CHAPTER 8

Project 3: A Reclining Figure

STAGE 1: The Subject

 
I took a photo of my husband while he was sitting on the sofa in our living-room, in a reclined position, facing me.

STAGE 2: Working Drawings

A4 size of my drawing made with 2Bpencil. Just shapes no tones or shadows marked on it.

STAGE 3: Painting

This is the first stage of my painting. I took two papers of A3 size so I can make bigger brush marks. This is another painting with acrylic paints and I found them much easier to use.
Still to work on the hand shape and face. I would like to leave the sofa and the wall as plain as I can.

At this stage I am pleased with the face and the size of my model so far, I am happy with my colours and the atmosphere of my work .

 This is the finished painting which I am very pleased with. I like the colours, the cold blue wall gives cold reflections on my model's skin. We have cold light brown sofa which doesn't drag a viewers attention from my model. The sofa is just an object for my model to rest therefore we have an neutral colour of it.
Composition is open from the bottom part .
 I used acrylics this time, the layer looks thick but in reality it is very thin .
Feeling of my final work looks calm, relaxed and cheerful.

Chapter 8: The Figure

Project 1 : Figure at the Table


STAGE 1: The Subject

The subject for this project is a model at the table. I asked my husband to sit for a while and to be my guinea pig :)
STAGE 2 : A Working Drawing

I have done some rough sketches of my husband sitting at the table, but only one is quite good.  I couldn’t finish his hands as he was moving very quickly (even when I asked him not to).  So this is a sketch, he is sitting quite straight with one hand behind the table and the other one on the table.

The composition I have to say is open from the bottom, with just a small part of the table at the bottom.  My husband is sitting straight, but his face is a little bit to the right side and he is looking straight at the spectator.  I used just 2B pencil to make this sketch.

STAGE 3 : Starting The Painting

Just a rough quick base for my painting.

The  hand under the table is too small and the one on the table is too big so i have to work on it bit more. I like the dark tone of my background and slightly different tone of hair. Dark brown wall contrasts well with cold blue Tshirt.

 STAGE 4 : Developing The Painting

STAGE 5 : What Have You Achieved?
Did you find it possible to make a fairly complete statment of a figure from your drawing?
Not especially, I found that quite difficult. The more I was painting the more my model was looking older and older. At the end of the day on the final painting my husband looks 20years older than he is:) but this task was all about model and the figure that wasn't a portrait project.

Your Fourth Project

STAGE 1: Squaring-Up

STAGE 2 :Painting

I used yellow acrylic paint to marks some basics line of my painting.

Then tried to find similar colours and tones to the one from my photo.

STAGE 3 : What have you Achieved?

I managed to use this Squaring-Up method to paint much more bigger painting directly from my photo. I find this way so much easier than any other to copy or to translate a picture onto the bigger space.

Project 3

Projec 3 : Using Photographs

STAGE 1: Deciding on your Photograph

STAGE 2: Drawing from the Photograph

STAGE 4 : Making The Painting

Colour – at this stage, the colours are clear and bright, in particular you can see that on the rainbow.  That makes this painting very cheerful.  I tried not to use any pastel colours, but there are some in the parts with the flower bushes.

Composition – open on the left side where the rainbow starts to appear and the flower bushes are painted, but only in half way.  The small house is not in the middle of my painting plus the rainbow goes more from the top left corner until the middle part which makes it more interesting.

Paint – This painting is painted with acrylics and therefore is much lighter as I used water with them.  Why acrylics?  Only for one reason, just because I am in the middle of my course.

I changed the atmosphere by adding the rainbow, which is not on the actual photograph.  My intention was to create a cheerful and dreamy scenery, just like in books for kids.

What else would I like to do?  I have to work on that small house, and add some details.  This is not a realistic painting so I will keep my colours as they are now.  So work on, work on Kasia!!!



Project 1 : Stage 5

Stage 5 : Making a Painting from Studies

I have to say that I like the final look of my painting. That was a big difference to work only with my studies and sketches. It looks imppressive to me. I have achieved the colours that I wanted, cold light and warm shadows. The layer of paint is thin but looks like I put more in some places.
The composition is open from the bottom side as the book does't have one corner.In the middle part I painted a purple candlestick.

MY REFLECTION AFTER USING ACRYLIC PAINTS

27/7/11

MY REFLECTION AFTER USING ACRYLIC PAINTS

I have to say that I find that type of paint very different to oil paints,  I am sure that I am not the only person who finds them different,

So far I have managed to paint a few projects as I am in the middle of my art course where I have been asked to swap my current media to another.  Up o that point I was using oil paints for most of my paintings.  I know that media quite well and I have to say that they became a part of me.  The way how I can mix one colour with another suits my personality and expressive way of using a brush.

With acrylics it is different, I find them a bit more demanding.  The difference between oils and acrylics is that the first I can always come back after a few days and make some changes.  With acrylics I have to be sure which colour I am going to use, just like water colour.

I have to say that I struggle a bit and I find my projects quite ‘annoying’ if I may use that expression.  I know so far that me and acrylics don’t go together, but hey ho!  This is a big challenge for me right now and I will try to step up and work with that media with bigger respect and passion.

Wish me good luck……