Saturday, June 27, 2009

Male Figure - First Layer Complete

This week I continued to work on the male figure in the studio. (Also, the show in Wichita at City Arts opened last night... anyone in Wichita?) I've included a picture of my palette, though I am not sure how informative it is. I created several piles of paint based on what I saw in my reference. There are several basic hues with one or two major piles of different values for each, and then I just lightened a couple of those piles when mixing with the brush. It wasn't the most organized way to approach this, but it worked for me.
The idea I'm trying-out with this layer is to focus on the major shapes and overall gradation from light to dark across the figure. Then I will put in more detail later.
I simply started working in one area, and then moved to an adjacent area when I'd completed a section. Still, it was important to get back from the painting often to judge the overall value/color relationships.
I keep a mirror at the opposite end of the studio so that I can get a fresh view of the painting easily. This helps point out major errors.
Here we are at the end of the first layer of paint. This is usually my favorite stage of a painting because all the horrible white of the canvas has been covered and I can see the possibilities moving forward. I haven't had time to ruin it yet!

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