Another oil sketch.
What do you guys do about alla prima oil sketching? Do you use any quick-drying mediums? Do you ever paint over alread-painted areas, or do you just try to lay down the value you need and bring areas to completion before moving on to a new area?
So… two nights ago I started a still life oil painting. Again, I wasn’t using oil. Just turp. This is what happened:
Then I got frustrated and decided to try a quick face, cause that’s my comfort zone. Again, just turp. I think this is pretty boring but it was useful in the sense that…
… it made me try using oil in an oil painting again, which is what I did in the following picture. Now, I didn’t save steps, but this is a two-layered still life. I did the complementary color underpainting technique. So, with just turp, I painted the pumpkin blue and the apples red. You can see those colors peeking through in some places. I let that dry overnight, and then with just linseed oil I painted the overlay colors. I didn’t actually have a blue apple, but I thought it looked cool, so I made it blue-ish. 
But yeah, anyway, I’m really happy with how this turned out. The brushwork was a lot easier using oil when compared to just turpentine. I also really prefer this smoother paper surface to the bumpy surface of panel.
So yeah, here’s the painting anyway. I was going to just move on to charcoal for a while, but I think I’ll do a few more paintings instead…
Oh man I’ve never painted traditionally yet… will get to that eventually but I’m afraid it will still take a few years… I figure it will be best for me to complete my drawing education at the academy first and then switch to painting class (that’s another 5 years of fun yay)
How does the paint and turp affect the paper? Doesn’t it start to curl up all over when it dries?
Johan - Yeah, traditional paint is pretty scary. No undo button, haha. I got acclimated to watercolor pretty easily, but oil has been troublesome. It’s very complex, if you really want to get into it. It does seem that most places teach drawing for a while before painting, though, so I suppose you’re on the recommended track. And doing quite well, I’ll say! I’m loving the drawings you’re putting up these days. As for the paper, it depends. If it’s thick stock, there’s no trouble. If you’re using thinner paper, though, it tends to curl when it gets enough moisture in it. I had some curling trouble when I did a watercolor on charcoal paper. However, I’ve been oil painting on watercolor paper recently and haven’t had any issues. It’s a lot cheaper than buying a bunch of panels, and I like the surface better anyway.
I decided to just try painting with the paint right out of the tube, which is the way a friend of mine likes to paint. It turned out very well, I might say. Smooth surface + medium-free paint is a winner with me. 
As an example of such methods, here is a two-step still life I did.
Did a brown wash with turp to thin out the paint and make it dry quickly. Then I sketched everything in with turp and ultramarine blue.
A day or two later, I painted (mostly) with no oil. Just paint. It was actually FUN! 
Looks great!
I think you could push the highlights more (imho)
I found out yesterday in class that as from the 4th year we are supposed to choose a 2nd discipline to follow beside our drawing sessions. Unfortunately it’s only 1 4h session per month but you can bet on it that I will pick painting!! :bounce:
Johan - Thanks mate. Let us know when you start painting! Hope to see some of that from you soon.
I don’t have any more turpenoid, so I can’t clean my brushes of oil paint… so I did I watercolor last night. I stumbled upon a wipeout technique that I thought had an interesting effect, so I based my painting around its application.
Basically, I just laid down watery paint and then lifted off from certain places with a napkin. My values need work, but I think it turned out kind of moody and interesting.
Tonight I was browsing art as usual and found out I had a love for Degas inside… like, wicked love. That dude rules. So, naturally, I decided to get out my pastels and see what I could do. I’d never used them before, so I thought I should try while I was inspired.
Anyway, they’re water soluble, so they weren’t very easy to blend and smear like regular oil pastels, from what I know. But I think it turned out pretty well anyway. I liked putting all the different colors down in places they normally don’t belong.
Nice range of media you’re working in! I like the oils one the most. Must be because i like oils the most. It would be interesting to see a photo of that still life, so we could give more crits. It does look like a little more work on it would help. For example, painting the background. It would add a whole lot.
So, get some turp and give us more!
razz - thanks dude. Indeed, I left the underpainting showing on that still life. I feel a background would complete it, but the purpose of it was really to learn some brush technique and experiment with paint. Adding a background would have required another sitting, because I finished quite late at night. And I didn’t want to do another sitting, so I just left it.
I’ve been sick for a while, so sorry about the lack of updates. I’m well now, though, so I have some energy again. I did this charcoal last night. Hope you enjoy.
Dan - Thanks very much, Daniel. 
Glad you can dig it.
Johan - Many thanks mate! Hope you like this new one…
Here’s a new charcoal from the other night. I like the way it turned out. The original Henry Yan drawing was doing in charcoal pencil, but I wanted to express myself a little bit and not do a direct copy. So I used mostly vine and compressed and decided not to leave any outlines, like a painting. Another reason I think it was good for me to use a little personal touch was that I don’t have too much experience drawing from models. When I get into art school I’ll have to tap into my own creativity a lot more. I won’t be able to just copy Henry’s lines, you know what I mean? So it was good to kind of get into that part of everything with this piece…
Vine and compressed charcoal, 55 minutes.
Also, I did this portrait of an old friend last night. It’s based on a photo, but I moved his figure and changed a few other things. PS, about 45 minutes.
I ran out of paper/canvas/turp this week, so I’ve been doing digital stuff.
30 min
after scott burdick, 1 1/2 hrs
about an hour
this one is a concept that I’m going to refine a little bit in the future and hopefully oil paint one day. a couple hours:
and this is a concept idea for another oil I’m doing for a friend. not sure how long this sketch took
Painted over the mirror concept. The perspective is kind of wonky cause I didn’t use guides, but here it is:
I really LOVE your charcoal pieces, they have a touch of antiquity that amazes me.
The way you are capturing the shape is amazing, my congratulations!
naughty boy! You have got me in big trouble, spending the last 2 hours looking at this thread when I should have been working!!!
Seriously I just dropped by to say what an inspiration your thread is, it is truely amazing what you have learnt, how you have persevered and progressed. I am in total awe and cannot wait to see your next pieces! My only regret with regards the thread, is that there are so many “sketches” I would have loved to have seen you take further, guess thats just me being greedy hehe 
alicelefay - Thanks so much!
recce - Aw, that is very much appreciated. Thanks very much.
I really wish I could stay and talk more, but I’m in a wicked rush, so let’s just get to the uploading:
Oil, two sittings:
Siiilon - Many thanks
Seems I’m always in a hurry, so I can’t go on and on about any techniques or discoveries this time.
Vine, compressed, and charcoal pencil. About 2 1/2 hours.
A hatching exercise in PS:
OK. I don’t have the time to talk about stuff this time, so I’ll just put up the images…
Chris Sears is an awesome dude, and his sketchbook has some great stuff in it over on CA.org. Not just to look at, but to read. I highly recommend checking that out… I’d link you, but I haven’t got time.
Also, he’s got an pen and ink hatching mentor thread. These are some exercises from that thread…
And here is a sketch referenced from a photo in pen…
This is a self portrait in PS from last night. 1 hour.
And a Degas copy from this morning, in PS. about 45 minutes.
And forgive me if I’ve posted this before, but it’s from back in October. It wasn’t uploaded on my file hosting site that I could see, so I’m just going to put it up just incase I missed it back then… It’s referenced from a photo my mother took last year, thus the blown out background.
