Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait (Oil Bar Painting Day 9) Originally uploaded by randubnick
While I was in the studio the other day to start my painting of Singing Beach (see yesterday's post), I took a few minutes to even out the color of the turtleneck in my self-portrait. Then I began to seal the edges (paint the bare canvas around the sides). I can still see little things I might like to fix, but I am ready to say that this is basically the portrait, as it is here.
Singing Beach Blues (Oil Bar Painting Day 1) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Friday morning (yesterday), I went to my studio at Red Brick to get this painting started. This is going to be a painting of Singing Beach, in Manchester-by-the-Sea, which is a short drive up Route 127. When I left for the studio, I made sure I had the printout of the photo I am using for reference (posted yesterday). My goal on Friday morning was just to block in the basic shapes and colors of the composition. I drew the composition in freehand with a gray oil bar, and then started blocking in some color, using the oil bars directly on the canvas and then blending. I added more detail to the ocean than I had intended, because no doubt I will have to move things around in this landscape. Although I think I made a good start, there are some issues with the perspective that are going to need some attention. To be continued. . . .
Singing Beach Blues (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This is a photo that I took back on April 2 of 2006, using my first phonecam. This is an image of Singing Beach up in Manchester-by-the-Sea, a lovely little town a bit north of here on Route 127. I came across this photo last night while I was looking for inspiration for my next project. If I can, I want to paint something new for Red Brick's art auction at the end of March. The theme is "cool blue" so I was looking for an image to use when I found this picture. I like the idea of using local subject matter, and there are certainly a variety of different blue colors in this photo. So I cropped the image to get a square format and decided to base my next painting on this image. I printed out a copy to take to the studio. To be continued. . . .
Rows of Roses (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Tonight I used the digital woodcut that I posted yesterday to make this pattern. This all started with a phonecam photo that I took last weekend at BJ's Wholesale (and posted two days ago). Tonight I opened the image in Painter IX and used the "capture pattern function". Then I used the pattern to make the image that you see here, adjusting the size of the repeated image as well as the direction and amount of the offset. I saved the basic pattern so I can use it again in other ways and in other images.
Single Rose (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is a digital woodcut that I created at the computer, using the photo that I posted yesterday (taken with my new phonecam). I opened the photo in Painter IX and adjusted the amount of black line. I was trying to leave enough black line to emphasize the shapes of the petals, without overwhelming the delicacy of the rose.
Single Rose Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is another of the photos that I took on Sunday while I was trying out the camera in my new Blackberry Pearl cell phone. I moved in close to get this picture of a single rose, chosen from many on display at BJ's Wholesale Club, where I took this photo. Today, at the computer, I adjusted the contrast, cropped the photo just a bit to get this composition, and then opened the image in Painter IX and sharpened the focus just a bit. I thought this image had potential for things like posterizing, digital woodcut, or perhaps a pattern. To be continued. . . .
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait (Oil Bar Painting Day 8) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Today I went to the studio to work on this painting. Although I haven't had an chance to work on this painting since February 19th, I have been thinking about it and planning what I wanted to do next. So today I began by moving the chin line up just a bit and making the jaw a little bit rounder. (This meant doing a bit of repainting on the neck and collar as well). Then I added more white and pink to the skin tones, using a small brush and blending in the strokes. I was trying to get the effect of a glaze. My goal was to soften some of the shadows and lighten some of the strong yellow and ochre tones. I also managed to open the mouth up just a bit by lightening some shadows on the teeth. I made a few other minor changes, just a mark or two really. But then I decided that it was time to step away from the canvas, because with more changes, I had much more to lose than to gain.
Soft Roses (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Last weekend, my Nokia phonecam was destroyed in an unfortunate avalanche that took place in my coat pocket while I was out shoveling snow. It took nice sharp pictures, and I struggled this week to find a comparable replacement. I now have a Blackberry Pearl, and the model available isn't as high resolution as my Nokia and is trickier to use, though it has a zoom and some other great features. But after looking at options all week, I decided that it is the best choice I can get with my carrier, so I decided to keep it. I recently got a great new digital camera, as small as a cell phone, that I can use for high resolution. (With a back-up battery and a case with a clip, the digital camera will have the same portability and spontaneity as a phonecam.) And I will use the Blackberry to get those nice soft images that I grew to love when I had my very first (very low res) phonecam. The image of roses posted here began with a photograph that I took with my new Blackberry Pearl while I was still trying to decide what to do. I was at BJ's Wholesale Club, saw roses on display, and took some pictures to try out the camera. I took the photo without zoom and worked hard to hold the camera still (which isn't easy because the shutter control is a trackball). Later, I transferred the photo into the computer, cropped it, and adjusted the contrast a bit to get this image. This picture of wholesale warehouse roses, taken with a phonecam that I was about to return, helped me to decide because it reminded me that what I have to work with matters a lot less than how I think about what I have, and what I choose to do with it.
