Building a painting, alla prima

My usual method of painting involves the classical technique of first doing a fully rendered drawing on paper, then transferring it to canvas or board. It's a bit more time consuming, as I've described in a previous post. But with live flowers, time is of the essence.

Here are the steps for drawing and painting all at once, or alla prima. It's also known as "direct" painting, as apposed to "indirect" painting when drawing is completed before beginning to paint.

So, below left is my set up with those robust ranunculus. The first stage on the prepared board shows marking placement of the vase with the central axis just slightly off-center making room for the shadow to help balance the composition. The far right image shows how the brush is held loosely for a more organic feel.

 

Once the vase placement is set, it's time to focus on those flowers since they will not last long. The loosely painted drawing below is done with thinned paint to allow for changes. It's like sketching with charcoal - if you make enough lines, eventually you can tell which ones work and which ones don't! In the second image thinner (gamsol) on a cloth is used to wipe out areas that are not working. 

Next the darks are indicated. Darkest values help establish movement through the composition so it's good to note early on where they should be. Last is the completed underpainting. In addition to acting as a drawing/road map for the painting, an underpainting connects all elements with a consistent, underlying tone.

In the group of images below the first pass of color has been established for the flowers (still holding off on the vase to focus on the fresh flowers). Then I worked the background around the flowers to integrate it with foreground objects while the paint is wet. Plus, creating soft edges in wet paint helps objects recede. Finally, the finished painting.

 

This one is called "Unruly Ranunculus." Because, if you know ranunculus, the stems just do their own thing! I actually needed a clothespin to weigh down the yellow flower on the right to keep it in position. Ranunculus are the most beautiful multi-multi-petaled flowers! Like roses that couldn't decide when to quit!

Unruly Ranunculus ©2016 Dorothy Lorenze, 8x8"

Happy Spring!

Thanks for joining me on my art journey. Wishing you a very creative season!

Fresh Picks for Inspiration

Ah, summer Farmers Markets: an endless source of inspiration. For most people that probably means fresh ideas for healthy meals featuring local ingredients. For me, it's also about capturing colors and textures on canvas... rather than on a plate!

Purple Peppers ©2014 Dorothy Lorenze (8x10" oil on linen)

These peppers were so strikingly beautiful, I couldn't wait to paint them. Their rich, plumy, purple is striated with a delicate, celery green. Since those colors are basically opposites on the color wheel it was an interesting exercise to delicately blend without making mud. I'm slowly learning to mix more subtle gradations of hue and value to find the right color. It's a little like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"...this little pepper is too purple...! With patience, it should eventually be "just right."

Value is as important as hue and often more difficult to pin down. The grey-blue of reflected light on the shadow side of the pepper is a good example because I kept wanting it to be lighter than it really was. But I think it's working now.

Fortunately, my models were cool about my slow learning curve. They chilled in the refrigerator during painting breaks and remained fresh and glossy for the entire week it took to finish this painting.

Purple Peppers is one of several fresh produce paintings that will be included in my exhibit in the Main House Gallery at Muscoot Farm throughout September. The Gallery is open from 12-4, Saturday and Sundays only. My work will be for sale, weekends, from September 6th thru 28th.

Thanks for joining me on this painting journey.

Painting Old Crap has it's Rewards!

Last week I wrote about my Dad on Father's Day and this week I'm sharing a painting and news that I hope would have made him proud.

My painting Fuel Fossil has been accepted to the Hudson Valley Art Association's 82nd National Annual Art Exhibit. It's the first time one of my paintings has been accepted to a national exhibition and I'm excited and honored.

Fuel Fossil ©2013 Dorothy Lorenze

Hudson Valley Art Association is a highly respected arts organization initially formed in 1924 by a group of New York artists meeting in the home of Jasper Cropsey, one of the first Hudson River School artists. This year the exhibit is at the beautiful Salmagundi Club, one of the oldest arts organizations in the United States. Founded in 1871, the Salmagundi Club resides in a gorgeous brownstone mansion in Greenwich Village New York; the entire building is full of art. Artists like  William Merritt Chase, Louis Comfort Tiffany, N.C. Wyeth and Childe Hassam gathered there! It's an awesome art-infused abode and an amazingly place to visit when you are in NYC.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

The gas pump in Fuel Fossil is from the apple orchard up the street. It's vintage 1950s, so it probably looks a lot like the pumps at Johnny Black's gas station in the '50s, where my Dad worked part time when his fledgling TWA schedule was rather sporadic. I can't actually remember seeing those pumps but the smell of gasoline still brings back memories of visiting my Dad at the gas station. It was always at thrill.
Go figure!

It feels a bit like balanced karma to be accepted to the Hudson Valley Art Association exhibit with a painting of a gas pump. As I mentioned in my last blog, art was not high on Dad's list of career choices. 

