Painting from life breathes freshness into my painting. If I don't get out there or work from life I feel stale after a while isolated in the studio. Maybe it is just me. I see so much more and my eye sharpens each time. In addition to Plein Air I attempt to paint regularly from life as in still life or from a model. Here is my studio still life setup.
French Easel - very adjustable
In the full light in the studio the lamp barely overshadows. In order to see the full shadows the light has to be blocked from one end of the studio or the painting can be done after the sun begins to disappear. Here is the full shadow set up.
Darker than What the Eye Sees
Compared to the camera the eye is very sensitive to light (Value) and colour. Here a broad light is used. A board with oil primer was chosen for the painting. It was prepared with a greyed mixture of orange and blue - something like a burnt sienna. The ground was painted two tone to start direct painting indicating the wall and the table top in two values.
Painted Ground and Viewfinder
The viewfinder was used to help with a thumbnail to develop the design. I decided to dry brush the painting. No medium, thick paint. Here is the start.
Developing Location
This start is a little different than those shown before. It is a cross between straight massing in and an outline colouring book style. All edges are soft. Colour is added from here. The light in the environment was cool enough to make me overcompensate the warmth forcing adjustments at a later stage.
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