Harvard Archway (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I was in Cambridge yesterday to get together with old friends from Chicago who were visiting. They were admiring the building opposite the Harvard Bookstore on Mass Ave. That made me think of the image I posted yesterday, a photograph that I took of that building back in December of 2006. (The building is a Harvard dorm, and you can get a peek at the campus through the archway.) Back on December 27, 2006, I had cropped a closeup of the archway taken from that photo, which I then posterized and posted here. Today I decided to try the same image as a digital woodcut, so I opened it in Painter IX and adjusted the controls until I got the effect that I wanted.
Quiet View of Harvard Archway Originally uploaded by randubnick
Today some good friends from Chicago were visiting Boston and we got together in Cambridge. Back in Chicago, a couple of decades back, we were next door neighbors. It was great to see them today! We had lunch in Cambridge and then hit the bookstores. As we were leaving the Harvard Bookstore, my friends were admiring this building, directly opposite. I remembered a photo of it that I took a couple of years ago (December 2006), and I found that photo tonight. I had also cropped a view of the archway out of that image and posted it here. I hadn't used the rest of the photo because of a big black trash can that was ruining the composition. But I really liked the original photo, so I decided to see what I could do to solve the problem. I opened the photo in Painter IX and used a little cut and paste, as well as digital airbrush, to make the trash can disappear. Now there is a clear view of the building's patterns and the archway leading to Harvard Yard.
Chain Link Fence with Snow (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This image is not from a recent snowstorm, although it could be. (Here north of Boston, we have had run of snowstorms this month.) I created this digital woodcut today, but I made it from a photograph that I took back in December of 2005 with my first phonecam. I have been learning to make digital woodcuts using Painter IX, and I thought that some of the low-resolution images from my old phonecam might work well. Usually we pay little attention to a chain link fence, but the snow makes us look and helps us to see patterns. Woodcuts emphasize patterns, so I thought this would be a good choice. I opened the photo in Painter IX and fiddled around with the controls for a woodcut effect. It took several attempts to get this version and I had to limit the number of colors to five or six in order to get a nice white highlights for the snow. I like this version because it shows off the geometry of the fence and the brightness of the snow. Art helps us to see beauty in things that we look at (or look past) everyday.
Boston Taxi with Clock Tower (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Two days ago I posted the original version of this image, a photo that I took in Boston in mid-January using my new digital camera. Yesterday I posted a digital woodcut of the same image, made in Painter IX. Today's post is the third and last version, a posterized photo also done in Painter IX. I wanted a chance to compare the effects of posterizing with digital woodcut, so I tried doing both with this photo. As with the woodcut version, I had to keep the effect fairly subtle or I lost the white color of the taxi in the foreground.
Boston Taxi with Clock Tower (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is a digital woodcut made from the photo I posted yesterday. (I took this photo in Boston back in January with my new digital camera.) I am getting a lot more clarity with new camera. I was curious to see how much of the detail would show up in a digital woodcut. I opened the image in Painter IX and fiddled about with the options available. After a lot of trial and error, I arrived at this result. This digital woodcut was created using only colors that were already in the photograph. The effect is subtle; this looks a lot like the original photo but the black lines throughout seem to add a common thread to the disparate elements of the image.
Boston Taxi with Clock Tower (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Here is one more photo from my mid-January trip into Boston. I was trying out my new digital camera along the way, from the passenger seat. I noticed the clock tower, a Boston icon, and I am always trying for a good picture of it, so I gave it another try. When I began to work with this image on the computer, I didn't like the fact that I didn't get a good view of the clock tower with all the stuff going on in the foreground: advertisements on a Boston Licensed Taxi, street signs, a box for the Boston Phoenix. But I also kind of liked all that stuff in the foreground, which is actually just Boston, so I cropped the photo to get this composition.
John Hancock From Memorial Drive (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This image began as one of the photos I took during a mid-January excursion into Boston and Cambridge. I was trying out my new digital camera that day, trying to see if I could get clear pictures from a moving car (passenger seat only!), because I often take pictures that way! This was the view from Memorial Drive, which runs along the Charles River on the Cambridge side; I glimpsed the John Hancock Building (over on the Boston side), so I took a quick picture. I recently edited the photos I took that day, and in fact, this is the first one I edited. The original photo was problematic because the building kept getting lost behind the trees. I opened Painter IX to try posterizing the image, but that didn't really do the trick. I decided to try digital woodcut, and found that when I adjusted the "heaviness" control, I liked the effect. So here it is. . . .
