Dry Shell

Dry Shell
Original, oil on canvas panel

5" x 7"

SOLD

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When the construction crew was digging the foundation for my sister's house, this shell was uncovered. It's a good size and quite heavy, pock marked with "history" and worn from years of erosion in the sandy soil, yet completely intact. It was sitting on the bookshelf in the family room where I discovered it a few weeks ago when looking for something to take to the studio to paint.

Since the shell is basically a white item with very little color, getting the drawing right and the light and darks to reveal the form were important.

In some way, the shell presented similar challenges as the "Black Purse, Red Lipstick" painting. Both paintings have minimal color and rely on lights and darks (called "values" or "shades and tones") to made the painting work.

I am pleased with how the textural effects of the shell's surface turned out, too. It was nice of "The Muse of Inspiration" to show up and give me a hand that day!

Many thanks for taking the time to read this post and look at my painting. You are welcome to forward this blog to others, too.

Have a good day. See you Friday!
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Text, image, and painting ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Monday's Rose

Monday's Rose, 2008
Original, 10" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel
SOLD


Here is the "final" version of the rose, which you have seen in progress over the past couple of weeks.

I reworked the background several times, overlaying colors to vary the lights and darks, and warm and cool colors. One can play around with innumerable possibilities! This is called "nuancing" in "art talk" and can result in very rich color.

For all my readers, this rose is for you. I hope your Monday is a pleasant one.

Many thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate your interest, support, encouragement, and comments. You are welcome to forward this post and painting to others, too.

See you Wednesday!
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Text, image, and painting ©Carol L Adamec. 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

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.