Venice, Italy 6

At this point I'm ready to start a "Still Life" painting. Drawing and redrawing with my brush, while trying to hold true to it is starting to make my eyes cross. The only thing keeping me sane at this point is periodically stepping back and viewing how things are starting to come together. When I paint, I don't paint objects. Instead, I paint abstract shapes. I don't see a window, flag, building, etc.. until I'm several feet back. So far, so good.

Venice, Italy 5

Now the fun begins. Architecture, windows,balconies, railings, etc... This process is like cutting your lawn with scissors. I continue to adjust my original sketch as I move along, leaving out the unimportant and emphasizing the little things that create a sense of realism. Things such as shadows and the direction they fall against other objects are of importance to me. The local color of the buildings is probably going to be modified as I continue.

Venice, Italy 4

Taking a break from the background, I work in a fashion unlike my typical behavior. I paint a foreground element in early. Typically, I work from back to front. However, like a little child, sometimes I'm impatient and need to get a visual about proportions and balance. Anyways, the lamps are a key component to the landscape settings in Venice. It also gave me an opportunity to paint an item that is absolute in its design; unlike to sky which is always changing.

Venice, Italy 3

Painting skies is always a lot of fun for me. Although this sky is far from complete, I begin to enjoy the mood is establishes for the rest of the painting. The overall temperature and values of the local colors will need to be established from this point forward. The architecture of the buildings leave me with very little wiggle room; but, the tone (high key -low key) decision remains with me. I like to have some control of the process.

Venice, Italy 2

Venice, Italy photos usually include cloudless skies with a Cerrulean/Cobalt hue. However, the customer requested a slight modification to reality. Happy to make the change, I began to add a little mixture of Permanent Mauve , Ultramarine, Cadmium Yellow, etc. to create a little action above the buildings. Remember, art gives us that license we've all talked about.

Venice Painting

I've stretched a 4 foot linen canvas for this commissioned piece of Venice, Italy. After preparing the canvas with acrylic Cobalt Blue and Raw Umber, I roughly sketched the scene using a pencil. Next, I started to block in the sky. Using only Liquin as a medium, I look forward to the next day where I can paint over my initial layer.

Art Talk

This Blogging business is new to me. I'm an artist who understands the painting process with no working knowledge of technology. Any artists who would like to talk art or share their experiences and successes feel free to respond. I work primarily in oils. I fortunate enough to spend my days doing something that brings joy to myself as well as others, which brings me more joy. So, anyone who has questions, thoughts, ideas, etc.. jump in.

Rick