color of the main subject will determine this for me. In the case of this young red fox; the oranges and yellows of it's fur dictated a warm underpainting. I built up washes of burnt sienna and burnt umber. Eventually the paint gets thicker as I fine tune and add more color. Later in the painting process, I added bits of cool colors to the shadows and background which gives the piece a bit more balance in color temperature.

Young Frankenstein's Igor

I recently re-watched the Mel Brook's classic Young Frankenstein. I was inspired to create a portrait of Igor, played by Marty Feldman, as an in-class demo for one of my RIT Illustration courses. I used a grainy, B&W screen shot for my reference. This allowed me to discuss how to work with inferior reference material as well as inventing your own color palette for painting. I encourage students to gather the best reference available but also concede that it is not always possible. This piece is 11 x 14 and was completed with mixed-media.