Pick up that brush

A collage of my latest group of figure paintings

I have been having fun lately, just working on figures. 

I found a group on face book call One Hundred Figures,  a group sharing various styles of figure painting.  A wonderful artist Tina Naya'li Berendsohn share demos and everybody gives them a try.

When you find a site like this just have to "pick up that brush" and join in.

#onehundredfigures

Mary

#schirosart

Ink Base

Ready for Rain, 16 x 12 inches

Acrylic inks are a great way to start a painting.  There is a loose freedom in working with ink. Thought I would share s few of the steps in creating this painting.

    First step a very quick sketch to work from using acrylic inks (magenta and yellow)

Next start an underpainting with acrylics:

When this layer is dry, start in on the details:

Letting each layer dry, it is just a bit more refining and the painting is done.

Hope you enjoyed see the steps

Thanks Mary

Process, paint and thought

14 x 11 inches Acrylic on wood panel

Day 8 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.  A good friend of mine makes wine and uses photos of her pup for the label.  She was kind enough to give me a bottle of her latest batch.  So thought it would be nice to give her something back.  This painting is for her. Thanks Deb.

But thought I would share the painting process of this one with you.  I started out just planning to paint the bottle, roughed in the form and built up the layers with acrylic paint on a wood panel.  But as I went along it need something to add some more interest and balance the composition a bit.  Thought adding the pup peeking over the table was just the ticket.

Loose not Fast

12 x 12 inch Acrylic on canvas

Available on Artspan

     Thought I would share some of the steps involved in painting this painting.  Many people think that a loose style is something created very quickly, just splashing paint around.  What is really involved is time and layering.

I first study the subject creating sketches 

One usually stands out more than the others, Liked the composition and contrast of this one.

From the sketch I start working a base of color and form.

After the the first layer dries I continue on refining the subject some negative painting and line work.

Again I wait for each layer to dry before refining the subject.  This is getting close to the end, a bit more refining, line and a bit of detail.  Detail are best saved for the last layer.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the process, plan to share more of this type of process with you soon.

Mary

8 x 8 inch acrylic on canvas

                                                                

    A study in contrast for day 2 of the #30paintingsin30days challenge.  Thought I would do some work mixing my own darks.  For this painting I used magenta and dark green.  

Have Fun With Color

Acrylic on Watercolor paper, 14 x 11 inches

                                                                  Click to Bid

First day of #30paintingsin30days! 

                     

As you can see I really enjoy painting cows :)  Thought I would share a collage of them up to now.
For the 30 in 30 you will probable see a few more, along with other subjects.

Simple Abstract

Sometimes it is refreshing to just work with shapes and color.

This is acrylic one 140 weight watercolor paper.  Have not come up with a name for it yet.  Working on it was like doing mathematics, (believe it or not my favorite subject in school).
It is said that when an abstract composition works it should look complete any direction it is turned.  I was excited that flipping this one around it looked good any way I turned it.
    But then I realized I really do not know which way to hang it, and have no idea which corner should get a signature.

So I guess it will just get signed on the back and let who ever ends up with it decide what way they want to hang it.

Adventures in Art

Mary

Interesting Beginnings

"Curly"  Mixed media on watercolor paper 20 x 16 inches

                                              Available at MarySchiros.artspan.com

   I love making interesting under paintings to work from.  Sometimes those under paintings are pure experiments in color combination.

I started this one with experiments in mixing oranges and blues, then roughed in with white acrylic the mass of the sheep, I wanted to  work up.  From there I worked back and forth with acrylics, inks and charcoal.
   Just thought it would be fun to share the process of how "Curly" was painted.
Thanks for looking
Mary

Painting Too Much?

Sometimes  get so involved with painting I forget to share what I have been up to.

Carnations on White, 14 x 11 inches, oil on gallery wrap canvas

I painted this last year and simply forgot all about it.  Sometimes I get so excited about new ideas that all I can think about is starting the next painting.  This is a really nice painting and it is about time it got shared.  Today I varnished, matted and sorted a number of forgotten works.  Although I would rather have been painting it felt good to get a little organized for a change.

Yellow Daisies, 14 x 11 inches

Yellow Lab, 18 x 14 inches

  Thanks for looking

Mary

Daily Art

Frumpy Cat

I am what you call a Daily Painter, (my main website is on Dailypaintworks.com ).  An often people assume I do a finished painting every day...nope.  What daily painting means to me is, working towards a painting everyday.  Often I do cartoons, a great way of getting a feel for the character of a subject.  Sometimes I do black and white sketches, with ink or charcoal, to understand light and shadows, mass, and line.

longhorn study

   It is all part of the process, that I love about art.

