Artist Copy

More ArtRage Vitae… Copying a Master

| cathmary1030

Today I tried painting a Christmas ornament in ArtRage Vitae, and I used as a reference a painting by Teddi Parker, which you can see here.

As with the sketch of Simba, I struggled a bit. In the Simba drawing, I used the felt pen tool; in this case I used the square flat brush, and widened the stroke.

It should be obvious that Teddi’s painting (master copy) is on the right.

The funny thing is, it actually felt like I was painting, despite using my finger tip! But I want to get back to the brush tomorrow.

Red Onions… After Vicki McGrath

| cathmary1030

I discovered Vicki McGrath on a “Learn to Paint” podcast, and then followed her on Instagram. After my first attempt at the red onion from my Acrylic University lesson, I attempted to copy Vicki’s work, although I changed the background from green stripes to a solid mint green via phthalo green yellow shade. She paints in gouache on watercolor paper; I used acrylic on an 8×8 canvas. Her version is available as a print here.

Cups of Coffee.. After Teddi Parker

| cathmary1030

I discovered Teddi Parker after listening to a podcast at Learn to Paint Podcast. And then I found her Instagram, and her website. In looking at her work, I was struck by one with 4 cups of coffee: black and bubbly, mildly creamy and one quite milky. I believe hers was done using acrylic house paint. In any case, I wanted to copy her different coffee colors, the bubbles, the shadows in the mugs, and the highlights.

This was done strictly as a study, on an 8×8 canvas.

52 Mini Paintings Challenge: Week #12 – Value Adjustment

| cathmary1030

After I completed the week 12 painting for Jed Dorsey’s Mini Painting Challenge at Acrylic University, and compared it to a grayscale of the reference image, I realized the values were off. So I’ve lightened the trees and the grass.

Here’s the value comparison between the reference image and the original painting, and then the reference and this updated version. The updated pic is, obviously, on the left. My trees and my grass were much too dark in my first attempt.

Purple Tulips… after Ali Kay – Done!

| cathmary1030

I finally finished the purple tulips. It’s not really my style, but I had to try it. If I could do it all over again, I’d either dilute the gesso with some water and use the biggest brush I could find (to minimize brush strokes / ridges, and I’d probably do it in at least a 10×10 size.

The finished version is on the left. Where it looks black, it’s not. That’s dioxazine purple. Also, I started out with a straight line between the table and the wall, but messed up with my salmon-colored paint. I’ll need to adjust either with the bluish-purple (likely) or the orange/ salmon color.

Purple Tulips… after Ali Kay — in progress

| cathmary1030

I haven’t worked on this project in days, because frankly I got a little bored. Too paint-by-numberish. I like this artist’s style — more here — for pet portraits and people, and am thinking about signing up for her “Fresh Paint” school when it reopens. But I wanted to see what “Fresh Paint” might be like by purchasing this lesson. We get the templates (which I like!) and then the color “recipes”. Her style is to use (more or less) complementary-color underpainting in pieces (not just one overall underpainting / toning). She also uses Masonite or wood panels that have to be gessoed first, rather than canvas or paper.

Also, I’m using an 8×8 panel and in all honesty it would be better if I were doing a 12×12 or even 20×20. (Those templates are also available as part of the class.)

Anyway, this is what I have so far, and I’ll try to finish it some time this week.

Red Rose.. After Carol Marine

| cathmary1030

This red rose is from Carol Marine’s works on the Daily PaintWorks website. I wanted more practice with roses. I drew this one out first on a 6×6 birch panel.

I started with alizarin crimson, and then mixed it with either yellow, white, or dark blue to get the different red shades. The olive green leaves and stem were created with yellow and black. There’s one section of teal blue that really should be the purplish shadow color, there right in the center of the painting.