I managed to squeeze in one master study after skipping out on my Terry homework last week during the beer show crunch.
This master study of John Singer Sargent kept me up late. I had a difficult time interpreting that stroke of light along the left, inside part of her nose. I reshaped it a few times, but it still gives me away. I heard Jeff Watts say in a demo DVD, "You can't communicate what you don't know." Sargent clearly knows his anatomy better than I! Terry would agree, time for an anatomy book. The light side of the nose above her left nostril abuts the top, red plane to sharply, there needs to be a mid tone with some softer edges to describe the side plane. The forehead does catch the most light, but doesn't turn well over the brow ridge vertically. I do think her left cheek turns to the side plan pretty well. There is a little improvement in carving the eye sockets, but they still don't seem to house eye 'balls'. Terry addressed the need for equal intent in every stroke with my previously posted bottle cap painting. He reminded me to note where they begin and end whether they are in the focal point or the background. Here, there are a lot of fussy little strokes around the head, but I just had to tuck in for class! Thats what I get for doing it the night before... I do like her chin! Her mouth isn't bad, but her muzzle does not turn to her left.
Beer Paintings!
'Afternoon Delight'
10x10" oil on canvas
$300
SOLD
(if you look close you can see the T and the B of Track 7 Brewing in the growlette)
'Saved Ya a Seat'
6x6" oil on canvas
$175
SOLD
'Mini Keg Mega Fun'
10x10" oil on canvas
(in a silver frame, not yellow as it photographed here)
SOLD
'Short Stack'
6x6" oil on canvas
$175
SOLD
'Starting Line Up'
8x8" oil on canvas
SOLD
'Three for Thursday'
6x6" oil on canvas
'Time Out'
6x8" oil on canvas
$200
Donated to Funds for the Fallen Heroes
and raffled off to benefit those families of the Sacramento police officers
& Angie Blaikie the happy winner!
'Shoulda Been Here Yesterday'
9x12" oil on canvas
'Growlette'
10x10" oil on canvas
$350
SOLD
These beer paintings could similarly benefit from more thoughtful intent in all the strokes. In 'Starting Lineup,' I left the toned canvas exposed in the foreground, and now finding myself wondering if it distracts from the whole. I wonder what it would have looked like if I finished it off? In 'Time Out' only true beer lovers recognized the coaster, which may be mistaken for a craft single. I used a bent coaster for a prop because I liked its character, but I worry that it didn't read for everyone. I would also like to work on edges. These bottles are so sharp, and they would be stronger with a more obvious focal point. I also want to work on depth, or achieving atmosphere in the backgrounds- some of which here are flatter than others.