Postcards From The Easel A Blog about the Art and Artifice of Still Life Painting
Interesting Reflection Issue
While painting a particular passage today, I noticed that the reflection of a cast shadow in a piece of silver was substantially darker than the shadow itself. I could see that the cast shadow was being illuminated by the reflection onto the stone of a strong highlight immediately behind it. I also knew that there […]
A Quick Perspective Trick
Many artists – even established professionals – have an uneasy relationship with perspective. That’s understandable, given how involved it can be to figure out, say, the proper perspective of a complicated geometric shape with multiple vanishing points. It’s good, and I think necessary, to know how to do this. But, in the real world, I […]
The Grisaille Underpainting
The Grisaille The Simplest Form of Underpainting A completed grisaille for a larger paintingUnderpaintings are monochromatic versions of the painting, over which the final color layer will eventually be applied. It’s an intermediate step in the Flemish technique (which is the basis for the process I follow), that is done after the drawing and before […]
Painting Metal
How did you do that? From time to time I’ll get a nice compliment about how I paint metal. This is often followed up with questions about how I do it. Unfortunately, there’s not a simple secret that I can reveal. I approach metal the same way I approach any other type of object: Observe […]
Cultivating the Habit of Beauty
Keeping it Beautiful at Every Step Sometimes a minor shortcoming can illustrate a larger point. The image above is the completed underpainting for this week’s project. One thing you might notice is that the tones get cooler and bluer towards the bottom. As I got to the end of the working day, I ran out […]
A Grisaille omits most – but not all – details
The second step (after the drawing) for this week’s painting is complete. It’s a straightforward grisaille (gray painting) – probably the most common form of underpainting – using only Mars Black and Lead White. These are quick drying paints – an important consideration since I’m on a tight schedule with these weekly paintings. Ideally it […]
Using the Grid Transfer Method to Copy the Image onto the Panel
Most of my recent paintings have been in either a square or horizontal (landscape) format. This week I’m working with a composition that’s strongly vertical, and will be painting on a 14×11 inch panel. The video above shows the model I’m working from and discusses transferring the image to the panel. Once I’ve made a […]
The Ébauche is an underpainting with dulled colors
The Ébauche A Type of Underpainting Using Muted Colors The ébauche for this painting is complete and drying.”Ébauche” is a french word meaning draft or first pass, and it refers to a specific type of underpainting. Rather than using black and white, as is the case with a grisaille underpainting, an ébauche uses color. However, […]
A Thumbnail Sketch Simplifies the Start
As I get this week’s painting underway, I thought I’d mention the humble thumbnail sketch. After setting up the model, it’s usually the very first piece of active work on the path to the final painting. The thumbnail is just a small, rough drawing that I use to establish the composition. It’s only purpose is […]
Glazes on top of the underpainting
With a fully worked out underpainting in place, the color layer usually goes quite smoothly. Often it’s simply a matter of glazing (very thin layers of transparent paint) with the local color and then adjusting details. This was the case with the pomegranate, where I glazed the shadows with a dark transparent crimson. I then […]
An interesting find at the St. Botolph Club
I came across this surprising painting tag last week and thought I’d share the story with you. A friend of mine was having an opening at the St. Botolph Club, which is an old social club in Boston with a focus on the arts, housed in a grand nineteenth-century brownstone mansion in the Back Bay. […]