Leading the Way – 9×12 Oil on Gessoed Canvas Board
“Leading the Way” 9×12 Oil Painting by Winifred Whitfield
I don’t often paint street scenes, but I thoroughly enjoyed painting this one. I enjoy the interaction of the two. I love the expressions, the vintage car, the old bus and virtually empty street on this bright sunny day. I hope to paint more.
Yellow Flowers – 9×12 Oil on Gessoed Board
Yellow Flowers with Vine Oil Painting by Winifred
I had a different painting in mind when I started – the sketch below makes that pretty clear. The change was even more radical than is apparent. I set up a vase of flowers which had two yellow, three red and three deep purple flowers in it!
After I completed my sketch, I ruffed in the shadows, and began extending the energetic brushstrokes to the edges. I decided it looked like foliage and kept it.
I added highlights and shadows using dancing brushstrokes to the lower background and foreground. It started to come together. Some how, I didn’t want all the colors in the vase. I decided on yellow flowers only. I added my yellow flower along with a bit of hue changes in the same brushstroke style I’d been using throughout. I then began to focus these strokes to giving abstract definition of flower structure.
I liked the painting at this point and could have left it but I wanted a greater sense of dimension which I would only get by affecting the hues and tones of shadows and highlights. Below, I have added purple, and muted dark blue glazes to various areas along with impasto to pop the highlights and a twining vine. With that, I could call it good. I will know after I look at it over time. I can always make some changes if necessary. Hope you enjoy! Winifred
Yellow Flowers Oil Painting by Winifred
Bunch of Grapes – 8×6 Oil Painting on Canvas Panel
I can almost taste them. One bunch was not enough – referring to last weeks post of “grapes in a silver gravy bowl”. I had this vision and it turned out pretty much accordingly. Love it when that happens. There is no painting sequence for this painting – I just did it. In the next post there will be a long sequence for the painting’s development. I hope you like this one.
Oil Painting – Bunch of Grapes – 8×6 Canvas Board – by Winifred
Grapes in Gravy Bowl – 8×8 Oil Painting on Gessoed Panel
Oil painting – grapes in silver gravy bowl by Winifred
Below is the initial sketch and transparent color layer. It is so loose, luminous and rich in color.
Grapes Tonal Sketch
Substantial development of forms and detail have occurred below prior to adding highlights and other touches of color.
Grapes form development
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10×8 Oil Painting on Canvas Board
Ménage à Trois – YAMS! Oil Painting by Winifred
Early in June, I set up and photographed many still lifes, I would later reference to paint. I even photographed three large yams on a rich velvet background. Since that time, whenever I’ve scrolled through that collection of images, I would stop at the yams thinking “they looked so very weird”! I thought I would never paint “that one”. Wrong again. I came to like the fact that the photo was so unusual, so organic with the rich complementary colors and interesting shapes. It brings a smile. So, here it is!!
Below, I initially created an oil sketch and a light grid to be sure to get accurate placement, referencing the photo. I then chose my background color and painted loosely around the yam sketch.
Oil sketch with grid visible.
Below, I create my mid-tones, highlights and shadows.
Blocking in values as underpainting.
As usual, I like the brushstroke looseness of the stage above.
By the way, I wiped down and cleaned off my Hydrangea oil sketches from last week. I will paint it pretty soon and of course show it to you when I do. Til then, Winifred Whitfield
Blue Hydrangea – 8×10 Oil on Canvas – Preliminary Oil Painting Sketches
Hydrangeas – Preliminary – Progression
This is my first effort to develop a hydrangea painting. I explored a progression of considerations. I could have painted clusters of perfect little petal flowers and a lovely blended background, or there are many other pretty styles. I know how to do that, but I would not find it interesting. In fact, I created many versions of this painting – more than you see here. They became less and less spontaneous. All paintings are not going to work, but if I am not pushing the creative envelop, experimenting with color and texture, detail or lack there of, I’m not moving forward. There are aspects of each image I like or don’t like. I will leave it up to you to wonder through the images. I will create a final painting in the future starting with a blank canvas. At that time, because of this efforts, I will better know how I want to develop it. Thank you and Bye for now. Winifred
Oil Painting On Canvas 8×8
I set up these still lifes in my studio. Could any bouquets of flowers be more different in painting style? I love loose painter strokes, but I also found it interesting to try my hand at some basic “one stroke” brush techniques in the image below. Both were certainly very interesting to paint.
I found myself buried in details the painting below, but the results on this black canvas were vibrant and enjoyable to create.
Sunflowers in Blue Room – 9×12 Oil Painting on Gessoed Board
I was in the mood to paint sunflowers this week. I do love them. I had something in mind and made a sketch on my board. Then I thought – now what. What colors will I use? It would be easier to figure this out digitally than in oil – then I would paint it. I photographed my sketch with my phone and brought the sketch into painter to do a rough paint sketch. Below is the result. I like both of my drafts -great light!
Color Draft #1
I then printed it on a high gloss paper which gave me vibrant color contrast and detail. It would be my visual reference image for my painting – at least loosely so.
