First Heat: Step 17
I have, in the past, always included images with these posts that show the progression of the painting after a major portion of new work has been completed. For this post, however, I had the presence of mind to stop work periodically and snap a few shots of the painting process. I wish now that I had taken the additional time to review each image on my computer screen before moving on because the color is quite a bit off, and much of the subtle detail does not show up well. Even so, I think the basic idea will be illustrated fairly well.
In the first image I have just begun a very rough blocking in of the general mid-tones and shapes of the sleeve. This both covers the area with color into which the finer details can be blended and preserves the work done in sketching out the folds and wrinkles in the fabric.
In the second image, most of the mid-tones are in place, and I have started blending in some of the darker shadows. During this entire process, I have to keep in mind that in order to keep a consistent feel through the whole painting, I will be using a glazing technique, just as in the background, to eventually add the final shadows and highlights. The glaze coat will darken all of the mid-tones and shadows, so at this stage they need to be painted slightly lighter than I want them to be in the finished piece. This also means that too much detail work now would be somewhat wasted. The shirt and pants will also get the glaze treatment.
It may be hard to pick out the change in the third image. At this point I decided to paint over the previous work done on the lapels of the jacket and paint all of the highlights at the same time. This area has been blocked in to match the sleeve.
In image four the major shadows have been blended into the base color. I usually work from mid-tones to shadows to highlights. Often an additional pass for the darkest shadows and brightest highlights follows, but in this case the glaze coat will accomplish the same thing. This stage is the best time to work out the finer details of the wrinkles and folds. Once the lighter paint (often thicker) of the highlights is blended in it is often difficult to make any major adjustments until the paint is dry.
In the last image the darkest shadows and the main highlights are in place and some blending between the layers has been done to pull everything together. The highlights are what really add the depth to the image. They are basically the result (in the real world) of the brightest, directional light source illuminating an object. Painting the highlights is a lot like turning on a light…the brighter the highlights with respect to the mid-tones and shadows, the more intense the light.
March 2nd, 2005 at 8:45 pm
Dear Mr. Larsen:
This is my first visit and I’m finding it difficult to find the words to express my thoughts about this site. “Wow!” is about all I can muster. Thank you so much for sharing your thought processes for the painting. It is a fascinating education. As to the painting itself: It doesn’t seem as if the sun has set at all, but rather that its substance and energy has been captured by the man into his ladle, and is now being poured into the shape he has chosen. It is brilliant and exciting to watch. I will be back again and again. Thank you so much for the joy you’ve given me this day.
March 6th, 2005 at 10:00 am
Janet,
Thanks for the comments. I’m glad you have found the ‘Artist’s Studio’ interesting. Definitely keep checking in, and the other artists and I will do our best to keep it so.
March 6th, 2005 at 3:00 pm
Mr. Larsen,
Have you ever considered painting this — a woman is seen through the oval window of an airplane soaring in mid-flight. She’s looking over her shoulder to the dark ground beyond the airplane’s curved silver and white wing. Pin points of light break the darkness, blinking like the red light on the tip of the plane’s wing. She knows that the shining stars above her are less bright than the lights of the city below her, because the city lights are symbols of great achievement, of unconquerable will. She’s caught in a moment of grand release — exaltation. I can only imagine what you would paint on such a theme…
March 9th, 2005 at 7:00 pm
Kari,
That is a great composition idea. I will eventually be working on something similar as part of a three painting series that began with ‘Flight 1’ (see the main gallery). I always have a lot more ideas that I have time to paint them all, but that means I always have something interesting to work on. Thanks for your interest and input.