Step by Step: Deconstructing an Oil Painting From Start to Finish

Losing It Two, Deconstructed

                   

I've been asked many times how I go about painting my gumball machines. It's a process that isn't easily described at an opening! I keep telling people I'll get back to them in a blog post. So now that I finally remembered to take pictures of my work from the beginning of my process to the end, I can share the details of how I go about creating one of these detailed paintings. 

NOTE: I apologize, I could not find my photo reference for this piece. Ugh. But I encourage you to use a good quality camera and take as many photos as you need, experimenting with lighting and composition. Compare one photo to the next. Which one reads better? I try to use indirect, natural lighting whenever possible, including for this piece. My trusty Nikon D7100 always brings the goods.  If space allows, in addition to your photo reference, set up the still life in your studio so you can refer to it when you work on areas that are unclear or confusing.  

MATERIALS

Paint Brands: Windsor Newton, Williamsburg, and Old Holland 

Specific Colors: Oh my gosh, so many! My list of colors includes: cadmium red, yellow and orange. Burnt umber, cobalt blue, ultra marine blue, titanium white, alizarin crimson, sap green, ivory black, payne's gray. Bright red, cobalt violet. For glazing: alizarin crimson, sap green, indian yellow, transparent red ochre. 

Brushes: Utrecht: variety of filberts, sizes. My current favorite: The Utrecht Tuscan Series 206. For the smallest detailed areas including lettering: cheap detail brushes from the craft store. They don't last long, but do the job for those tiny details.

Medium: 50/50 Mixture of Gamlin's Gamsol Odorless Mineral Spirits and M. Graham Walnut Oil

Support: Fredrix Blue Label (Extra Smooth) Stretched Canvas

Varnish: Gamblin's Gamvar Varnish

STEP ONE

Step One: Detailed Drawing in Pencil. NOTE: When I am satisfied with the accuracy of my drawing, I go over the penciled sketch with an eraser, lightly. I leave a readable, ghost of the drawing of the future painting. Because nearly all of the lead has been removed from the surface, there is no smudging of the pencil when I apply the paint. I know many artists who spray their sketch with fixative, and then on top of that a reworkable varnish. This strategy also works great, but I make every attempt to use as few harmful chemicals as possible.

STEP TWO

Step Two: I create an underpainting using burnt umber and titanium white. In the darkest areas, I add ultramarine blue to the burnt umber. I am trying to establish strong value contrasts at this stage. Having said that, I want my values to be limited (which will help create that strong contrast). My goal is limiting the underpainting to three values. What I actually deliver is about five - I try to always aim higher than what I can do.

 During this stage I am also stopping often to check that my drawing is accurate. Methods to check accuracy: Stepping  back often, viewing my work in a mirror, and taking pictures of the work with my phone. All of these methods help me spot inaccuracies.

STEP THREE

 Step Three: Laying in the color on top of the underpainting. Fun!

As I mix my paint, I am paying attention to value, hue and chroma. Because I have established a blueprint for my values, I am much more likely to nail those values with accuracy. During this stage, I continue to make sure my drawing hasn't lost its accuracy. Remember, a stroke doesn't always land where you intend. Stand back and make sure you're on track.

STEP FOUR

Step Four: Continue to apply the overprinting. Laying in the background is an important, early step.

STEP FIVE

 Step Five: Continue to apply overpainting. I continue to refine shapes, check my drawing and make  necessary corrections. I step away constantly and take breaks from my painting so I can regain my perspective. Letting the layers dry is very important. I use a lot of glazing and scumbling, and a dry surface is a must.

STEP SIX

Step Six: Finished! Before I apply Gamblin's Gamvar Varnish I make sure the painting is definitely, absolutely dry to the touch, and then add a few days after that.

STEP SEVEN

Step Seven: Framing. Ugh. Again, I did not take a picture of my work framed before I delivered it to the collector. But here is a close up of the frame I used. I wait a few days after varnishing my work before I have it framed, just to be extra careful. Many artists do their own framing, but I have come to realize creating frames is just not in my wheelhouse. I have an amazing framer, Jennifer Helner who I can always count on to make my work look great. Jennifer resides in Grand Rapids, but regularly takes on clients in the Detroit Metro area. 

Links to Painting Materials I Use

Gamblin Products
M. Graham Walnut Oil
Fredrix Extra Smooth Stretched Canvas
Utrecht Tuscan Synthetics
Gamvar Varnish

Improve Your Painting With A Self-Styled Study Course

Make A Plan, Time Block and Then Do It!
Every artist I know has a deep desire to get better at their craft. In fact, that desire for improvement often serves as the inspiration for that next piece. I'm going to just kill it this time, is a refrain that often goes through my head as I lay in that first pass. But sometimes what happens is that the new piece - and the one after that - doesn't show much growth. And while the pieces we're churning out may be solid and of high quality, we want to take our work to the next level.

Whether I like it or not, a good old "back to the basics" regimen of study and practice sessions bring new levels of skill. I've talked before about cleaning your studio, etc. to bring about better painting. But sometimes organizing or listening to different music while you work just isn't enough to bring about better paintings. Oil painting - any art - requires life long study and practice.

