using Palette Grey for under painting (spoiler - it's a chicken)

 I mentioned palette grey last time and how to make it.  Here's my first go at using it and I absolutely love it. 

The canvas has black gesso on it for some reason I can't remember.  

Anyway, I'm blocking in the values and making some chickens happen.  I don't know if there's a spoiler tag and as the true title of this painting isn't safe for all ages, I'll give the alternate title: peeping male chicken

Spoilers: we won't see this again for months - but it is my favorite technique so far.  

Rasputin

 

The problem with the blacks is a combination of me not being good with darks yet and how the camera has a small dynamic range.  Aka, if I want the whites to show up correctly, the camera has to sacrifice the blacks.  

He's okay I guess. 

I'll stash him in the basement and maybe figure out how to fix him when my skill improves.

oh look, a chicken

 

Cathy in oils. This is how far I got in an hour.  

palette (wood for oil painting)

 

The oil painting palettes mostly come as raw wood and we have to apply copious coats of oil before they are ready to use.  I wondered, what if I put a chicken on the back of the palette before I oiled it.

I think it's really cute.  No one will see it, but I will know it's there.  

Oil paint applied with a stiff brush.

Vincent Van Gogh - my almond master copy

Almond blossoms are the first flower of spring here - or, more often winter.  They can open any time after Christmas and make me so happy!  

Some of my favourite paintings are of almond blossoms by Van Gogh.  From his letters, we know he painted them in a hurry and often painted several in a day.  He was just that excited about these flowers.  A sign of renewal and vivification after the darkness of winter.  

Part of my own revitalization is painting.  It's helping me recover from injury and other issues that stopped me doing the one thing I did best - yarn.  And one of the ways to get better at painting is to make a Master Copy.  A master copy of my favourite painting would be lovely to hang on the wall.  

Spoilers: it's not going on the wall, but there's at least two chickens.  

But it's not a style I normally paint in, as I'm leaning heavily towards realism and paintings that are done in layers.    So it's a good exercise for me to paint this way as it's basically the opposite of my normal.  

The almond has a special meaning for me.  I have one lonely almond tree who finally made the first nut last summer.  I'm often out there on cold days with a paint brush to pollinate it as the insects aren't always keen to come out to play in winter.  

From the little I've learned of Vincent, and reading translations of some of his letters, arriving at Arles and seeing the unexpected snow covering the almond orchards (groves?) in full bloom was a spiritual expierence.  I fell that moment is a huge turning point in his work.  It's from there that what he paints is recognizably Vincent Van Gogh.  Before that, it feels like he was stumbling around with the paint brush, following other people's styles and ideas.  But here, Vincent becomes truly Vincent.

Even if he looses himself later, he has a moment of clarity that most of us miss out on during our journey through this world.  That's the part of his story that I love most.

 This is my first video in a long time.  It's a master copy of Van Gogh's Almonds in a glass.  If you want to see more painting videos, please come over to youtube and give it a like.  If it does well, maybe I'll come back to making videos.  

So far it isn't doing well.  The first few hours of going live make it a close contestant for worst video of my channel - The worst being my first video.  That was also paint related. 

I know, it didn't turn out as well as it could have.  But that's why I paint.  To learn and get better.  Van Gogh is harder than he looks.

and more greasy/oily chickens.

 These ones were one hour chickens.  

Still a lot to learn, but they are chicken shaped.  

2 hour chickens

 Oil painting is hard.  It's not like anything else I ever tried.

And yet, there is something there that is worth exploring.

Also, the metric system sucks.  Again.  10x10 - and I checked several times that this was inches.  And yet, when it arrived, the listing had been changed to cm and the beautiful canvases are tiny!  

I've got about two hours each morning while the coffee(s) steeps into my soul and the day can begin.  This is a good time to do some art.  So I set a timer to try to paint one of these little 4" squares in under two hours.

When I read painting forums, especially reddit, I like to keep track of the problems that stop beginners from becoming amateurs.  One of the big ones is, getting lost in the details and not focusing on the larger, more important shapes.  I figure this exercise and these alla prima (all in one go) paintings will be a good way to get through this.  They are small enough to toss on the fire if I mess up and later, the ones that survive, will be used for a varnishing experiment and possibly later coasters.  

Although a secret part of me thinks, wouldn't it be lovely if people wanted mini paintings for their wall and then I could have more money to buy more paint?  But I lost yarn to the stress of other's expectations and I don't want painting to go that way.  So I paint for me.  Not for sale.

ps, her name is gardener.  Because I spend most of the summer trying to keep her out of the garden.  

oil begins

After much reading, I discovered that solvents and stink when oil painting is a myth.  Solvent is 100% optional and all we really need is the paint.  The paint is just pigment and oil - flaxseed oil like the stuff we eat, only with more filtering and fewer additives.  

One can even use oil for most of the brush cleaning.  Although soap and water help for long term storage.

 

So I thought why not spend a summer (because it was summer when this happened) morning in the garden playing with pretty colours.  

Well... not bad for a first unguided painting.  There is a lot more work to do on it once this layer dries.  Also, I need to learn more about composition.  But still, it turned out kind of cute.  

Because my last chicken painting turned out so... um...

 I decided to do some more practice with Beam Paints watercolours because the colour is just so intense.  I know I showed this in the review a little while back, but it's worth revisiting.

I'm starting to get the hang of it, but still, I'm constantly intrigued by how the paint wants to participate with the process.  Each colour has a different personality.  Some like to granulate, others scream and chase away anyone who gets too near.  Getting the hang of how to combine not just the colours but the personalities is a big part of what I love about these paints.  

gonna try and paint cathy (it didn't go well)

 

I like Beam Paints a lot so I'm going to try these.  I begin by applying masking fluid for the parts I want to remain white.

Washy backgrounds are looking good.  Now, can I paint the chicken.

First layer, wet in wet to get the foundations down.  

A bit darker - remembering that watercolour values are more to do with saturation than blackness or whiteness.

Although this is getting away from me a bit.  

Let's add some details.

Um... yeh.  That didn't turn out how I expected.  Interesting and it is chicken shaped, but not Cathy.  I need to practice with the Beam Paints more because they are quite a bit more vibrant than I am used to.  

Cathy

 Cathy is one of our longest living hens, or was, I suppose.  She has a funny personality.  An introvert hen, who didn't like to spend any more time with other chickens than necessary but still had her favourite five that she stuck close to at night.  Each evening she would come to the door of the human house and peck at it until we came out and she would walk us to the hen house, chattering away about her day.  

This is charcoal and coloured charcoal (whatever that is) on toned paper.  

getting bigger

 peep peep

Lady in charcoal

 I really like how this one turned out.

better photos of the charcoal chickens

 

peeps

 peep peep

so cute!

not sure this chicken worked out - alpha

 

Head hen Alpha is a tricky one to draw.  She always  looks so stern.  

Petrichor

 

The idea is maybe I can take my art with me when I am waiting for an appointment or something.  

This kind of comb is a bit tricky as it doesn't really look like the popular opinion of a chicken.  

I think I'm here

The problem with time away is I forgot where I was.  I think we haven't seen this monstrosity yet.   

The idea is that maybe if I start with pretty colours then paint the dull ones over top... no.  that didn't work.  But the idea is worth exploring again.

This might be a mistake

 Possibly the beginning of the end of gelly gouache for me.  

Poor chicken.

But festive. 

Beautiful hen

 A friends chicken but for some reason, I just had to paint it. It's a comfort thing now.

I probably would have eaten chocolate instead if I had any in the house.  But I'm glad I painted a chicken instead.

Regular watercolours, a mix of student and professional.

I just love the way she glows.