Watercolor 1: painting fruit or vegetable, in progress...and completed

Here's the finished painting with the shading done in a mixture of orange and blue. Paint any fruit or vegetable you want, just remember to use complimentaries to shade. So, for example, a green pepper would be shaded in a mixture of green and red, its complimentary, and so on...click to enlarge. Due 3/4.

Step 1 done- light oranges and darker oranges (layers!), no shading with complimentaries yet..and purple and yellow for the cast shadows...this will be done by the end of the day!

I chose to paint an orange...the colors in the photo are ultra- saturated and look much different in person, one of the problems with painting from photos. I painted this from life, so my colors are a little different.

Painting 1: One fruit or vegetable

paint one fruit or vegetable, in your sketchbooks, using complimentary colors to shade. So, for example, I chose a banana, so I used purple mixed with yellow for my shading. I used no black for this at all, just the primaries plus white to tint the highlights. I took the liberty of using light blue for the white if the paper it was sitting on- which makes the shadow a mix of blue and orange (complimentaries!). Due 2/27.

the final painting.

mixing the yellow and the purple for shading.

sketch, palette, and fruit.

Painting 2: Self-Portrait

one self-portrait, done in your sketchbooks, any medium you wish. I drew with pencil from my iphone...Due 2/27.

Watercolor 1 Assignment

One object, sitting on a surface, showing figure/ground relationship (paint shadows..). In watercolor, black and white (or in my case, Sepia- oops). Click on the image to enlarge. Also, refer to the previous post for an earlier look at the process. Due 2/25. Enjoy the holiday!

Painting 1 assignment

Pick 2 items to paint- this can be anything- as you can see here. A rose from valentines day....Using a strong light source, and only black and white paint, paint the 2 objects, paying particular attention to the figure/ ground relationship (how they are sitting on a surface). Remember, shadows have shapes! I'm including several steps here so you can see how approach things- blocking in shapes with washes of paint in the beginning, establishing value relationships, and finally refining things with a thicker application of paint. This is not that much different from your previous assignment, aside from the addition of another object, but I really want you to emphasize the light source here- make it as strong as you can, and think about the surrounding area more. the addition of a second object forces you to do this to a certain extent as well... also notice how I'm using the whole page....Click on the last image to enlarge. Due 2/20.

Watercolor1: also stay tuned....

Not done yet...plus I used the wrong black!!

Painting1: stay tuned...

I will post Friday afternoon...

Painting 2: Reversed Grounds

At first glance, it may appear as if there are 4 different colors here, but there are actually, in fact, only 3. The X's are one color, but the viewer's perception of color is altered by the color behind. For this assignment, imitate this effect using 3 different colors- notice how the X color is actually a mixture of the 2 grounds. Experiment with this one- try to use different colors than the one I am presenting here- the more examples we have of different degrees of this effect the better! You can paint on any surface you would like, just remember that the neater you are with solid color and hard edges, the better the effect will be (you can use tape) Due 2/20.

Painting 1: Still Life Assignment

One painting, black and white, in your sketchbooks- 1 object showing value range. Include the surface it's sitting on- notice how the shadow also has a shape. Due 2/13

Giorgio Morandi: Still Life God

Take a look at these paintings by Giorgio Morandi. For most of his life this is all he painted- still lifes- from a limited number of objects he had in his collection. By changing the arrangements and thus, the compositions, he was able to create a wide variety of moods and meanings through very simple, almost minimal means. But what I want you to notice most is how he establishes the figure-ground relationship  through his use of the cast shadow and spare linework at the base of each object.

Watercolor 1: Drawing Assignment

In pencil, one object showing value relationships: this can be as simple and ridiculous as one of my daughter's bathtub toys, just show form through the use of value (also known as shading...). For those of you who were in my painting classes before (Darcel, William, and Jessica)- try to do this in watercolor- just black and white. I believe that's what we discussed- let me know if I'm wrong! Due 2/11.