Mary

Drawing is Important

"What Cats Do"  Acrylic on watercolor paper 24 x 18 inches

     Draw, draw, draw important advice to any painter.  This loose painting of cats, (what my cats actually do most of the day) started with a number of drawings.  Quick charcoal sketches help for getting to know your subject and for planning a composition.

my easel with reference drawings

   After doing about a half dozen charcoal drawings of various cat poses, I picked my favorites and used them for reference while painting.  My models do not sit still for very long, so quick drawings, (lots of them) really help me to capture posture, and the attitude of each stance.

abstract layout

   I also use black and white chalk, to create an abstract of what I plan to paint, this is extremely helpful for planning the basic composition.   With this step I am not trying for any realism just light and dark contrast, and line movement.

   So when ever you have time grab a pencil, or charcoal stick and sketch.  You never know what those sketches will lead to.

Mary

30 in 30

Actually painted more than 30 paintings, but collaged the favorites for this post.

The hard part was not painting them, but stopping to post them.

Mary

Raining Cats and Cows

Bessie's Close-up,  14 x 11 inches, on canvas panel

"Blue Moo"  14 x 11 inches on wood panel

"Sun and Stripes"

For the last couple of days I have been finishing up some more cow paintings.  Between cats and cows I have been having a good time working with color and critters.  The 30 paintings in 30 days challenge had really kept me on a roll and it is hard to believe there is less than a week to go now.  Hope you have enjoyed this month as much as I have.   Added the latest 2 cows to my site on Artspan,  schirosart.com

   And my crazy cat is headed to a new home in New Mexico.

Mary

Music and painting

"Three Cool Cats"  Acrylic 23 x 29 inches

                                                     Prints available at Fine Art America

   Finished this one today and love it!  Acrylic on a full sheet of watercolor paper.  Finished this while listening to the song "Three Cool Cats" by the Coasters, and yep the song is now part of the painting.  So much fun letting music be part of the painting process!

If you want to hear the music here is a youtube link to the Coaster's song

https://youtu.be/7P5Er_qU5FE

The Beatles also did a version, just a fun song to listen to.

Mary

Working with Inks

14 x 11 inches, Ink, "Into the Wind"

                                                                                 

     Off and on I like pulling out inks to work with.  This painting "Into the Wind" was done with shellac based ink.  
     There are 4 types of inks I work with, india ink, walnut ink, acrylic ink and shellac ink.  Each ink has different characteristics.  India ink is classic, moderate work time, dries permanent and depending on the company making it, moderate to course pigment texture.  Walnut ink is a brown color, fine texture and works much like watercolors, in that it does not dry permanent, so it can be lifted after applying.  Acrylic ink I like best when working in mixed media.  Acrylic ink comes in many colors, fine grain, mixes well with regular acrylics, watercolor paints or pencils, and dries permanent.  Shellac ink is grainy, permanent, and dries quickly.
     Shellac based is something new for me, although it has been around a long time.  I am really loving the texture and bit of a shine it has when it dries.  Shellac ink dilutes well just like all the other inks for creating toned washes.  But what I like best about this ink is the very fast drying time. I just love the challenge of getting the brush work down fast, keeps me from over thinking the process.  I haven't tried it with mixed media yet so I have some thing to look forward to.
    Having something new to try really keeps me going, and with art there is always something new to try.
Mary

Play time and paint

Day 17 of 30 paintings in 30 days

14 x 11 inches, "Butter Queen"

                                                                                  Available at DPWs

Decided it was time to have some fun after working in monotones for the last few days.
Got my inspiration for painting cows from the site Paintloose.com
Besides finishing this cow today I had to paint a cat too.  Pretty productive day.

14 x 11 inches, "Sun and Stripes"

So nice to go wild with color and line again.

Hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I enjoyed painting them.

Mary

Study of trees

For the last few days I have spent my focus on tree studies in ink.  I am planning a large ink painting for my living room, mainly of pine trees.  But before starting the large painting I wanted to spend some time getting comfortable with my subject.

Amber Fringe,  11 x 14 inches

                                                                            

Although this is not pines it is my favorite of the studies I have done so far.  This painting was completed with shellac based inks, like these they are a bit thicker and also dry faster than acrylic or standard india inks.
   With ink as with most water media paints working in layer is a good plan.  Thought I would share a few of the studies showing 2 layer of each one.
 

These 2 studies I started with walnut ink, a dark brown ink that dries like watercolors, not permanent so it can be lifted until the work is sealed.  Added some acrylic ink washes for the final steps.

For the last one I used acrylic ink and tried to approach the subject in an abstract style.

Mary

Paint, ink, charcoal and the kitchen sink

Day 13 of 30 paintings in 30 days....

Sometimes it is fun to try a little of everything at once.  Started this painting with walnut ink, then added some acrylic paint.  Let it dry a while and out came the charcoal and some pastels. Think the only thing missing was the kitchen sink.  

Live, love, play and paint :)

Mary