Tuesday, November 21, 2006

The Direct Bear

I've painted this sweet little bear a few times, and have enjoyed each painting. He's a reliable little prop when I need something simple for a quick study - which is the only thing I had time for, today.
I love the raspberry colors and the rich halftones the lighting causes. The halftones I'm referring to are created when the angles of an object are turning away from the light source. Usually right before the darkest dark of the shadows is a deeply saturated color. That's where I can get away with adding a punch of color - sometimes straight from the tube. What fun.
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I started painting when the sun was on it's way down, and knowing that I had very limited time, and I had a simple subject, I decided to bypass all preliminary drawing and go right into direct painting. So, my sweet, yet direct little friend was painted rather hurriedly.
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It seems that the less time I have to dilly dally, the better and stronger my paintings turn out. I must get right down to business. I must get the values, angles and shapes right the first time, or the piece will be lost.
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About an hour after beginning, the sun was gone, but I had enough of the subject and lighting established, so I pulled a lamp over to help me get the shadow shapes correct. I continued painting until my husband came home. (with a beautiful collection of bright orange lilies for me, by the way - how I'd love to skip work, tomorrow so I could stay home and paint them.)
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The pattern had been left out, but at my husband's suggestion I put it in loosely, and I'm very glad that I did. As Richard Schmid states, it does take two people to paint a painting. I need Ben to help me know when to stop, and what to add.
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Maybe I can steal a few hours after work to capture the very strong lilies that are sitting in my kitchen at the moment.

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