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First Heat: Step 15

First Heat

At long last it is time to begin work on the figure. It is, perhaps, no surprise that in a figurative painting, the figure is usually the most rewarding and the most critical element to paint. For all of the work that has been put into the background of this piece, it is all just there to give context to the figure. As those of you who have watched the creation of my other paintings in the ‘Artist’s Studio’ are probably aware, I almost always paint the face first. Then I proceed with the hair, then the other flesh tones (hands, feet, whatever is exposed). The clothing I usually paint last. I have discussed the various reasons for this schedule before, but if you aren’t familiar with them don’t worry about it too much, none of it will apply to this painting. Why not? Well, the real reason is: just for fun. I thought I would make you all wait to see the face until the very end. Suspenseful huh? (Also, I don’t have any reference material I am really happy with for the hair yet either.) Anyway, I started by painting the pants. I began with the darkest tones (ivory black mixed with a touch of burnt umber and cad red) and blended in the lighter colors, finishing with the brightest highlights (the same yellow-orange used in the furnace). This technique works well for dark objects and allows me to gradually add highlights until the desired brightness and contrast is achieved (something essential for this painting since I am altering the lighting on the figure to match the background).

First Heat   First Heat

In addition to the work done on the pants, I also gave a little more attention to the beam against which the figure is leaning. Something about it just didn’t seem to be working. Sara mentioned to me that to her, it didn’t look like it was part of the foreground, and she was right. The colors and the contrast were making the thing feel like it should be further back, near the ladle, while the level of detail belonged in the foreground. To solve the problem I changed the color of the beam, bringing in more of the grays that would be expected in the steel and decreasing the effect of the red light from the oven. This moves the beam away from the background. I used colors from the brighter portions of the oven and from the molten metal to paint the highlights is order to keep the appearance that they (the oven and the metal) were still the light source illuminating the beam. I also used a darker color in the shadow areas to increase the contrast. After making these changes, I am much happier with the entire piece.

I have again included multiple images with this post. One full shot showing the overall state of the painting and with fairly accurate colors, and two detail shots, one of the pants and one of the re-worked beam.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 24th, 2005 at 10:35 am and is filed under First Heat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “First Heat: Step 15”

  1. Eric Says:
    February 24th, 2005 at 9:15 am

    I am usually at a loss for words when I see a new work of yours Mr. Larsen. Your ability to capture man in the heroic is simply amazing. A feat that is heroic in itself. Well done, I look forward to your future posts and works.

  2. Bryan Larsen Says:
    March 2nd, 2005 at 10:00 pm

    Eric:

    Thanks for the compliment. I am glad you are enjoying the progress of the new piece.

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About Bryan Larsen ~

Bryan Larsen

"I was born on February 12, 1975, and have been drawing as long as I can remember. By the time I was in high school, I knew I wanted to be an artist, although at the time I didn't have a clear idea of how exactly I would use my talents to make a living.

"As I continued studying art, I began to suspect that fine visual art was dead. No one seemed interested in teaching students how to draw well, or paint well. More often than not, my own skills exceeded those of my instructors.

"The only field left that seemed to require good drawing, painting, and compositional skills was illustration, and therefore I began studying illustration at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I became even more convinced that I had made the right decision in staying away from fine art as I endured course after course of required "drawing" and "painting" classes in which instructors required me to draw with "less focus", or use ridiculous materials such as shellac, glue, sand, salt, etc.

"My second year at Utah State, I met Damon Denys. In discussing Art with him I realized that there were other people who believed that technique and subject matter were indispensable components of any work of art. I then decided that I would work to develop my own painting skills with the purpose of creating artwork that I considered worthy of being called Fine Art.

"Since that time, I have studied on my own: Drawing from live models to learn the human form, studying proper painting techniques from any source I could find ample reason to trust, and developing a philosophy of Art based on reason, and life on earth.

"My goal is to portray the heroic and romantic in human nature and human achievement in a realistic style and a modern setting. I place particular emphasis on composition, technique, realistic detail, proper craftsmanship and consistency of style."