Zakim Bridge and Clear Blue Sky (Digital Woodcut CS) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is another digital woodcut, created from the same photo of Boston's Zakim Bridge. (See posts from the past two days.) I also made this image in Painter IX, but this time I used a color set. I think I like this one the best of the three.
Zakim Bridge and Clear Blue Sky (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is a digital woodcut made from the photo that I posted yesterday. I have had the Painter program for a long time, but only recently have started using it to make digital woodcuts. Today I worked with some of the photos from a mid-January drive into Boston. I thought the Zakim Bridge would make a nice woodcut because of its beautiful patterns. I adjusted the heaviness and black line controls till I had the effect I wanted.
Zakim Bridge and Clear Blue Sky (Digitally Modified Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This image began as a photo that I took on January 14. I was in the passenger seat on the way home from Boston. I wanted to see if I could get a photo of the Zakim Bridge with my new digital camera. It is certainly easier and faster to whip out my phonecam than to get my digital camera ready to shoot, but I could immediately see that the digital camera does a better job in terms of clarity. But what I didn't see while I was taking the picture was a fluffly white cloud behind the tower, in the worst possible position for the composition. So tonight I opened the image in Painter IX and blew the clouds away with digital airbrush. Then I cropped the image to focus on the diagonal lines of the bridge.
Shadows at Sunset (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This is a photo that I took a few weeks ago (February 2nd, to be exact), but I hadn't had a chance to do anything with it. Tonight I came across the photo again and decided to post it. This is a photo of a spot I pass quite often, almost daily, but this time, I stopped in my tracks! The light was beautiful, and I loved the shadows cast by the trees. Although I was in a hurry (as usual), I took a quick picture with my phonecam. Tonight I finally got around to editing the image, and it didn't need much, just basic rotating, cropping, and tweaking the contrast just a bit. This photo is really the result of a quick decision to stop rushing for a second, and just look.
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait (Oil Bar Painting Day 7) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This morning I went to the studio to work on my self-portrait. My goal was to change the position of the mouth and chin, moving both up by about a quarter of an inch. I took along the printout of the changes I made yesterday in my little digital dress-reheasal. I brought it along less as a reference than as an object lesson in what not to do. (See yesterday's post.) Today, I started by turning the painting upside-down to redraw the lines of the mouth. (Sometimes it really helps to do that!) Yesterday I lost the line of the bottom lip, so today I painted in a new outline for the bottom lip without covering up the original line, and then did the same for the upper lip. This allowed me to keep the shape of the mouth and the basic expression, so things went a lot better than they did yesterday on the computer. However, getting the details of the mouth right was a struggle today. Then I moved the chin line up, using the same approach as with the mouth. I also moved the line of the shoulder and arm up by a quarter inch. Well, I was surprised, pleased, and extremely relieved that I had not created a disaster by making these changes! (I think I learned from yesterday's struggles.) Even though the mouth is a little different here than in the prior version of the painting, this is pretty much the expression I wanted. There may still be things I will want to change, but at the moment I am feeling at peace about this self-portrait. . . .
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait 6 With Digital Overlay Originally uploaded by randubnick
Today I fought the urge to run over to the studio and repaint the mouth and chin on my self-portrait. Instead, I decided to try the changes out digitally first. I used the photo of the most recent version of the painting, opened it in Painter IX, and then drew the changes in with digital pastel. I moved both the mouth and chin up by a small amount. That sounds simple, but this took a lot of trial and error and many tiny changes to get this far. It was painstaking and frustrating work. When I was almost done, I had the before and after images on the computer screen and was switching between the two to see which I liked better. This produced the effect of basic animation, like a flip book, and it looked like the mouth was moving. This made me laugh out loud, and reminded me not to take this project too seriously. Well, I think this version is now closer to the proportions of my face, though the smile still needs a little something. (So now I am back what John Singer Sargent said about a portrait being a painting in which there is something not quite right about the mouth.) I am very glad I did my little digital dress rehearsal, because I learned a lot. It is much easier to manage trial and error with digital pastel; there is no "undo" button with oil bars! The next step will be to try to make these same changes in the studio on the canvas. To be continued. . . .
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait (Oil Bar Painting Day 6) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is an oil bar painting in progress. On Friday morning, I went to the studio to work on my self-portrait to make the same changes on canvas that I had made digitally the day before. (See yesterday's post.) I took along a printout of version with digital overlay. I really limited myself to making just those same few changes on the canvas, making the nose shorter and narrower (by less than a quarter inch), which put the cheek muscle in the right place. I also added more light to the corner of the eye on the left. I didn't make any more major changes to the face on Friday apart from adding a little bit of shading to the left side of the face, and then I let it be, although there are more changes to come. I didn't want to change too many things at once in the face, because if I lose the likeness, it will be harder to know what to do to get it back, so I am taking things one step at a time. But I did straighten out the lines on the wall in the background. The next step will be to move the mouth and chin up slightly (again by about a quarter inch) to get the face slightly rounder, and then even out the skin tones where I have made changes. To be continued. . . .
