Quent Cordair Fine Art

After messing around with a few different approaches to the water, I found one that seemed to work pretty well. Because water is an almost perfect blend of reflection and transparency, and the form of free-falling water is such that it gives a very strong lens distortion effect to anything behind it, it can seem to be almost random when viewed up close. I found it helped to first look for very large patterns such as those created, by the shadow beneath the concrete, and block those in first. Into that paint layer I worked the smaller shapes created by the form of the falling water. A very distinct property of highly reflective surfaces is the very hard transition from light to dark. This sort of thing is tricky to paint wet-on-wet, so I allowed the paint to dry somewhat, and then sharpened the outlines of the shapes with thin paint and a liner brush. I also added the few areas of unique and/or unusually bright highlights. The water in the pool at the base of the fountain was much more straightforward. As tedious as the bulk of the work was, it progressed relatively quickly, and I am really pleased with the overall effect. The splash at the bottom, and the freefalling droplets were actually really fun to paint, and I expect I will be painting a lot more water in the future.

Painting the concrete went really fast, much faster than I thought it would. I have painted a fair amount of concrete, and am pretty confident in the basic process, but there were a few added twists this time. The most notable: the wet areas that have been splashed on by the fountain and the slight reflections of the feet in those areas. It turned out to be as straight forward as possible. I began blocking in the base colors, moving from back to front in the picture frame. As is my usual practice, I was intending to put down one coat, let it dry, and then cover it with a second layer of paint to add the details. As I worked, however, I noticed that I was able to get a relatively finished look in one pass by using thicker paint and modulating the color slightly as I went along. By the time I reached the foreground concrete, the new technique was basically perfected, and much to my surprise, it worked extraordinarily well for the wet-cement effects, including the reflections. I finished so quickly, in fact, that I decided to begin experimenting with the fountain itself, flowing water being another effect I have almost no experience painting.

Incidentally, you have probably noticed that I am employing my more standard practice of painting the background first with this piece. This is mostly due to the fact that there is so much more detail in the background and so much uncharted territory to be covered than in the last figure painting. Any wiping off of paint and re-working that may be necessary will be much easier if I am not concerned about messing up a painted figure, and I think that in the end this will speed up the whole painting.

Although the fountain is quite lovely, and a fine backdrop for a contemplative stroll, it does have the one drawback of being surrounded by parking meters, persons not cut out to be models, and a Burger King. It is at times like this that I am glad to be a painter and not a photographer. Some years ago Sara, Damon Denys and I took a month long trip through Scotland, where I shot several rolls of film (that’s right kids, in the old days you had to put both film and batteries in a camera) with the intention of using the striking landscapes in future paintings. The mountains in the background of this painting are based on a few of those photos. In this image I have very roughly chopped in some basic colors and shapes to give myself a reference while working on the concrete and the water of the fountain in the foreground. By the time the fountain is finished, this first coat should be dry enough to paint over, yielding more opaque whites and brighter blues.

Welcome back to the Artist’s Studio. I am going to be working on another simple figure painting in the same series as the one last featured in the Studio. As with the last piece, the figure will be the most important element of the composition, however this time the background will be a bit more important and complex, and will be much more carefully painted. I will, nonetheless, be working as quickly as possible without compromising the quality of the painting.

I am using the same model and the same costume as in the last painting, and once again the reference photos were shot at the Salt Lake City Library, which, as I mentioned in the last installment of the studio, features a number of interesting architectural elements which I think make great backgrounds for figure paintings. The woman in this painting is observing a fountain set in concentric concrete rings. The mood is meant to be contemplative and relaxing, and once again the general theme is beauty.

The first step, as usual is the sketching of the canvas. This time I did the sketch in charcoal pencil after measuring in roughly twelve reference points, mostly to help lay out the perspective and foreshortening of the curves in the concrete. I have said before, but I think it is worth repeating that it is somewhat difficult to accurately sketch out a canvas of any reasonably large size without some form of reference, simply because when standing close enough to sketch, you can’t see the entire drawing clearly. This canvas is only 18” x 24”, but still large enough to warrant the reference points. I fixed the drawing with a very light mist of retouch varnish, and am now ready to begin applying paint.