Demo Painting GIF

This GIF is a demonstration of the process I used to create the painting "Wood, Nautilus & Rubber Band Ball" in 2016.

For this particular project I used Ken Davies' method of painting from his book "Sharp-Focus Still Lifes" which includes a drawing, a wash-in layer, a block-in layer, and detail layers. I also employed the sight-size method.

I have spent over a decade working on painting detailed, realist still-life paintings from live observation in the style of Classical Realism. This GIF captures some of the processes I have learned. Other techniques I use include the Flemish Method, as taught by artist Sadie Valerie, that dates back to the Renaissance and employs a grisaille (gray-scale) underpainting. I have also employed various methods for drawing and proportioning beyond the sight-size method including constructing and using my own "Old Man's Eye" grid (http://www.howtodrawjourney.com/drawing-grids.html) and using string to measure and proportion.

This painting was executed on a primed wooden panel in and the dimensions are 20X16 inches.

I was extremely inspired by the shapes of the various natural and man-made objects interacting in this set up and by their cool and warm tones. I took the painterly liberty of enhancing the blue tint in the wall to exaggerate the contrasting colors and to add to the feeling of the final painting.