Sweet Patoodies by Sharon Chinn

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-14T11:37:00.002-05:00

Umber Grisaille Underpainting - Adding Transparent Color Layers - Part 4

2011-09-30T09:36:00.000-04:00

As I continue my journey on an eggplant & pear still life painted using a grisaille technique with a valued underpainting in umbers, I've reached an exciting stage... adding color!

I chose transparent pigments which when thinly layered over the umber base allows the shading to show through... I think of the umber underpainting as the bone structure of the painting and now I'm adding the skin. On the pears I've used the following Traditions Artist Acrylic colors for this stage... Hansa Yellow, Phthalo Yellow Green, Naphthol Red Light, Quinacridone Burnt Orange, Dioxanine Purple, and Red Violet along with Raw Umber for some toning. With the use of Extender/Blending Medium, the paint has a longer open time which allows softening and blending each layer. The important thing to remember with using this technique is to allow each completed layer to dry before adding on top of it... if you try to working over a partially dry layer you can end up pushing paint into hard lines or creating "holes". So be patient, and work around the canvas in different areas to allow drying time in others.

This technique makes a painting that glows with light.

During the next week, I'm planning to work on the lower right corner of the fabric background to add a little more interest with some additional shadows. Then I'll continue refining the shadows and highlights on the fruit, clean up my plate edges a bit, and add some accent colors in the fabric background.

Let me know what you think!

Creating a Still Life Painting with Umber Underpainting - Part 3

2011-09-26T11:14:00.001-04:00

Here's the next stage in my journey through a grisaille style still life. With my same 3 umber mixes, I've deepened the shading and detail.

The color in this photo looks a little uneven from left to right, but I think that is due to the lighting and my iPhone.

Next step will be to start applying the transparent color layers.

Creating a Still Life with Valued Underpainting in Umbers - Part 2

2011-09-15T18:08:00.001-04:00

The next step in painting the eggplant still life is to create some umber paint mixes to use in the underpainting. I'm using Traditions Artist Acrylics for this project. They are pure pigment professional quality paints manufactured in the USA by DecoArt of Stanford, KY.

I've started out with 3 mixes:

Raw Sienna + Black to create an umber shade that leans toward yellow.
Half of first mix + Transparent Red Iron Oxide + more Black to create a darker reddish umber.
Half of second mix + more Black to create a very dark umber

I've used these mixes to paint my monochromatic underpainting shown here... mostly mix 1 and mix 3 at this stage. Mix 1 in the areas that will be the more mid-value and Mix 3 for the darker shadows. As I worked I used some Extender/Blending Medium to allow me more open time to blend the paint. Some I brushed on the canvas (but be careful not to get too much or your paint will just push around, so lightly apply, then wipe excess off with a paper towel), and alternatively I touched my brush into the extender and mixed it into the paint before applying to the canvas. I found in the larger areas where I needed to scrub the paint out to soften edges, a round bristle brush worked well.

My next step will be to continue refining the underpainting by strengthening the shadow areas and midtones. I'll be adding more shading in the pears with Mix 2 which has the more reddish tint. This warmer umber will work well with the yellows and reds of the final pears.

For more info on this style of painting visit Traditions Art School and Linda Wise's website.

Stay tuned to see how this experiment turns out...

Creating a Still Life with Valued Underpainting in Umbers

2011-09-15T14:00:00.009-04:00

This month I'm working on a new still life project. I had pictured in my mind a pewter plate with an eggplant and green pears, so off I went in search of the items to use in my photo setup. I found a silver charger at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 along with a yard of neutral gray broadcloth, then hit the produce department at Meijer for the eggplant and pears. Even though I originally thought I wanted just green pears against the purple eggplant, I threw a red pear into the cart also.

Once home... to prepare the setup I pinned and draped the fabric on the wall and over a table, arranged my objects, then used an Ott table top lamp held to the side to create a strong light source (I was in a darkened room). My Nikon camera was set up on a tripod so I could use a longer exposure to get the effect I wanted... a strong light source from one side and corresponding strong shadows on the opposite. I didn't want to use a flash because that would fill in with too much light. I think I finally settled on an exposure of about 1 second. I varied the placement of my objects and light source. After doing multiple shots, I found I liked the color the red pear added to the composition, and here's the final photo I chose as the model for my painting.

After loading the images into my computer I used Photoshop to create a line drawing. There are a multitude of tutorials you can Google on how to do this, but basically I desaturated the image (removed the color), then used the filter Stylize - Find Edges. This will give you a simple black & white image with your main outlines. I printed this on my laser printer to use as my pattern.

I'm painting this design on a 16x20 canvas which I prepped with a couple coats of white gesso. The main lines of the design are then traced on the prepared canvas with gray graphite paper.

Next steps will be preparing the umber mixes for our value basecoat...

Heart of Ohio Tole Convention

2008-08-15T21:32:00.004-04:00

I'm at the Heart of Ohio Tole Convention (or HOOT for short) this week exhibiting in booths 503-505. The trade show and crowds are a little smaller this year, but I'm still happy with how my booth is doing in these hard times. Here's one of my new patterns that is selling well... More Reindeer Antics, mini-ironing board Christmas ornaments, available as a regular packet by mail or ePattern. The first set of Reindeer Antics is in the new Quick & Easy Christmas Ornaments issue which was just released... reindeers & penguins.

It's so much fun being surrounded by people who share your passion for art. Hopefully, I'll have time to walk around the trade show floor tomorrow to see what's new. Just one more day, then it's time to pack up, drive home, and re-enter the "real" world. My goal is to spend more time painting, designing, and trying some new products. As soon as I get home, I have to finish up a project for a new combined artist book by Kooler Design Studio/Leisure Art.