No Easy Lemon

Lemon Study, 2011

Original: oil, alkyd on 3" x 5" panel
SOLD

It's been a few weeks since I painted and posted the grisaille rendering of a lemon. A couple of you asked what grisaille (pronounced griz-eye) is. Basically, it is a painting done in black, white, and grays...like using black and white film to photograph something.

Once the grisaille painting is dry, color is usually added to the painting via thin glazes of diluted oil colors. This is a very traditional method for developing a painting, allowing the artist to establish the correct "values" or graytones before taking on color considerations.

Although I was happy with the graytone version, I wasn't happy with the color glazing results. So, I have been fooling around with this painting for the past week. My greatest challenge was to keep the lemon from looking like a yellow hand grenade. (It's odd what your mind will conjure up when working too intensely!)

Thanks for taking a look.
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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Back to Basics....Again

Lemon Grisaille (WIP)
Oil, Alkyd on panel

In past posts, I've talked about "painting the grays." This is a grisaille rendering of a nice fat lemon I picked up at the grocery store last week and decided to paint. You would think that a simple object would be simple to paint. Yeah, right!

I did cheat a little, as I began the painting on a burnt umber toned panel and let that brown color show through in the background. Once the paint dries, I'll be glazing color on top of the grays. It's been awhile since I did an entire painting--even a small painting--using this method, so we'll see how it all turns out.

This week I also complete the second "Sunset Strip" but it's still too wet to put on the scanner. So, I'll be sharing that painting with you next week.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your weekend.

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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Rorschach or Lily?

Lit Up Lily (WIP)
by Carol Adamec
Original Grisaille rendered in gesso & acrylic
6" x 8"

Here's the beginning grisaille of a new flower painting that I mentioned starting last Thursday. Right now it looks like more like a Rorschach inkblot than a lily!

First I laid down a medium gray gesso over an entire canvas panel, which is labeled on the image shown. After that, I mixed up lighter grays to render the lighter values, and then applied a black acrylic for the darkest background areas and the flower center. As you can see, most of the values range towards the lighter end of the scale, since the finished painting will depict a yellow lily in bright sunlight.

It will start to look more flower-like, once the different grays are converted to color...maybe by Thursday, even!

Thanks for taking a look. Have a good week!
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Artwork and text ©2009 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Spring Daffodils

Morning Daffodils (WIP)

by Carol Adamec
Oil, alkyd on stretched canvas
10 "x 8"

It's spring in New Mexico.... one week the weather is sunny with balmy temperatures in the 70's; and then the next week it's cold and snowing! The daffodils came out a few weeks ago, and I photographed a small bouquet of them basking in the morning sun on my kitchen table.

This week I've started two new paintings, one being Morning Daffodils, based on the photos I took a few weeks ago.

Some of you have mentioned that you enjoy seeing a painting "unfold" from start to finish. So, I will take photos of this piece as it develops and post the pictures of the process.

Today's post shows the underpainting, where the composition and basic values (lights and darks) are defined. You can see the table edge and flowers in front of a chair, with a window and cabinets on the right side, and on the left, a bright rectangle of light on the refrigerator in the background.

On Monday I'll post the next stage of the painting. See you then.
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Artwork and text ©2009 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

New Beginnings

"Blue Gate" (grisaille)
Original oil & alkyd on canvas panel
10 x 8"

Happy New Year, Dear Readers! I hope 2009 is off to a great beginning for all of you.

I was fortunate to spend four days playing and relaxing in Chama, New Mexico. Chama is just a few miles south of the Colorado border, where an accumulation of well over 6 feet of snow offered great snowshoeing and pristine winter vistas worthy of any "Scenic America" calendar.

Like those of you who are back in the office today, I'm back in the studio thinking about new paintings to start. Today's post shows the grisaille (done in burnt umber) of a new 8x10 painting, "Blue Gate", I've just begun. By Thursday, I intend to have all the basic colors in place.

Thanks for taking a moment to look at today's post. Have an easy week. See you Thursday!
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Text and photo ©Carol Adamec 2009. All rights reserved.

Paint It Black

Black Purse, Red Lipstick
Original, oil on canvas panel
8"x10" unframed

Contact Artist to purchase.

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It's been about a week since I posted the grisaille rendering of this "still life." You would think that a black purse would be easy to paint...just use black paint mixed with white. But then the purse has no color—it's just all shades of gray, like the grisaille rendering.

To create "black," I mixed various combinations of dark pigments—phthalo blue, phthalo green, alizarin crimson, burnt umber, and burnt sienna—and then mixed in some white to paint the highlights and lighter tones.

I painted on it last week and yesterday, and I do believe it is finished.

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please contact me, and I will email you a better photo. The painting will be dry enough to put on the scanner in a day or two.

Thanks for looking. Have a good day today, and a wonderful Thursday. See you Friday! ___________________________________________________
Text, images, and artwork ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Back to Basics, Part 2

Rose
(in progress) 10" x 8"

I did work on the "Black Purse" painting on Monday. However, Tuesday it was still too wet to work on or complete in time for today's blog. So, you'll probably see it Friday.

In the meantime, I turned my attention to one of the 12 unfinished paintings in my studio.

Over the weekend, I started this little still life shown here, and was not happy with the drawing. (Usually when I am unhappy with a painting, it's the drawing that needs attention. But it takes me awhile to realize that.) I worked at least an hour on the "shoulders" of the vase and just could not get it right...duh, back to basic drawing! Then the painting was just too wet to mess with, so I set it aside.

As for the painting, I again began with a grisaille rendering. Although most of the canvas is covered with color, you can still see the rose petals done in light shades of umber. Eventually, the rose will be a deep pink. You can also see from this example that I do start out my paintings with all over, loose brushwork.

Check back on Friday to see which painting I get done, and how it turns out. Have a good day!

Many thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate your interest, support, encouragement, and comments. You are welcome to share this with others, too.
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Images and artwork ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

BACK to BASICS

Black Purse, Red Lipstick

Grisaille (in progress)

8" x 10"

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Saturday I arrived at the studio and was not inspired to work on any of the 12 unfinished paintings awaiting my attention. So, what else could I do... I had to start a new painting!

Looking around the studio, I decided to use my purse and a tube of lipstick for my "still life." I then began this painting as a "grisaille" ( pronounced griz-EYE, a French word for "shades of gray"). Traditional art academies taught grisaille to sculptors and painters alike. Sculptors use grisaille as a means to represent relief sculpture. Painters employ grisaille as underpainting, often in preparation for color glazing techniques.

Grisaille paintings are most often done in black or burnt umber, mixed with white. I used a bit of both mixtures for this rendering. Since I am "in training" to paint more quickly, I timed the drawing, blocking in forms and laying in the various lights and darks—about 90 minutes. On Sunday I reworked a bit of the drawing part, and tweaked a few of the lights and darks—another 15 minutes.

As you can see, this is a "first draft" of the still life. Since the items are associated with women, I gave the purse some "body," likening the folds of leather to folds of skin. With luck, I'll have the finished painting to show you on Wednesday....in full color!

In the meantime, have a good day today, and a wonderful Tuesday. Many thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate your interest, support, encouragement, and comments.

You are welcome to share this with others, too: http://www.CarolAdamec.blogspot.com ____________________________________________
Images and artwork ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.