Category: How I Paint

The thinking and practical side of the works I create.

Portrait Study

I love doing these! A 20 x 16″ oil study, done as the first exercise in my portrait class. Starting with the biggest color masses of background, a general flesh tone, and hair, I worked towards the smaller masses, using the largest brushes possible, solid painting, and avoiding details of the features.

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The whole idea is to teach oneself to work from the general to the specific. The neutral gray background and black outfit give a value range against which the flesh tones can be measured. It’s a great way to appreciate how much the likeness is in the greater shapes.

4.01.11 Night and the ocean March 18th

I’m haunted by ocean images, no doubt about it. While I’ve come to know that this subject doesn’t resonate with everyone, I return to it often and for reasons that are not entirely clear to me. It’s beautiful, suggestive, sensitive and dangerous. It’s mysterious, and all five senses are involved in appreciating it. The ocean is a response to something larger, and points back to that larger source.

This small pastel ( 12 x 16″) is a product of imagination and recollection, supported by drawings and lots of looking. The ocean won’t sit for me like other subjects, which is part of the challenge. Good thing, too. I need to tailor the craft to suit the mood as well as the look.

3/16/11 A pastel figure in midstride

A studio piece from the model, coming along.

I always try to create pastel with an eye to letting it be pastel…my belief has become that the best qualities of the medium are often shown when the color is applied straightforward, simply and without fuss. “Blending”, as in the stumping sort, is becoming something to be delayed as long as possible, or at best considered just another technique in the arsenal. The paper color was really important here, and this one was the right choice for the model and for the subject, I’m enjoying allowing it to flavor the entire painting.

I’ll have about another two hours to work out the hands and some other aspects of the figure, and that’s it.

I’d enjoy seeing more work by oil painters who occasionally move into pastel. There are some wonderful pastel pieces from Paxton and Tarbell that I’ve seen which reinforce my observation that a strong oil painter can make himself or herself at home in the adjacent mediums (watercolor and pastel) with relatively little difficulty. Several of my all-time favorite watercolors are by Sorolla, as a case in point.

I’ve got a hankering to work out a street piece in pastel next. Something urban. Watch for some pencil sketches to start that brewing.

3/03/11 A Figure in Watercolor

My one-hour demonstration at the Honolulu Academy school at Linekona

This is from an impromptu watercolor demonstration at my Life Drawing class last Thursday. I did this to demonstrate the connection between the drawing approach I teach and painting. The painting is only an extension of the drawing into color and form, and not a separate thing.

I consider an hour to be a minimal amount of time to spend on anything in color, and fully anticipate anything resulting in that hour to be a sketch at best.

Incidentally, I don’t believe in pushing oneself to work quickly, as if speed was somehow a virtue. I know others may disagree with me, but I’ll post more on this later if you are interested.

Figure in watercolor drawing

3/04/11 In a Pastel Place

I love this location, and have painted in oil here on several occasions. It’s a marvelous spot, directly beneath the Doris Duke mansion “Shangri La”, over on the Diamond Head side of the island.

The first challenge is actually getting myself and my gear to this spot. One has to find their way here along a narrow and crumbled stone seawall which at higher tides is slippery and risky in some spots. This leads to the old stone yacht slip, a local hangout for young swimmers and their friends. Lots of curious people make their way over to see what I’m doing, which livens the experience up. Plenty of folks here have never met a working artist before.

I worked out the small color sketch (above) to decide what I was after, and started the finished piece (with compositional adjustments) on the following day. I find that the more preliminary consideration I give a piece, the smoother the sailing later on. I think that perhaps two more afternoons with good light should be sufficient to finish.

First work on the final painting, 16 x 20" on prepared surface

Here’s a shot of a day’s work on the final painting. I switched from the morning to afternoon light, which throws the white structure into shadow on the side facing me, but illuminates the great walls nicely. There are intriguing opportunities for placing figures, contrasts of light and shade, and integrating architecture into an almost jungle-like setting.

Pastel Painting at Shangri La

Today’s progress

As the painting awakens, I’m keeping in mind my ambition to get as much of this painted via color and tonal spots with as little extraneous noodling as possible.

Looking Down and Out

I’ve spent the first part of the new year sketching in pastel with an eye towards some new subjects for oil and pastel. One that I’ve gotten a start on is a difficult morning piece, looking downward and across from a high and somewhat precarious vantage point. The light effect, early morning about an hour after dawn, is brief but very exciting!

8 AM easel setup, Makapu'u

My setup seen from the side. Since gusts of wind are an issue up here, the setup is low to the ground, and I’m staying seated.

P1200003 This is my viewpoint, about twenty minutes before my actual light affect occurs. The main lines of my composition are drawn in with thin paint, and the next step is blocking in the main shapes with approximate colors and values, as close as I’m able to get them.

My morning’s work, first day. I’m going to have to gain some balance on the right side of the composition, but the movement seems good. This was shot afterwards indoors, so the colors in the image are somewhat lighter and warm.

Divers at Halona Cove

This pastel is finally finished, except for the signature which will be added after placing the picture into the frame. I decided that I’d try painting it on a soft Rives printmaking paper, with a very satisfying middle value olive-beige tone. It worked well. The paper took the color very nicely, and allowed for sufficient repeat applications of pastel. Just a touch of fixative was introduced in the darkest darks and developed lights.

divers at halona cove 650 Divers at Halona Cove pastel 14 x18″

The subject itself is one I’ve been working with for years, and the challenges are tremendous for a plein-air approach. Most everything is in movement, and the surges of water and sometimes wind can be powerful and unpredictable. Because of this, the wave effects have to be determined in advance, and then simplified. Also, it’s very easy to overplay the already beautiful colors of the water, so I prefer to make a point of following nature’s lead closely by revealing the wonderful combinations of colors already presented as truthfully as I can.

DHC pastel pre

Preliminary 9 x 12″

The first days I had on this piece were remarkable for the clarity of the light…as with so many things in life, good weather seems like it should last indefinitely, though of course I knew it wouldn’t. We eventually were locked down by heavy rains for many days after the first few afternoons, so the final picture was eventually adjusted indoors, from memory.