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait 5 With Digital Overlay (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
I last posted my self-portrait on February 7. At that point, I could recognize myself in the painting, but wanted to let the project rest for a bit, so I didn't work on it for a week. During that time, I listened to reactions of people who know me. Some people thought it really looked like me, and some people said it was very close, but not quite. . . . After a lot of listening and looking, I concluded that my face is just a bit shorter and rounder than in the painting and this was throwing the facial proportions off a little, but enough to matter. It is frightening to change a portrait at this stage (even if I am the only client!), so I decided to try the changes out digitally before I touched the actual canvas. So I opened a photo of the portrait as of day 5 in Painter IX, and then drew the changes in with digital pastel. I shortened the nose by just a tiny bit, and also made it just a bit narrower. These changes allowed me to get the left-hand cheek muscle into the correct position. Then I put a touch of white into the corner of the left eye. With those few changes, the likeness immediately looked stronger to me. I decided to just change this much, and later deal with changes to the position of mouth and chin which would inevitably follow. On canvas, these are very small changes (less than a quarter of an inch), but still scary because you can lose the likeness in the process. But small changes are important in a portrait, and I am doing this to learn. Still, I was afraid to ruin what I already had. But I resolved to try. I printed out a copy of this image to use as a guide in the studio the next day when I made the same adjustments on the canvas. In art, as in life, small changes sometimes take courage. To be continued. . . .
February Bouquet (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Time for one last look at my February bouquet. This image began with one of the photos I took last week when my flowers arrived. I liked this shot because of the light and the composition, so I posterized it. Tonight when I was getting ready to post this image, I noticed some distractions in the bouquet and in the background, so I opened the image in Painter IX and used a little cut and paste as well as digital pastel to cover them up. This bouquet was a sweet surprise, and I am glad I have a nice photo of it.
Roses (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Yesterday at the grocery store I noticed bunches of roses (with baby's breath), bouquets for February 14th. I loved the shapes and colors, so I took a couple of quick pictures with my trusty phonecam. Last night I cropped one of the photos to get this composition, and then opened it in Painter IX, thinking I would posterize it. But instead, I decided to try making a digital woodcut from the image. I adjusted the settings to get the amount of black line that I wanted. I wouldn't normally think of roses for a woodcut, but it does emphasize the shapes of the petals. I decided this would be a good image to post today. There is no such thing as too many roses, and no such thing as too much love in the world.
Winter Road at Sunset (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This completes the run of four photos of the winter sunset, all taken on January 16th with my new digital camera. (These photos may not be in chronological order, but I wanted to begin and end with an image of a road.) Like the others in the set, I took this photo from the passenger seat of a car, during a ride from Beverly to Manchester, New Hampshire. So I had to crop the original photo to remove the view of the car's interior, dash, and mirrors. Then I opened the image in Painter IX and posterized it, as I did with the others.
Winter Scene at Sunset (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is the third in a set of four photos of the winter sunset. These images began as photos that I took on January 15 with my recently acquired digital camera. The vantage point is the passenger seat of a moving car, on the way to New Hampshire, and the subject was the amazing sky! I cropped this image out of one of the photos taken on Route 128, and was able to eliminate a few billboards and road signs that would have identified it as deepest suburbia (which it is!). Then I opened the image in Painter IX, and posterized it, and what remains is a quiet scene: snow and houses with lights just coming on as the winter sun goes down.
Winter Drive at Sunset (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Here is another image that began with the photos I took January 15th with my new digital camera. This is another view of the sunset seen from Route 128 in Massachusetts, the second in a series of four images. In fact, I cropped this image from the same photo that was the basis of yesterday's post. But in this view, I cropped out the main highway, and concentrated all the attention on the road on the left side of the image. I did not crop out the lone car in the picture because I thought it added something to the composition. (I was impressed with how much I can crop with my new digital camera and still get a very clear image, clearer than with my phonecam. But I still love my phonecam and there is nothing better for spontaneity.) As with yesterday's post, I used Painter IX to posterize the image just a little bit.
