Stop by CEDAR BEANS COFFEE JOINT located at 575 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove, NJ for an amazing cup of coffee and enjoy spectacular comfort foods.. my artwork will be on display there throughout the month of September, 2022! Many of the custom framed paintings are for sale..I’d love for you to find something you’ll enjoy for years to come!
On mY easel
I thought it would be interesting to paint the same set up in two different ways… first directly, though I confess I did not paint in one sitting, or alla prima. The second, indirectly- using what has been called the Flemish Method of painting. Indirect painting requires several layers; first, a detailed drawing is transferred to the support and traced in indelible ink. Next, burnt umber, black and white are mixed to obtain a color resembling the average tone of the painting and applied to the support. After a few minutes, the paint is wiped to reveal the underdrawing, leaving a wash of color, called Imprimatur. The Umber layer, burnt umber diluted with turps, damar and linseed oil, is applied and blended with a dry mop brush. In this layer, the overall contrast of the painting is established. In the next layer, interchangeably called the Gray Layer or the Dead Layer, shadows, half tones and modeling of each subject in the painting is developing using grayscale created with ivory black, titanium white, burnt umber and ultramarine blue. The gray layer is kept as close to the umber in values to preserve the overall contrast in the painting. The color layer is then developed using as few tubes as possible to achieve the necessary hue and chroma. Finally, highlights and glazing are added in the finishing layer. The first is a looser and often more painterly approach while the second is often crisper and more luminous, due to the light refracting through the layers, I actually painted the first several years ago and recently happened upon the Flemish which had been painted through the umber layer and lost among a pile of unfinished work! I have begun the dead layer and look forward to the final comparison! Both will be posted!
GATHERED REALISM at Muscoot Farm Gallery
Special thanks to Todd Casey and Dorothy Lorenze, whose works are pictured here, for putting the show together. I am honored to have my work exhibited along with such fine artists.
Read MorePortrait Society of America's 20th Annual Conference
Great presentation by Jeff Hein on achieving a likeness! The conference was a wonderful experience - got to see some of my favorite artists painting and sketching..looking forward to next year in Atlanta!
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