The Painting Demo That Wasn´t

Contemporary Art

Oil Painting on Canvas by Beatriz Socorro
Male Nude 2 after "Orfeo" by Roberto Ferri

Remember in one of my previous blogs when I said this was going to be my next demo?

After I filled in the basic colors and blended the edges, I felt the colors were too vivid. I wanted something softer.

I waited for it to dry and painted over it.

I blended the colors with my fingers and then proceeded to add the darker shadows.

I didn´t like it at all!

Prussian Blue and Thalo Green are two colors which are very hard to remove. They love to cling. So...I just poured thinner over the whole thing and wiped it all off with paper towels and,  of course, it left streaks all over the figure and the background.

Well, what the heck! The painting was ruined. Might as well have some fun and experiment with it.

I liked the streaks...  :))

I was wondering what color I could use to allow the streaks to show through. The Light Gold that I have is pretty transparent. I wondered what that would look like....

I should have taken a picture of the streaks but at the time I didn´t feel like photographing the mess I made.


I wiped off the excess thinner and allowed it to dry.

Keeping in mind the fat-over-lean rule, I added linseed oil to the gold paint and covered the whole figure with it and then with some bronze added some shadows.

I used a flat brush to paint along the edges of the figure but used my fingers to fill it in.

For the background I used a brush to apply the paint.

Once I was done, you could barely see the streaks but here´s the result. Not so bad considering that I was ready to paint the whole canvas white to retrieve it and start again from the beginning.

Oil Painting on Canvas by Beatriz Socorro
Male Nude 2 after Orfeo by Roberto Ferri

This is what you call:  turning a negative into a positive.


So, if you ever make a mess...have fun and experiment.

Note: Male Nude 2 by Beatriz Socorro "after"  Orfeo by Roberto Ferri

God Bless!

Breaking the Rules

Contemporary Art
Art Lessons



The most wonderful thing about art is that this is one place where we can break all the rules and get away with it.

Breaking the rules sets the imagination free and allows us to be creative and original.

Who are today´s most famous artists?

The ones that broke the rules or did something shocking and/or outrageous in their personal lives.


Van Gogh painted with a style which went against all the established rules at the time. He painted what he felt regardless of everyone else´s opinions.
There are now some who question whether he cut off his own ear or if Gauguin did it during a dispute.

Vincent Van Gogh


Gauguin left civilized life and went to live like a native. Maybe he feared for his life after cutting Van Gogh´s ear off?
He was also one of the precursors of post impressionism and other painting styles.

Paul Gauguin


Picasso started a completely new and shocking style of painting: Cubism.
He also created political controversy with his painting Guernica.

Pablo Picasso
Guernica


Dali painted things that only someone on drugs could ever imagine.  When he was asked if he took drugs, he answered,  "I don´t take drugs. I am drugs".
Historians interpret this as meaning that he didn´t take drugs. I happen to differ.
He combined great mastery of classical art with surrealism.
Add to that the funny little mustache and the eccentric fashion and behavior...
...or was that just a good publicity gimmick to shock and thus sell himself ?
Sorry, Dali, but Madonna outdid you in that department.

Salvador Dali


Read the lives of the great painters and artist and you will see a common thread in them:

BE  BOLD  AND  BREAK  THE  RULES  ! !

Just don´t go so far as to get yourself in jail or in harm´s way.


I remember going to a Museum of Beaux Arts about 30 years ago during one of my travels.

I can´t remember the city nor the name of the artist but I do remember how offended and aggravated I was. I was pissed!!

The artist had three blank canvases on exhibit...at a Museum no less!!

On one blank canvas, he had made one diagonal cut with a knife,  two cuts on the second canvas and three cuts on the third.

For goodness sake!! I was offended! I was insulted!  THIS was hanging in a museum?

I had seen extraordinary artists painting in plazas in small villages and selling their work for peanuts and this guy was in a museum? For God´s sake!! What was the world coming to???

Well, one thing is for sure...he had cojones and he definitely broke all the rules.

Not only that...he also started a trend called  "minimalism".

You go figure....

Here are some links on the subject that will make you smile:

1. Is Art, Art?

2. Half a Century of Minimalism   - this is one article you should not miss  :))

"These works follow a typical trajectory of modern art. Step by step, from reduction to reduction, we make a clean sweep, from figuration to abstraction, to a uniform canvas, to a blank canvas, and then to a blank wall."

Well, I have an idea...let´s not stop there. 

Next exhibit should be in the Sahara Desert  with no building and only one visitor at a time allowed within the surrounding visible area.

The next exhibit should be on an invisible platform floating in outer space or better yet..in a black hole.  Again, only one visitor at a time .

The next minimalist exhibit should be in another dimension.

And last but not least, one exhibit on the other side after you die so that not even you are visible...and, please, remember to turn off the "Light" so that you can get the full experience!


3. Blank Canvas Cartoons


4.      and this is my favorite. I definitely love this guy...  :))))

    Blank Canvas - Art Critics  

    Minimalism in Art

    Art Genius

DAVID ARANDLE - TET


Have fun and God Bless!!

Female Nude
Oil Painting on Canvas
Alla Prima (Wet-on-Wet)
Contemporary Art

Female Nude 1
Oil Painting on Canvas
by Beatriz Socorro

* click on photo to enlarge

This one is going to be fun and easy  :)

The technique is called "alla prima" aka "wet-on-wet".

To learn more about alla prima go to:  Wikipedia - Alla Prima

The paints used are:

• silver
• light gold
• dark gold
• bronze
• raw umber.

