Finger Painting

        Bid on at DWP

     This small still life really did start out as “finger painting”.

I often start a painting by putting down a colored gesso as my base to paint on, usually orange.  But in this case I used a light wash of red oil paint, thinned out with some odorless mineral spirits.  To do this, be careful to not get the paint so diluted that it actually runs, just thin enough to lift off easily.  The panel I used is an Ampersand gessobord which is ready to paint on.

      I covered the whole panel with a light coat of red, then used a soft cloth over my finger and pulled off the shape of the glass and bottle, especially the high light areas.  After that I mixed up a slightly thicker blue to put in the dark outlines and shadows, still mainly using my fingers and a soft cloth.

     With this paint being thin and wet it is easy to make corrections to shapes at this time, and really what I am looking for at this point is the over all masses of the composition.

    I let that dry over night and the next day finished the painting, this time using a brush and thicker layers of paint. 

Mary

 

Simply Fruit

simply an apple, 6 x 6 inches, oil on wood

Available  DPW auction

Started working on a small group of paintings, 6 x 6 inches on wood panels, all of fruit.  These are a small group of paintings that I think would be simple and elegant for a kitchen or dinning room.  And the subject is great practice for developing more skill with oil painting.  Did a practice one on canvas paper and liked the way it looked so did a finished one on a wood panel.
   If you can't think of a thing to paint here you go, raid the frig and then grab a paint brush ;)
Plan to see more fruit this week.

the first practice on canvas paper

 Mary

Painting and Dance

10" x 8", oil on canvas panel, still life, price $40

I had an interesting insight today, while reviewing one of my latest paintings.

This is an oil painting, so it is easy to make small changes during the long drying time.

I softened a few hard edges, and added a little bend to a few lines.  While doing that, my mind was wandering of to memories of dancing.  I studied Ballet for about 15 years (many years ago) and small moves were very important.  The tilt of the head, the bend of the back, or just the way fingers touched each other, all added to how graceful a move looked.  I guess it doesn’t matter which art form it is, little aspects accumulate to strength the overall quality.  

 Just my thought for the day. 

Mary Schiros

 

Extreme Gesso

"Roots" 24 by 24 inch acrylic on canvas, by MB Schiros

Putting gesso on my canvas use to be a boring part of painting, now I love it.

I have to give Caroline Jasper  http://www.carolinejasper.com  credit for this.

Carolines workshop got me started using red gesso for painting, and is still my favorite method to start an acrylic painting.  But sometimes I just have to experiment.

   Wanting to compare results of different background starts, I use 3 different colors of gesso to paint the same subject, a simple still life.  One sheet of watercolor paper was coated with a light green gesso, the second with a blue and the last with my favorite red.

  Thought I would share the results. Each has a slightly different mood to it, even though it is the same subject painted. I have to admit I feel bolder on a red back ground than any other color.

This still life started out on a blue ground

 This started with a light green gesso

this one started with a red gesso background

       And of course I had to go one step beyond, with a multi colored gesso start for a totally different subject.  Using a 24 by 24 inch wrap canvas, that I thought I would share the beginning step and the final result with you.  Holbein makes wonderful colored gesso, and Matisse makes what is called background colors that work very well, too Hope this inspires you to try something new.

This is just the gesso canvas, using a mix or red, blue and white gesso, and yes it is turned on it's side.  I find it much easier to paint stripes this way.  To see more of my work visit Art by Mary Schiros.  And please share my blog with your friends.

The Final painting..."Roots"

Play with Boldness

I bought some inexpensive canvas and just let the brush and the colors take control.
My only conscious decision was the colors to work with.
This is a wonderful release from detail and planning. I am not sure how I feel about what resulted, but I know is opened the door to a new adventure. There is some where I can go with these. Now it is time to pack and start the journey.