Oilcan Gothic ©2013 Dorothy Lorenze

 Bizarrely, another one of my "rusty" works of art, Oilcan Gothic, won Award of Excellence recently, so I'm just going to have to give credit to my Dad for inspiring my artwork, however unintentional it might have been! These paintings, I think,  Dad would have appreciated.










Thanks for stopping by to join me on m art journey. And apologies for re-posting these paintings. While the paintings are not totally new, the news it!

Daily Painting or Painting Daily

There's an ambitious movement in the world of painting that has inspired lots of painting "hobbyists" to become more serious about their artwork. It's called A Painting a Day or Daily Painting, etc., and the idea is to commit to making a painting everyday for a specified period of time. It can be a great motivator.

The practice apparently started with Duane Keiser around 2004 when he decided to challenge himself and to maximize the internet as a marketing tool by posting (and selling!) a new painting everyday. Duane explains it in an interview in Huffington Post.

I first heard of daily painting through Carol Marine's Daily Paintworks around 2009, about the time I was trying to establish a painting discipline of my own - and totally clueless. The idea of doing a painting each and every day was intriguing, inspiring and seemingly impossible!

So I tried to paint fast and loose... and I really do like those painterly, vibrant brushstrokes... but it turns out I like the details even more!

Although I know there is great benefit to rendering quick interpretation of a scene and simplifying images, the pressure to complete a painting a day is more than I can take. And I'm never satisfied with the results. So, instead of Daily Painting, my commitment is Painting Daily.

Establishing a routine to paint daily was hard enough. I once asked Karen O'Neil how she organizes her day to paint regularly. She said, "I put my son on the bus, go for a run and then I paint." That sounds simple enough.

Now it's working for me (minus the running!) And the more time I spend at the easel the more I observe the subtleties and details that excite me in a composition and I know that's what I want to master.

©2014 Dorothy Lorenze, 9x12" oil on panel

This is Dr. Haines Petit Déjuener. (Dr. Haines is the owner of the top hat - it says so, right inside!)

I'm proud to say that after working on this painting for days, and thinking it was "done" I felt the need to refine the silver butter server and knife, and it's so much better. Maybe someday I'll get it right the first time, but for now, I'll practice patience and perseverance.

Just for fun, a close-up of the before-and-after of the butter server:

Now the silver shines, the bell is rounder and the knife lies flat. 

I'm a happy camper. And this painting is on its way to Greene Gallery in Guilford, CT.

Thanks for stopping by to view my art!

Grab that brass ring!? Um, not so much.

You know how it is - if you don't try, you can't fail. Fear of failure? Fear of success? Either way, it causes inertia and limits progress.

I'm happy to say that "maturity" and expanding horizons have gradually imbued a sense of "can-do," or at least a dose of "what-the-hell" in recent years! Boundaries have been stretched and that brass ring is beginning to seem like a more attainable target.

If you've been following my blog you know that this has been a creative year with wonderful new experiences, adventures and relationships. From workshops in Provence to an abandoned prison, I've been artfully inspired by poppy fields and pockmarked plaster. I've been able to take advantage of some amazing opportunities.

And it's all been in pursuit of mastery. So this year, my goal is to simply do more artwork. That's it. Be disciplined and paint more. It may not sound creative but a commitment to painting more is a commitment to getting better at it.

In the words of Pablo Picasso,  

"Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working."

I have some specific plans about subjects to tackle and venues to approach this year, but it's all about committing time and feeling ready to take on new ideas. And just getting down to work!

There is a great article on the Oil Painters of America blog on the subject of Artistic Goals by Roger Dale Brown. Rather than quote his practical no-nonsense advice for artists, you should just click the link and read it! It's the first of a series of three articles and I'm looking forward to further inspiration.

So here's the focus: no matter what your interests and responsibilities may be, take charge of your life to the greatest possible extent. That's all.

My wish for you all is to create a Happy New Year in 2014!

Green Roseville and Plums ©2013 Dorothy Lorenze

This beautiful red cabbage was an unexpected find at the farmers' market in Charlotte on Tuesday. 
On Wednesday, it was a finished painting! 
(Well almost.)

There are artists who regularly do a painting a day and, believe me, I'm impressed! I could never imagine how on earth they manage that. I'm learning.

It's not about speedy brushstrokes, more about accuracy. To finish a painting in one day the drawing has to be correct at first pass. Then there is the challenge of color mixing and determining values. Sometimes that comes easily. Sometimes... not so much!

Anyway, it sure feels good to have accomplished so much in one day! I could have left it as it was above but, the moment of truth, for me, always comes the next morning. I decided the color cast was not quite right: not quite purple/red enough. It just didn't have that "red cabbage personality".

So here is the final purple-ier red cabbage. I hope you agree that the color is more authentic.

Doesn't it look like the cabbage is peeking out at the lemon slice? Maybe it's a little jealous of all that "zest." Although, redheads are known to be rather zesty themselves, don't ya think!?