Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Red Plums & Blue Knife Daily Painting, Art Tip #19

"Red Plums & Blue Knife"
Oil
6"x6"
Sold
Wow, after a busy summer with two shows I'm finally back painting a few little dailies! It feels great. I painted this in my studio under artificial light. The next one I post was painted outdoors in natural light. You can really see the difference. Warm artificial light/cool shadows and cool natural light/warm shadows.
Art Tip #19: Fail to plan = plan to fail. My montra these days with my students is to hammer home the idea of what is most important in painting. First, composition. Second, value and lastly color. Without a good composition your painting will end up being a dog. Composition is the skeleton you hang the meat on. It sets the stage/tells the story/involves your viewer...or not, if not well planned. Take the time to do a thumbnail sketch or two before starting your painting..work out the big shapes you see, where are your darks/shadows and lights? What will be your center of interest? Change what you see to create an interesting balance/pattern/design. Study composition and learn the elements of design. I like to lay a piece of acetate over a photo of a beautiful painting and trace the big shapes to see the design the artist used. On more complicated, large paintings I do a detailed sketch, making notes as to values and colors and I refer to this throughout the painting process.

9 comments:

Cynthia said...

I really like this piece...

Jennifer Bellinger said...

Thanks, Cynthia, for visiting my blog. It feels good to be active with it again and in touch with other artists and collectors. I was getting rusty!

Caio Fern said...

lovely and decisive way to use the colors Jennifer !!!

Jennifer Bellinger said...

Thanks, Caio. Violets and yellow greens are always a favorite of mine.

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Ah, back to your wonderful still lifes. Get out the striped towels :D
Well said on these fundamental rules of painting.
Don't paint the 'thing'. The subject of the painting needs to have a context and a relationship to the rest of the painting. Colors need to be harmonious. Your work is a great example of these rules.

Jennifer Bellinger said...

Thanks, Mary. I will, indeed, dig out my very old and well used tea towels (that I cannot ever replace)..the new ones just don't cut it. I appreciate your comments.

diane schaefer said...

Hi Jennifer,

Nice to see you are back to your daily paintings. I am in agreement with your previous poster -- get out those striped towels! Nobody does those scenes better than you! And I should know since I own a few! Anyway, hope your summer was nice and hope we get to chat soon. By the way, please note the new email address. Best regards, Diane
diane@artwithinart.com

Jennifer Bellinger said...

Thanks, Diane. Good to hear from you. I see you are redoing your blog..will check back to see what you are up to.

Anonymous said...

love it,,, esp the knife