Note:  raw umber is a good color to use when you want to darken any other color instead of using black.

Notice that the lights and shadow on the figure are defined and sharp...not blended.

Notice that there are 5 different shades and tones.

Whoever said English is an easy language?  Gees!!!

To me a shade is a shade whether it be light, medium or dark and a tint is the different variations of the same basic color. So bare with me. My brain can only grasp so much.

But if you want to know the TRUE terminology and if it really matters to you, go to:   Color-Wheel-Artist

First read through the demo before painting anything and observe the painting above as you do, so that you understand what I am trying to show you.

To get the very light shade of gold, I mixed some silver with the light gold. Apply this to the lightest areas of your painting.

I start with the lighter color and work my way down to the darkest. This way I don´t have to be cleaning the brush before applying the next darker shade; whereas if I did it the other way around, I would have to clean the brush before changing to a lighter color so as not to darken it.

This time, when you apply the paint do not leave a space between the two colors as we did in the previous demos.  Remember, we are not blending. So pretend you´re painting by numbers.

The next shade is just pure light gold, followed by dark gold, bronze and finally (since I could not find a darker shade of bronze at the supply store) I added a little bit of raw umber to the bronze to paint the darkest shade. Don´t add too much umber or you will lose the shine of the bronze and end up with a dull color.

Now, with a small flat, soft brush go over the dividing line between the two colors very gently, barely applying any pressure, barely touching.  Pretend your paint brush is a feather  and just barely go over the line that separates the two shades with long and smooth strokes.. After each stroke, wipe the excess paint off the brush with a paper towel.

DON´T clean it with thinner but DO remove the excess paint. The reason for only wiping the excess off is that in this way you allow a very small amount of the colors to blend.

If in some areas the pencil marks of your sketch show through and you don´t want them to, take a small, hard, bristle brush and rub the line as you would with an eraser but do so very gently. Yo don´t want to damage the canvas.

Sometimes I like to let some of the sketch lines show through. So I leave some and erase some. It´s up to you.

For the background, use the light gold and apply it with a soft, flat brush allowing your hand to make the strokes freely in whatever direction it chooses. As if you were directing and orchestra in allegro tempo.

Allegro  Tempo  = quick and lively speed.

Notice we did not use any mediums this time. That´s one of the beauties of alla prima...no mediums, no waiting for one layer to dry before going to the next !!!

With this technique, the only reason to add oil to your paint would be if it is too thick and you want to make it thinner.

You´re done!! Hang it to dry  :)

BUT NOW, you will have to figure out where to get models for your paintings.

Here are 5 possible ways:

1. If you´re lucky, you can get a beautiful man or woman and have them pose for you either live or for a photoshoot.

2. If you´re not so lucky, then you can go to Google search and look for photos or paintings that are in the "public domain" and use those as your reference photos for your sketch. This way you don´t infringe any copyrights and get yourself into trouble.

Here is a great site to get you started:  Wikigallery.org

3. Take nude photos of yourself and don´t tell anyone it´s you...unless you want them to know it´s a self-portrait.

4. Get a female wooden artist figurine.

5. Get an avatar.


Well, I hope you enjoyed this demo.

Until next time...have fun, take care and God bless!

Nude Male #1

Contemporary Art
Modern Art
Fine Art


Nude Male #1

I was chatting with artist Laurel Gordon and she asked me to show her the first step of what I was working on. So I sent her a picture.

She said to me, " It even looks good as it is".

She got me thinking and I took a good look at it and said, "You know...you´re right !! "

So here´s the finished-unfinished version of the nude male torso...

Graphite/oil Paint on Canvas
by Beatriz Socorro
Nude Male 1 after "Orfeo" by Roberto Ferri

This is one of the fun and definite beauties of art...breaking the rules !!!

Note:  You cannot use varnish on a graphite or charcoal drawing.
Adding a a charcoal/graphite fixative can alter the appearance.
There are pros and cons. Do some research before making the decision.

I chose to spray with a fixative. Be sure to hold the  can about a foot away from the sketch. Sway your arm back and forth as you spray over the surface.  Don´t saturate the surface.

I like to sketch on paper before I transfer the drawing to the canvas. The reason is that this way I don´t smudge the canvas with the eraser each time I make a correction.

It has a secondary advantage as well. I can make as many versions of the same sketch as I want without having to start again from the beginning.

So, this is one time when I will make two versions of the same subject. The finished-unfinished version above and the one I'm still working on and which will be my next demo.

Step 2 of my next Demo

* Nude Male 1 by Beatriz Socorro "after" Orfeo by Roberto Ferri

God Bless!!

Finding Your Inner Artist by Laurel Gordon

Contemporary Art

I would like to share with you a blog started by talented artist Laurel Gordon.
May it be an inspiration to you as well.

Become the Artist

Patron of the Arts: Maureen Seewald Smith

Contemporary Art
Art Lessons

MY PATRON OF THE ARTS

This page is gratefully dedicated to my patron, my best and most beloved friend: Maureen Smith Seewald...
...without whom none of this would be possible; without whom I wouldn't even be here.

Honey, I am eternally grateful. 

You are forever in my heart.

Maureen Seewald Smith

ELEPHANT PAINTINGS

Contemporary Art
Art Lessons

Simply amazing!!!

Elephant Painting Elephant

Elephant Painting Poppies

Elephant Painting Tiger

Elephant Painting Self-Portrait