Winter Sundown (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I have had a new digital camera for over a month now, and I recently and belatedly transferred a batch of images from the camera into the computer. I have been editing them today. This image began as one of the first few photos that I took. This was on January 15, on Route 128 near Danvers, Massachusetts, on the way to New Hampshire. It was around 4:30 which is when the sun starts to set in mid-January, up here north of Boston. The sky was amazing so I decided to take some photos. One test of a good camera for me is how well it does at taking pictures from a moving car, which is something I often do (only when I am a passenger!). I took several pictures within few minutes, and this is the first one of them. Tonight I cropped this image out of the original photo to eliminate the interior of the car. But I left in the highway and the cars. I like the juxtaposition of the lyrical sunset with the view of the freeway. This is how most of us see the scenery these days. Ever since I was a kid, I have liked the look of car lights, especially bright red brake lights, and in this case, I think they add to the composition. I decided to try posterizing the image just a bit, so I opened it in Painter IX. I liked the result, and here it is.
Early Morning in Winter (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I have had a new digital camera for a little over a month now. I have been trying it out when I get the chance, and am slowly getting used to it. I recently tranferred a batch of photos from the camera into my computer, and today I edited some of them. This image began as a photo that I took with my new camera back in mid-January, very early one winter morning. I was attracted by the snowy branches against the pinks and yellows of the January sunrise. Tonight I cropped the image, then opened it in Painter and posterized it. The color of the sky was washed out to white near the top edge of the photo, so I used a gentle color overlay to restore it.
Closeup of February Bouquet (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
The other day, this February bouquet took me by surprise when it arrived in my driveway, pretending to be a piece of mail that someone was coming over to drop off! I love the amazing selection of flowers: rose-hips, purple tulips, cream-colored roses, big bright zinnias, and tiny dahlias. Of course, I took some pictures with my phonecam right away. Today I had a chance to edit the photos. I liked the basic composition of this closeup, but in my excitement, I didn't realize that I had inadvertently captured a corner of someone's cellphone or flashdrive or whatever that was on the table. So today I opened the image in Painter IX and did a little cleanup with digital pastel. I also added just a bit of detail to the center of each of the roses, because it was hard to see the outline of the inner petals. (I just enlarged the shapes that were already there, making them easier to see.) Then I posterized the image, and here it is.
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait (Oil Bar Painting Day 5) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Yesterday, I couldn't get to the studio, so I did some prep work on the computer in the form of digital overlays to try to resolve the likeness. The result was not successful visually (see yesterday's post), but the effort was helpful conceptually nonetheless. This morning, I printed out the photo of this portrait as of the last painting session, made just a few marks on it with a pen, and headed for the studio knowing exactly what I needed to do. As I left the house, I announced to anyone who would listen that I was only going to make five marks on the canvas. When I got to the studio, I really did limit myself to the handful of small changes I had decided upon: I modified the arch of both eyebrows, raised one eyebrow a bit, and re-drew the eye shape. Then I added a shadow to the bridge of the nose. And that was it. I had the expression I wanted. The smile in the portrait is more relaxed than in the reference photo, so it looks different. But I can recognize myself in the portrait, so I am happier with the likeness. I decided to stop there and not do anything else to the face today, apart from adding a little pink to the skin tones. Instead, I worked on the background, just trying to clean it up and make it neat. I also made a few small changes in the picture within the frame on the wall behind me, which is also the self-portrait, or a corner of it. Right now I am happy with the painting, but as always I know it is likely that I will see things I want to change. But for now, I am going to let it be. I am going to take time to decide whether to add more detail to give the painting a more polished look, or leave it as it is. Something about the unfinished look of this painting appeals to me; and it is a good reminder that this self-portrait is still a work in progress, as is the artist who painted it.
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait 4 With Digital Overlay (Originally posted by randubnick)
I knew today would be too hectic to get to the studio, so I decided to do some prep work on my self-portrait using the computer. I took the photo of the portrait as it looked on day 4 (posted yesterday) and opened the image in Painter IX. I copied the portrait and then drew over the digital copy of it using Painter's digital pastel. I wanted to work on the eyes, trying to get the expression I wanted. I also need make adjustments to get the nose into the right perspective for a three-quarter view, and wanted to sketch the changes digitally ahead of time before tackling the problem in oil bars. Although I am not entirely happy with the result here, I am glad I did this exercise. After changing the eye shape and position several times, I discovered that one of the problems was an out of place eyebrow. So that is good. I had less trouble with the nose. I ended up making so many changes that in the end it was confusing, but I did get closer to the expression I am looking for. In any case, it was a good exercise in looking, and that always helps, even if the payoff is not immediate. Tomorrow should be less crazy, and I plan to get up to the studio to work on the actual portrait with actual paint. To be continued. . . .