It was then late and I sat down to watch “So you think you can Dance”. One dancer wore coral red paints, a teal blue shirt and a blue violet hat. WOW! The colors popped and it was not a color combination I had been conscious of before. I spent some time thinking about the colors and what gave them the ability to compliment and harmonize. I thought – I can still do that. I finished watching the amazing dancers and went back to my computer.
Painter draft sketch 2 – “dancer” color added.
Above, I created a colorize layer and painted in my “dancer colors. It was an improvement – certainly for the subject matter and style in which I would paint. One just never knows where the next inspiration will be found. I didn’t really mean to go to the tip top if the board on my final oil painting at the top of the page. It didn’t start out that way. I still like it. After all, magazines cut of the top of all the models heads these days. It’s a thing! I did get every petal in the frame however!!
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Sunflowers on Black Canvas – 6×8 Oil Painting
Prompted by a video, my first sunflowers were painted on black canvas. I’ve never done this before. It’s almost easier in a way, because the darkest values are in place.
I like the painting and the idea. I will certainly do more paintings that way. Interesting I had already purchased Black Gesso and had covered several boards knowing this was something I wanted to do. So, I was ready.
12×16 Oil Painting on Gessoed Board
Above – Final Painting
This is my largest painting to date. Sometimes I play. Playing has value. Sometimes I am very serious and want to get it right. What is right? I wanted to create a classic painting, with accurate skin tones for this person – I wanted to reflect accurate hues, tones and chroma appropriately sculpting the form of her face – within the lighting in which she was photographed. “Accurate” is a tall order here – starting with the fact she was photographed in weird light, the photo was printed – meaning a different shift in colorspace. So many things, have interfered with accurate. That being said, I was deliberate and wanted to do my best.
I took the reference photo while in New York at a gallery opening a few years ago. She was very willing to pose, as I find is usually the case in New York City. Her dress was black dripping with multiple chains. She had one bare shoulder. The bare shoulder was covered with huge tattoos likewise all down her arm. She had a long ponytail. Her eyes were rimmed in bright red make up. I think she might have been disappointed had I not ask to photograph her. I thought she might be enjoyable to paint.
Initially, I spent an hour mixing paint. Based on colors and values in the photo, I created a large variety of subtle shades and hues for her face. That become an enjoyable part of painting – believe it or not – it’s own meditation.
Below is mid stage of the painting. It was a modern, rather vixen look – but that’s not what I had in mind.
Above – Portrait Stage One
I wanted a more classic look. I thought a vintage hairdo might be interesting and added a bun to the back side of her head and a long curl.
After looking at the painting for a while – nearly an hour later I decided to remove the back bun and curl I added – to wipe off the paint from that vintage variation. The hair paint was still soft/wet. I then only slightly modified her original “do”, softened and blended the edges of the hair where it met the face and its exterior edges. In the final image above, I also subdued the red rimmed eyes, subdued the eyelashes, and softened the lip lines. Some of the boldness of the image was lost, but I was after softer and more subdued look – shocking!! Perhaps, I should have and could have been more careful in painting her neck and upper chest. I did not do so intentionally – not sure it was the right decision.
Hint: We all need time away from out art periodically, to bring fresh eyes to our work. There are many ways painters do this. Viewing your artwork in the mirror can help as well. What I do most often is to photograph my painting with my phone periodically – a series stages of the painting along with the latest stage. I can view these images anytime – and I do so frequently. Viewing these images small on my phone gives me distance and a different way of looking at the painting. I find this process very helpful and I do this with every painting. It shows me things I might never have seen when looking at the larger painting.
Attire:
I also wasn’t sure what I would do for attire. I could leave her shoulders bare – or dress her in some way. Again, I photographed the painting with my iPhone and opened it in Painter to explore some alternatives. Thats how I tested a few strokes of “fabric on her shoulder”. (Bye the way, I also used Painter to test adding the bun which I removed.) I decided that whatever I creates as attire would be loose and easy, hence, I returned to my paints. In the end, I used the palette knife to create her “stunning” dress top. That was fun!!
Over all I learned a lot in the painting process – always the case. Once again I learned to try to get color, values, and brushstrokes right the FIRST TIME. “FIXING”, especially skin, doesn’t usually lead to good results.
I spent the day with a young friend from Seattle on her13th birthday more than a year ago. Now it was time for her to return home. I took her to the ferry – her mom would meet her on the other side. Amongst others, I took this photo as she prepared to board the Bainbridge Island Ferry.
A few days ago,as I perused my photos searching for any interesting reference photo to paint – I came upon that image and was inspired to paint it. Getting the perspective right was challenging for sure and the was a dominant consideration for this painting.
Initial Sketch and Design
Developing Values and Perspective
Values and perspective and image content are increasingly developed.
Below:
I’ve been reminded of a digital painting I created a few years ago. I was in New York and walked down the stairs into Penn Station. Immediately, I saw this little girl playing the trombone and her brother holding the music. I love the story and the memory. I added a few dollars to the trombone case.
