This Week's Still Life - My awesome boots

OK I have to admit I have a lazy side when it comes to oils. Oils are hard to get started on because you gotta assemble the easel, squeeze out the paints, tint the canvas, then after you paint, you spend a good long time washing the brushes. Then if you want to really finish your painting you even gotta stretch them over some bars. (I paint on cheap canvas pads. Dont wanna taint an expensive pre-stretched one with my beginner cooties). So much time goes into not actually painting. That's why I'm glad my friends help me get started. My friend Tom really wanted to paint and his enthusiasm was contagious. Here's his rendition of my boots: http://www.tmbritton.com/

With watercolors you just open up your paint box and GO GO GO!. Then after you paint, a good rinse on your brush does the job. So easy. I miss painting in watercolor. OH I forgot to mention. I have 2 jobs now. Hence the lack of posts. I'm very very busy, but it's a wonderful kind of busy. At my second job, I get what I dont get with my first job... creativity. First job is good for my technical skills (lots of 3dsmax, baby) and the second is good for my artistic and creative skills. (I'm drawing!) so, I don't care if I go to bed exhausted because I feel like I'm getting better at drawing. The flattering part is that someone is actually willing to pay me to draw. Can you believe that?!! It's just the validation I need. I often wonder if I should be working on learning software versus practicing drawing. Practicing drawing actually paid off!

Until next time, friends!

Tiffanny

LAST week's still life

Did this last week, but I was too lazy to take a picture and post it. My friend told me that Norman Rockwell drew a skull 200 times to help him in his portrait painting. Yay, this is skull #3 for me. :)

This Week's Still Life - Soup Pot, Onions

More oil practice! I feel that with oils, the painting doesn't come together until the very end. For the first hour or so I feel like, OMG, how the heck is this ever going to come together?! Am I doing this right?! With watercolor I tend to be more deliberate right from the beginning. It has to look right, straight away. It doesn't seem to be that way for oils. Is this just me?

Tiffanny

This Week's Still Life - I hate pineapples

So I'm still plugging away at the oil painting. Sometimes feels like I'm painting with my left hand (I'm right-handed). Still getting used to things. I learned that Mars Black is better than Ivory Black for alla prima. Trying different approaches. My friend and I painted this pineapple. We both agreed it was an excruciating experience. Pineapples are hard!! This is the second attempt at Mr. Pineapple. Attempt #1 is too embarrassing to show. I mean, really embarrassing. We had a hearty laugh. Curse you pineapple!!!!!!

This Week's Still Life - Skull / My childhood fear

This week we painted a medical model skull. I decided to continue trying to use oils. It's hard because I'm used to using watercolors and I haven't quite got the hang of oils yet, but I'm not terribly dissatisfied with the results :)

When I was a kid, skeletons were the thing I was afraid of the most. (Then aliens). I remember always being alone in the dining room because I never finished my food with the rest of the family. But I wasn't allowed to leave until I ate every grain of rice on my plate. So I would sit there alone, but I always kept my eye on the window, because I was always afraid that I would see a skeleton there looking in.

This Week's Still Life

So my friend and I decided to switch things up. I painted with oil and he painted with watercolors. Kinda scary to be out of your element. I haven't painted in oils in forever!

Time Lapse Watercolor Painting of Jen and Tennyson

The video is here