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait (Oil Bar Painting Day 4) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Yesterday I went to the studio to work on my self-portrait, and here is how it looked at the end of the session. I took along my printout of the digital overlay (posted yesterday), and tried to make the same changes with oil bar on canvas that I had made with a cursor and digital pastel. I am struggling with the oil bars in every way, and nothing is easy, but I am learning. Yesterday I changed the position of the eyes and eyebrows, trying to account for the three-quarter view and the asymmetry of my face. Right now this portrait shows a bit too much asymmetry in the eyes, and I will try to fix that next time. I spent most of the time on the eyes, and I did a little bit with shadows around the nose. I was packing up to go home when I remembered that I forgot to change the lines of the hair (to show that the head is tilted) so I did that quickly at the last minute. The portrait looks a lot better to me than it did on day 3, but there is still more to do. At this point, I have a better likeness in the digital overlay than in the actual painting (which is VERY frustrating, let me tell you), but I will keep going. To be continued. . . .
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait 3 With Digital Overlay (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
On Friday, I managed to get my portrait back on track, at least in terms of the placement of facial features. I was happier with the painting, but it still wasn't a likeness, so I needed to work on that. In addition, I needed to work on the perspective and position of the head. In the reference photo, I am not looking at the camera straight on. My head is tilted and in a three-quarter view. To make things even more complicated, my face is not symmetrical (and here I am talking about more than just the average asymmetry found in most faces). I decided to try out these changes on the computer, using a digital overlay instead of rushing right over to the studio to wreck my painting! So I used the photo of the latest version of the portrait (which was day 3) and opened it in Painter IX. Before I got to work, I also opened the reference photo and put a grid over each image, and looked at them side by side. Then I used digital pastel to change the relative position of the eyes and eyebrows. I also changed the line of the hair to indicate a bit of the head tilt. Then I added some shadows around the nose and mouth. I was much happier because I began to be able to recognize myself a little bit in the portrait. Now I knew what to do next, and would just have to make the same changes in oil bar on canvas. That might sound easy, but I am still struggling to control the oil bars. In fact, it is much easier and faster for me to make the changes in digital pastel, even though I am "drawing" with the mouse. Anyway, I was glad I took the time to work out the changes on the computer. I printed out a two copies of this image to take to the studio on Monday; I annotated one copy, drawing lines and making notes so I would remember what I had changed. To be continued. . . .
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait (Oil Bar Painting Day 3)
This is my self-portrait in progress, as it looked after I finished painting on Friday, which was the third session. The day before had not gone well, and I was anxious to get to the studio and try to get the portrait back on track. That morning, I had used Painter to do a digital overlay over the previous day's work. (See yesterday's post.) I printed it out and took it along to the studio to use as a reference. When I got to the studio, as planned, I changed the hairline, and moved and repainted the eye on the left side of the canvas. Yes, it was the position of the features that had created the problem, and I was a lot happier once I had made the changes. I still have more changes to make, and this is still not what I would consider a likeness, but I was relieved and felt that the painting was back on track. I am going to move features around some more, and I am not really worrying about color yet, so the skin tone is still yellow, and the eyes are not even the same color! As I was working on repainting the eye, I noticed that I was getting a lot of purple/red tones, and I remembered that when I was a little girl, my mother used to say that I had bing cherry eyes. (At the time, I had no idea what a lucky little girl I was to have a mother who would say things like that. )
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait 2 With Digital Overlay (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
I got up early Friday morning, thinking about how to get my self-portrait back on track. (It had derailed the day before.) I thought I knew what was bothering me about it, and was anxious to get to the studio and fix it. But I decided to try out my ideas first with a digital overlay. So I opened the photo of the portrait from the preceeding day, saved the file, and opened it in Painter. Then I drew over it using digital pastel. I was right! The day before, as I painted, I had slowly shifted the placement of the features. The result was that the eyes were too far apart, and the forehead was too short. So I used digital pastel to draw changes in to correct those problems, and this image is the result. I was relieved, because although this is still not a likeness, it is a lot better than the previous day's version. I printed this image out, and took it to the studio to use as a reference when I made similar changes in paint on canvas. To be continued. . . .
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait (Oil Bar Painting Day 2) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Yesterday I went back to the studio to work on this self-portrait. This is how it looked when it was time to pack up and go home. I was NOT happy with it at that point because I felt I was already losing the likeness, but I was out of time and had to stop for the day. I had started the session by working on the mouth, and in fact I was happy with that. Then I had started working on the eyes, but something was off and I didn't know why. Although I didn't have a likeness, I was getting a family resemblance. Well, this has happened to me before while doing a portrait. When I am painting someone I know, sometimes I get a general family resemblance before I get a likeness, so I recognize the person's mother or the person's son. That just means I am on the right track. But the experience can be a lot more powerful in a self-portrait and it can be unsettling to "recognize" your relatives (alive and not) when you look at yourself. I think I made changes in response to that feeling, rather than to observation of my reference photo. The result is that this image doesn't really look like me, but it does look like some of my relatives. Well, that is how it goes sometimes. Although I was frustrated when I left the studio, I was pretty sure I would be able to get the painting back on track. Once I got home and could see the image on the computer, I realized that the placement of the features was off. I thought I knew what to do about it, so I tried out my idea with a digital overlay. But that is tomorrow's post. To be continued. . . .
