"Workshop Cow" needing some fixin!
Today started out crazy!! And, then I coasted into a gas station out of gas...fueled up just in the NICK of time and got to my Jean Barban Oil Workshop and had a joyful afternoon learning about light and shadow in oil paintings. Talk about FUN...Jean is a wonderful oil artist that I admire so I felt really lucky to have a few hours trying to soak up her methods and learn a bit more about this strange and wonderful medium of oil! I LOVED IT!!
Workshop cow blocked in with shadow and light...the PROCESS...
Jean had some resource materials for us and I picked this cow that was mostly in shadow. I brought a little 6x6 gallery wrap canvas and with some instruction jumped right in!! Jean works using Quang Ho's methods which was wonderful since he does not teach any longer...
Jean was so patient with us!!
It was a different approach than what I've been using so my cow is a little rough around the edges and despite what they told me I STILL think his left eye is a bit low! HA...So, I may play a bit with him tomorrow when I have a fresh perspective. I have to tell you...soaking up knowledge, watching demos (here she is doing a demo and helping a fellow workshoper), practicing and jumping in to paint in a couple hours is a fun challenge...so, in my view he is a bit wonky...but fixable...
She made it look SOOO easy! HA!
5 comments:
That sounds like such a fun workshop! Thanks for sharing the photos. I think your cow's great, but agree about the eye...just a smidge. I love the range of colors you've got in the face, and the field color beyond is beautiful.
Thank you LHolm! YEA...someone agrees! I'm changing that eye!! :)
Gosh, Saundra! I have such a tough time just working through the rudiments and basics with my art course! You continue to awe me with all you do. Now I have a technical question for you (hoping you can help answer this one for me). It always leaves me scratching my head so I figure a teacher at heart wouldn't think it rude of me to ask...
So...
Why do artists, for example as seen in your photo #4, do this blocking in or underpainting? I ask because with all of the details in her painting, it looks like a great black & white piece as it stands. It seems as though she paints it twice. It seems like she could do just as well starting with the colors needed for the end result? Hope you can forgive my ignorance and maybe it is my impatient nature talking here, but it seems like twice the work or doing the same painting twice (which is something I've never had the patience to do! LOL)...
Thanks in advance!
Thanks Autumn Leaves...AND..I never think any questions are a bad thing!! It's how we learn!! And, as you know that is my "second" profession just behind working in my art myself! The underpainting that you see was a method a very famous artist called Quang Ho uses. It is blocking in the dark and light shapes FIRST...it actually makes things easier in the end when you add the color. Value is really the MOST important part of a painting...if the values are accurate and good then the colors don't even matter...I could have painted my cow purple and yellow and it STILL would have worked if my values were accurate. Underpainting is a way to tint the canvas...which is a bit different than what you see in the blocked piece. Underpainting is good for getting rid of that white and as you see in some of Carol Nelson's fauve portraits you can see it in places...so it is a fun way to have paint on the surface and work on top where some of it shows through. I hope this helps...Ask away...anyone, anytime! I'm glad to share info...It is how we ALL learn...me too...I learned yesterday!!
You seem to be having a great deal of fun while also learning. Can't wait to start my tonal classes on March 26. Like the cow. Maybe her head is tilted slightly to explain the right eye?
Jean
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