Day 5 "Gullagain"

Day 5 | 2016 | 30 in 30

I haven't quite figured out a title for this one so for now its

“Gullagain”

6x6” oil ($50)

Yesterday' painting almost painted itself.  That usually means the next couple of paintings I try too hard and struggle.  Does it ever get any easier?  I guess then it wouldn't be a challenge.   One of the things I hope to come away with after painting 30 paintings is to paint faster and more efficiently.   I know that's when I paint my best.  Sounds simple but its anything but!  

I am painting on Gessobord, experimenting using a scrapper not only to remove paint, but to draw with in the paint.  

Art Tips

cardboard backing

As much as I enjoy painting on Gessobord, it is hard to handle without getting my fingers in it.  For larger pieces, I cut out a "backboard" from 1/8" Masonite an add a 1/4" lip on the bottom.  For the daily smaller pieces I don't need a bunch of little Masonite backboards so I decided to cut them out of cardboard.  Just cut a piece about 2" larger than your board (don't worry about exact sizing, my cardboard backing is 8x8ish for working for these 6x6s").  Then I hot glue a ledge piece to the bottom to stabilize the cardboard and keep the gessobord from sliding.  Role a couple of pieces of blue painter's tape to hold the Gessobord on the cardboard.  Works like a charm.  I recommend once you finish the painting and if you leave it attached to the backboard you store/dry laying flat .  Otherwise, remove and put the panel in a drying rack. 

toning

I took a great workshop with QIANG HUANG.  He recommends spreading a very light coat of linseed oil on your board or canvas before beginning to paint.  I like the way the paints goes on.  Just don't forget to wipe it down before you start painting so you don't have too much Linseed oil on it or your paint will run.  Once I wipe it down I am toning the boards with Transparent Oxide Orange (Rembrandt).  It blends nicely with the lighter paints applied over it.  Something I learned from DREAMA TOLLE PERRY is if you put down just transparents first for your first layer, they will not get muddy.

 

"wipe out" drawing

 

Rather than draw with pencil, charcoal or conte crayon I'm drawing with a wipe-out tool.  I have different types, but I really like the Kemper Wipe Out Tool DREAMA recommends.  It is actually a ceramic tool so the rubber tips are a bit stiffer and it has a tip on each end which is handy.  Great thing about drawing with the wipe out tool is if you don't like something you just brush it out and redo.  

 

 

 

laying in the paint

 

The thing I'm struggling with painting wet into wet is getting really good darks.  Hopefully, after a few more paintings I'll figure it out. Looking at this now, I'm kind of wishing I'd left the background more tonal ... I like the effect. 

QIANG HUANG's workshop

Painting demo by QIANG HUANG from YouTube:

I was just looking through my notes from QIANG HUANG's (pronounced Chong Wong) workshop I took last October.  Even though I'm a bit late in posting about the workshop, I wanted to recommend it to anyone thinking about taking it.  The workshop was a real treat and I really enjoyed it.  Qiang is an enjoyable, very organized instructor (you can tell he has a technical background), who breaks his instruction down into 5 stages to convey his method of painting in a way that is easy to understand.  It should be noted that while he broke his method down to make it more teachable those stages blend together when he's not teaching.   

It was a still life class and a number of stations were set up around the room.  Qiang brought small floods so each still life had good strong light to enhance the highlights and shadows.  I've been painting from my photographs so long I forgot how much more you see when working from real life.  Because of the workshop, one of my goals in the January 30-30 challenge was to paint still life and it is something I will do more.  

Qiang brushes his canvas or board down with a wee bit of linseed oil mixed with a little Gamsol to make the paint flow better.  Note: Be sure to wipe it down so there is barely any left on the canvas otherwise your paint will run. I started doing that since the workshop and find it does help the flow of the paint.

It was a real treat to watch Qiang's demonstrations and see how intense and beautiful his colors are in his finished paintings, especially since he uses a fairly limited palette: Naples Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red Light, Alizarin Crimson, Transparent Oxide Red (or Burnt Sienna), Ultramarine Deep, Phthalo Blue, and Titanium White. Qiang noted he sometimes liked to use Naples Yellow to lighten colors because white can make a color chalky.  I hadn't used Naples Yellow in a long time, but have added it back on my own palette since the workshop and really like it.  

Friend and artist Susan Church Grant also attended the October workshop and did a fantastic 2-part write-up of her notes that I recommend you check out if you are thinking about attending one of Qiang's workshops.  

 "Ikebana Doll"
8x10" oil by Qiang Huang

I am delighted to be a proud owner of "Ikebana Doll" I purchased at the workshop

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