The best way to approach the goal of self-study is be organized and specific.You have to take the time to make a plan of attack. If I were to breakdown my process, it would look something like this:

1. Make A List
First, I get out a piece of paper and pencil (stepping away from the computer and actually using a writing utensil seems to bring about a higher level of thought for me for some reason). I make the heading: 2016 Self-Styled Study Course. I feel quite official doing that. I jot down maybe five "commitment" activities. After some personal history with doing this, I try not to be overly optimistic. I want my study program to be solid, but realistic in terms of scale and time requirements. For example:

1. Study Andrew Loomis's Figure Drawing For All It's Worth. With two workshops coming up involving the figure, I want to be as prepared as possible.
2. Study Andrew Loomis's Creative Illustration (I really want to understand the intricacies of composition and this book came highly recommended).
3. Research and sign up for one to two workshops during the next year.
4. Visit the Detroit Institute of Arts twice in the next month.
5. Make one random sketch per day while I'm watching tv, in the car - as a passenger - or in a restaurant.

2. Time Block
Ladies and gentlemen, your list of all the things you're going to do will not happen without designating a specific period of time you're going to do them. You'll end up saying, Yeah, I'm going to get to that book as soon as I've finished this painting, the laundry, and the dogs have been walked...oops! Where did my day go again?!  Don't wait for a convenient time. Pick a start and finish time, and treat it like a paid time commitment.

For my current Self-Styled Study Course, I've designated 8 am to 9am to read the Loomis texts. I chose that time because usually I'm just messing around on the computer anyway during the early morning hours. I've also written in two dates on my calendars to visit the DIA - coordinating it with my out-of-home studio time which happens to be just a few minutes from the museum. If I end up being in the neighborhood before that date - fine. I'll be ahead of the game.

3. Tell A Few People
There's nothing like accountability to help you live up to your plans. Ask your friends to try and remember to ask you about your progress.

4. A Few Words About Workshops
I cannot say enough about what a great investment it is to take a quality workshop from the multitude that are available out there. Of course, it's much more convenient and less costly if the workshop is near your hometown, but if there's a dream artist you'd love to work with - go for it! I once traveled 14 hours to attend a David Gray workshop and it was worth every penny and minute spent driving (listening to books on tape the whole time).

It's a very bonding experience to be with like-minded people who share the same goals and dreams. Best of all, it's incredibly thrilling to learn from an artist whose work you have admired for years. This year, I've settled on Casey Childs's workshop in April (traveling about 8 hours to Virgina) and Alyssa Monks' s held very near my home in Michigan in September. I sent my deposits and registration forms in for both workshops and I can't wait!

Loomis's Texts I'm Studying - I'm actually reading them and doing the exercises!

I am still painting!   

work in progress, sneak peek:

Pinned, work in progress - approximately 24x36 Just thought I'd share.
 I'll post the final version  soon.

 To be clear, I'm not suggesting you stop your regular painting altogether. You may have a show to prepare for, a class to teach or commissions to finish. But a yearly Self-Styled Study Course really can bring your work to that next level. Let me know if you do and what types of activities you come up with. I'd really like to hear! Email me at amyfell@umich.edu or post a comment.

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things: Think Small

Fishing for Inspiration

After completing over 20 paintings for my solo show in September, I was one tired painter.  I needed to get into the painting groove again, so I tried an old trick: paint something small and fun! I can't even remember how it came to me, but fishing lures seemed to be a fast and easy project. Ok, so they ended up being not so easy or fast - but isn't that the way it always is? The lures were definitely a challenge, but a good one. I quickly became obsessed.

Fishing lures come in an endless variety, and yes, they were so much fun to paint. Full of color (and you know how I love color) and easy to frame as painted them on oil-primed boards. They're on display at the Ann Arbor Art Center now until January 10. www.annarborartcenter.org/exhibitions/artoffthewall-2015/

Thank you Ira Glass!

A nearly constant narrative in my head nags and pokes at me, telling me my work is not where it should be. I finish a painting and think: Wow. Really? That is not what I visualized at all. Sometimes I can field the negativity with a hearty Yeah, I know, but it's a PROCESS. Other times, I find myself pretty darn demoralized. I look at my paintings and worry and fret. I started my study of painting late - like really late - in life, so it's a little daunting to think I will have to maintain my patience and persistence for an indeterminable amount of time before I get to where I want to be. Will I even have my teeth by the time I feel my work is something I can and should be proud of?

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Some months back I was in a particularly bad funk. I tend to overwork paintings to get them "right" and in the process squeeze a lot of the lifeblood out of them, resulting in highly disappointing paintings. Which translates into a waste of time, along with costly paint and canvas. Right around June I had gotten into a really bad cycle. Painting after painting was just: ugh. I kept thinking, I could spend my time more productively doing basically anything, ANYTHING else. Even staring out the window would be better since I wouldn't be wasting money on costly art supplies.

One day my demoralization hit a fevered pitch. I was on facebook torturing myself by looking at posts from fellow artists whose level of skill was truly worth the time and effort.  Now there's quality, I mumbled as I scrolled through image after brilliant image.  Right then a message in my inbox from my sister popped up. In my catatonic state I was almost too weary to clink the link she had sent me. But thank God I did, because the web posting she sent was so pitch perfect to my current state of mind, it could be defined only in terms of divine intervention.

The link led to some generous and solid advice for the struggling artist of all genres given by Ira Glass, host of NPR's This American Life. (As an aside, This American Life is one of my very top favorite shows to listen to while working.)  The piece discussed the moment in time when you're feeling just not good enough, and how crucial it is to keep going anyway.  Glass asserts that it's precisely at that moment you feel you're doomed that you need to increase your output.  As I listened, I was buoyed and heartened - well for me, anyway. I went from feeling like a fool and a failure to: maybe I shouldn't quit after all! The take away for me was you have to produce as much as you can just when you feel as if it's all for naught.

I highly encourage you to take a moment and listen to what Glass has to say. Even if you're on a good roll.

If You’re Not Good Enough, Just Do This One Thing Over and Over and Over… and Over Again. 

Thank you, Ira! You truly made a difference in my life!