still life : color layer days 1 & 2..finally!!!!!

After a several week break - waiting for the dead layer to dry completely, then caught up at work & home with obligations..finally getting back to my painting:)

I started the color layer last night and went back in tonight to continue working on the pearls and ribbon. I'm undecided about what to do with the table color..thinking I may leave it neutral grays..any thoughts are most welcome!

this is the third pass at the dead layer - one more to go in order to establish detail in the shell - this round focused primarily on the pearls and foreground..got the basic lights and darks of the shell - need to go back in for the little nuances.

I started painting the dead layer (gray layer) and have the background and ribbon blocked in..next step will be to paint the rest - shell, table & hanging ribbon is approximately 5 values of gray

tonight I painted the umber layer using burnt umber oil paint and a medium of OMS, damar varnish, linsedd oil & a drop of lavender oil. I wiped out the highlighted areas but will need to pay careful attention to the pearls since I was unable to get the lightest lights on the front row as white as I wanted. I hope I can make the ribbon transparent in the background!

I'm working out a set up for a still life I'd like to paint and have three possibilities:

and finally

9/29:

After several days of working on setting up the still life, I settled on composition #2 that has the ribbon dancing around the shell in a circular fashion, similar to that of the conch shell's concentric circular pattern. (thanks Michael S)

I transferred the drawing onto a primed 8x10 ampersand smooth gesso board and reinforced the drawing with waterproof ink. I held the support at eye level with two screws

I've printed a photo of the still life in grayscale to assist with the dead layer, and in full color for later layers. i'm planning to paint this in the indirect method of the old masters..my next step will be to establish values and the basis of form, first in an umber layer, then in a dead layer (using black to white value scale)

The set up remains in the light box to the left of my easel and I have used a color checker to assist in determining that the studio light matches the light on the setup. From fiddling with the setup, the ribbon has shifted a bit, so I will use the pattern in the photo, still observing the ribbons play of light and shadow in the light box.

Stay tuned for step 2 & please comment if you care to!

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Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on October 2, 2014 at 2:27: Lori, the reason you see this better in the computer is that the smaller image you see is just like stepping back about 5 or 6 feet. You have to "get out of the picture" to really see what's in it. Also, we get our blinders on when we are sitting and looking at what we just worked on for several hours and shooting a photo and viewing on the computer is less of an insult to our hard work, a bit more impersonal, I guess. Reworks are always a learning experience. Thanks for sharing all this, because we all learn from each other. Nice that you are back painting again. Stu

Comment by Lori Ippolito on October 2, 2014 at 2:10: Thanks Stu & Michael.im just so glad to be working on a painting! I've missed it! As I'm looking onscreen..amazing what I see on the computer vs in life..not sure why? Maybe having had a chance to step away? Anyway, I have to rework the umber inside the shell to get the right curve and depth. I admit I rushed a little with the ink when I got there (note to self: STOP when tired!!!) I want to make sure I get the correct contours. I appreciate both your encouragement and taking the time to visit my blog!!

Comment by Michael J. Severin on October 2, 2014 at 0:24: Wow, this is exciting!! ...looking forward to seeing the next step.

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on October 2, 2014 at 0:16: Looking good, Lori!

Comment by Lori Ippolito on September 30, 2014 at 3:30: Thanks for the encouragement Stu!

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on September 29, 2014 at 17:00: You can do it Lori. Half the work is arranging the setup and lighting; you've done that quite well. Stu

Comment by Lori Ippolito on September 29, 2014 at 14:52: thanks Stu.. #2 it is with the hue,value & chroma of 3..hope I can pull this off!

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on September 29, 2014 at 7:05: Lori, I agree with Michael on the composition being better in #2. I liked the contrast and color saturation better in #3. I am sure that you will turn out a winner from this arrangement. Have fun at the game!

Comment by Lori Ippolito on September 29, 2014 at 6:16: Thanks Michael and Stu! I'm glad to be back at the easel & working on learning to see what makes a good composition! Your comments are very helpful .. Off to see my grandsons baseball game..hope to get started on this tonight:) have a great day my friends!

Comment by Michael J. Severin on September 29, 2014 at 5:30: I like #2 (the middle set up). You have nice "flawed symmetry" ...which is good!!! The pearls are an extension of the ribbon. I like the way the ribbon meanders in and out of shadow. As I said before, you have a nice "conch shell" type composition going ..with the concentric swirls beginning at the pearls and winding around and around until you end up at the hanging ribbon. Of course, your eye movement is UP the ribbon and around. The bright edge line of the ribbon add much interest to it ...especially as it goes in and out of shadow ..you have a fantastic opportunity for lost and found edges in the ribbon edge!!! I do not like the dangling pearls in 3 ...you only need the hanging ribbon.