Self-Portrait With Self-Portrait (Oil Bar Painting Day 1)
This is a self-portrait in progress, as it looked after the first painting session, which was January 29th (Tuesday). I am painting the picture on the wall, which will be the self-portrait, too, hence the title. I am working from the self-portrait photo I posted here yesterday. I took a print-out of the photo with me to the studio. I sketched the image directly on the canvas with a gray oil bar, and then began to block in the color. I was surprised at how quickly I got a general likeness, but then I have been looking at this face for lo these many years. But I am not fooled! I have done enough portraits to know that the real challenge maintaining the likeness as I continue to paint. I plan to post the results of each painting session, whether or not the work is going well. So it feels like I am working without a net here. This is my first portrait with oil bars, and a self-portrait is the best way to learn (so that if things don't go well, I am the only victim!) Early comments on this image have been that the skin is too yellow (which is because this is underpainting and I always start with yellow) and that the mouth is wrong. (Of course it is. I think it was John Singer Sargent who said that a portrait is a painting in which there is something wrong about the mouth.) So I will start with the mouth next time. To be continued. . . .
Self-Portrait for Self-Portrait (Reference Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Over the past few months, I have been painting landscapes with oil bars. Now I want to try a portrait in oil bars. I haven't done a self-portrait in a few years, and it is about time. I don't really have a good mirror at the studio, so I decided to work from a photo. But I wanted to use a photo I had taken myself. Yesterday, I was considering all this over my morning coffee, and while I was sitting on the couch, decided to try photographing myself with my phonecam. (I have done this before, usually to take a picture of myself and a friend when no one else is around to be the photographer.) So my coffee got cold while I tried to get a usable picture. It isn't easy, starting with learning to aim the camera so to avoid cutting off part of your own head. (I do have a new digital camera but I am just learning to use it, and well, my phonecam was right there. Besides, the relatively low-res images of a phonecam can be kinder, like the Doris Day soft filter in the movies.) I kept making mistakes, cutting off part of my face, squinting at the camera, and laughing at myself. So I decided to smile for the camera, because a smile is a fastest and most inexpensive face lift, and I don't want to take this so seriously. This image turned out to be the best photo, but I didn't really intend to include the framed picture behind me on the wall. But I liked the frame as part of the composition. By the time I printed this photo out to take to the studio for a reference, I had decided to use the framed picture in the painted self-portrait. But inside the frame I would paint a second (smaller) version of the self-portrait. I liked that idea for the kind of double-knot it ties in time. To be continued. . . .
Tulips in January (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I decided to posterized the photo of tulips from yesterday's post, so I opened the image in Painter IX and found the level I wanted. It was fun to see these tulips in the grocery store while on the other side of the plate-glass window, the snow was piling up in the parking lot. I hope no one minds a second day of tulips in January! I decided to post this now because if I wait much longer, it won't be January anymore.
Tulips in January (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Yesterday at the grocery store, I saw big buckets of beautiful tulips on display, so I took some pictures with my phonecam. Is there anything quite as optimistic as tulips in January? I was very glad to see them. I love the beauty of the snow, but the nights are so long and the weather is so cold. But by January, the days are already getting longer, and spring is inevitable as long as the earth keeps turning. The tulips are a sign of hope, a sign that change is on its way, and that better weather lies ahead.
January Sunset at the Pond (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Here is one last look at the pond. I took this photo with my phonecam on January 9th, during a warm spell. I was interested in the effect of the patches of ice and the reflections of trees and sunset on the water. Tonight I cropped this photo to get the composition I wanted.
Winter Sunset at Cummings Center (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Here is another of my photos of Cummings Center during a January warm spell that had melted part of the ice. When I saw the pond, I started taking pictures, and kept going as the sun went down. As the sun began to set, the red color of the sky was reflected in the water, making the white patches of ice more visible.
Fence and Pond (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This is another of the photos that I took on January 9th at the Cummings Center Pond during a warm spell a few weeks ago. Tonight I cropped the original photo to get this composition. I was interested in the interplay of the patterns of ice and the reflections in the water. I know that chain link fences aren't very lyrical, but I love the geometry of them. In this case, I thought the fence added a nice diagonal line as well as an additional texture.
