Munsell study: grey spheres

Munsell study neutral spheres

Munsell neutrals, oil on panel

I last painted the Munsell grey studies in 2007. This time I want to take the exercises further to get more control so I’m getting organised.

The paint is pre-mixed. I am storing mine in 20ml syringes (no needles!) bought from the stock feed store. The wooden block stays in the studio fridge and keeps the paint usable for months.

Storing oil paint in syringes

Storing oil paint in syringes

Summer Saturday

A quick plein air painting in an industrial area near Perth, Western Australia. Having a couple of hours to spare was an absolute luxury even if it was stinking hot. Oil on panel, 25x30cm. This is also having a go at photographing a painting following Marc Dalessio‘s method – found here: http://www.marcdalessio.com/photographing-paintings-with-a…/. It still looks washed out so I’m not getting it right yet.

Hot Saturday. Oil on panel

Hot Saturday, oil on panel, 25x30cm

Remembering Jeffrey Smart

Finally unpacked the paintings I posted back from Adelaide.

Jeffrey Smart fans might recognise this place… In memory. Oil on panel, small plein air study. It was almost sunset and I was huddled into the lee of a building trying to stay out of the wind. Imagine hanging onto a tripod paint box, bag, wet panel and hat AND make fair use of a brush with strong gusts grabbing at everything. Then a car load of young ‘uns drives past & one of them leaned out the window and yells “paint big”…

Remembering Jeffrey Smart, oil on panel

 

 

Port Adelaide bus

The last of the Adelaide oil sketches. This one was painted in Port Adelaide on the way to the airport. I had a little time to kill so took a detour to see the harbour. It was bliss to have time alone to stop and look. I even thought I had a quiet, out of the way, spot for a quick painting until a busload of kids came to watch. Art critics start young.

Port Adelaide bus. Oil on panel

Port Adelaide bus, oil on panel, 25x30cm

Het Zinneke

In my last post I asked if anyone knew the maker of the statue I have used as a model in a couple of paintings. Thanks to Major… I can now henceforth and forever credit Tom Frantzen as the artist who sculpted the dog I’ve come to call Blue…

Het Zinneke

Het Zinneke (1999, Bruxelles, Rue des Chartreux)

This “dog thrown into the Senne river” is named “Zinneke” after a Flemish word meaning “mongrel”. Because he is a dog of mixed breed, he symbolises the multicultural nature of Brussels. He is a proper “street sculpture”, as he really is built-in; his legs are sealed into the pavement and the post he is peeing on had been there long before him. The post became part of the sculpture.

This sculpture, commissioned by the Chartreux district committee to attract tourists, was created in the spirit of the “zwanze”. With this dog, Frantzen offers a visual example of this form of humour to all passers-by, especially those looking for an opportunity to share something and have fun together.

The series of paintings involves Blue doing things other than “watering” bollards and the other models came from stock photos, drawings of my own dog Jack and photos of a friend’s dog also (just to cause confusion) called Jack… Het Zinneke however was the first.

 

Adding cones and spheres

Today’s paintings are pretty much the same as yesterday with the addition of cones and spheres. I also left out the black cube so I could use the values I have to better effect on the grey one.
This first effort at painting a sphere was one of those penny-drop moments – the tones are the same as the cube, just blended a bit and a lighter patch to show the reflection from the grey cube. There was no reflection from the cloth of course because it’s too dark.

Cubes and spheres 1
Cubes and spheres 1

In this one I added the grey cone to make it just a bit more difficult. I also angled the white cube differently to make it a bit darker on the shadow side. I ended up with it measuring the same as the sphere – giving me a lost edge. I also experimented with softening the edges more – particularly on the sphere. I think I went a bit too far. The cone is probably the more successful.

Cubes and spheres 2
Cubes and spheres 2