January Thaw (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This time of year, there is usually too much ice and snow for much walking around the pond. But a few weeks ago, we had a bit of a warm spell. Here, north of Boston, if you get a warm spell in January, you had better take advantage of it. I took this photograph on January 9th during a walk at the Cummings Center Pond. The sun was almost setting and a walk at the pond sounded impractical. But I was very excited when I saw the pond! Some of the ice had melted, leaving patches of white ice which made a beautiful texture against the reflections in the water. It looked like a watercolor painting or a print! I started taking pictures with my phonecam and kept going as the sun was setting (which was only about fifteen minutes). Tonight I started editing the photos. This is one of the first photos that I took that day.
Reflections on Water (Oil Bar Painting) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Here is the painting I submitted to the juried show, as it looked on January 17th, the third day I worked on it and the submission deadline. That morning, I went up to the studio for a bit and added more dark tones to the trees and to the dark areas in the water, trying to get a bit closer to the colors of dusk that I liked in my photo which I was using as a reference. (I posted the photo here on September 23.) I also re-worked the tiny vertical marks, reflections of the trees on the water. I used very sparing amounts of paint so everything would dry, blending with my fingertips. Then I took this picture with my phonecam, and went home to submit my entry by e-mail. The show's theme is water. The application asked for a statement and here is what I said about the image: "This painting seems to sum up what fascinates me most about painting water: water's simultaneous movement and stillness; water's strict horizontality, its depth, and the hidden geometry of its waves; the way water reflects the sky and its surroundings, and yet remains itself." I am glad that I made the deadline, but of course I don't know if the painting will be accepted for the show. However, the show is (always) besides the point. The point of painting is painting. I really enjoyed painting this picture and am very happy that I did!
Reflections on Water (Oil Bar Painting Day 2) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is an oil bar painting of a New Hampshire lake, based on a photo that I took this fall from the passenger seat of a moving car. (You can see the photo posted here on September 23.) This is how my painting looked on day 2, which was January 16th. I began with the goal of checking the angles of the waves in the water to try to make them all roughly parallel. (I used a T-square to check.) After that, I made some changes to the shapes of the dark areas in the water, using my photo as a reference. I also added some vertical marks to indicate reflections of the trees on the shore. I also added some light to the shoreline. I didn't do anything to the sky because I was happy with the way it turned out on the first day. When it was time stop for the day, I was feeling pretty optimistic that I would be able to submit the painting for a juried show, even though the deadline was the next day! (Oil bars dry faster than oil paint, but not THAT fast. This show allowed for submission of e-mail images and that was why I thought I would be able to make the entry deadline.) To be continued. . . .
Reflections on Water (Oil Bar Painting Day 1) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I started this is oil bar painting on January 15th, just as I was finishing up framing photos to be hung in New Hampshire later that day. But this painting is not for that show. This is a painting for submission to a local juried show with the theme of water. I didn't think I would have time to get anything ready for it because I was busy with the mill and river paintings, and besides, the dates conflicted. But recently I found out that the submission date had been extended to the 17th of January. Time was very short, but I decided to start a painting and see what happened. The application form said images could be submitted by e-mail, which meant that the painting would not have to be dry by the deadline. So maybe it would be possible! It would be fun to try. I try to make art every day, so why not? I looked through my photos for ideas, and chose a photo that I took of a New Hampshire lake at dusk, posted here on September 23. I printed out the photo, took it to the studio, and got started. (I have had a lot of practice lately at working quickly. It isn't necessarily a bad thing. Painting quickly sometimes forces you to get directly to the point, and I have taken lots of drawing classes with timed drawings of one minute, five minutes, or ten. Sometimes you can get really good drawings that way.) So I used a gray oil bar to draw the composition in quickly, and then blocked in the main colors with oil bars, making sure to cover the canvas. At that point, it was time to pack up my paints, but I was happy with what I had done in a short time. I really love to paint, so I wasn't worried about whether or not the painting is done on time or is accepted into the show. To be continued. . . .
Mill and River at Night (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
On January 8th, I took my seven oil bar paintings of the mill and river up to Manchester, New Hampshire, so they could be hung for display. All of those paintings were based on or inspired by photos that I took of Manchester this fall. After I saw the layout of the paintings in the space, I decided to also display the photos, in another part of the space. So the next day I got to work on printing and framing the photos. As I was working on that, I realized that all but one of the photos were posterized. The one that was not was the night view of the mill and river (posted here on October 1). I decided to see how it would look posterized, so I opened the image up in Painter IX. This is the result. I like both versions, but I think the posterized photo works better with the other photos, so I decided to use it. Now it is up in Manchester, with the other photos.
