Works from my semester at Otis...

Maximalism

 

  "The Assist"  

3ft x 4ft

Gold Leaf and Oil on canvas

Exhibition Invitation

Here is some of the work I did this semester at Otis.  The image to the left is the invitation for our Maximalism Exhibition (I did not design the invitation, just adding it here for fun).  The image above is the piece I had in the show.  The photo below is of the reception we had at Knox.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nothing Comes From Nothing

"Untitled"
7" x 7"
Mixed Media and Gold Leaf on Wood

This is a preliminary version of one of my portable altar pieces.  The image is set inside a cigar box covered with gold leaf.

"Wonder Woman"
42" x 30"
Oil on Canvas

Still trying to decide if I want to do a glaze over this Wonder Woman piece to vintage it out.  I don't usually play with this graphic novel style, but it was nice to venture out beyond my confort zone for a change.

"Rococo Wonder Woman"
11" x 17"
Ink and Oil Pencil on Paper

An evolution of the above project - a collaboration with Arielle who did the amazing inking on this piece.  

"Hanuman 2013"
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas Paper

Just a fun project with my favorite monkey, Josh.  It's been a while since I've done a portrait of him so I thought it was time.  I love my Josh.

Works In Progress...

Angels

 

  "The Harvest"  

Acrylic on canvas

6ft x 6ft

I still have a lot of work to do on this one but I wanted to post it to show where my painting skill is at the moment.  I really think that you can still see the struggle in my painting but I'm working on that.  The image is of an angel harvesting cash out of the clouds.  This started off as a collage...

Collage

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Collage

Here is one I designed for my mother -
Beauties bathing as an angel gets her wings....

I started out with this collage and blew it up for the painting.  The collage is only 2" x 3" and the final painting is 4ft x 4ft.    This one still needs a lot of work as well.  I am hoping to have it done within the next few weeks so I can deliver it shortly after the new year.

Painting

"Epic Win"
4ft x 4ft

Oil on Canvas

Girl-Interrupted

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have had to take a break from attending Kline Academy due to school starting.  I unexpectedly received funding to go and now I am currently attending Santa Monica College in pursuit of my Business-Marketing degree with certification in Entrepreneurship.  Next semester I will be attending Otis College of Art and Design to finish my Bachelor's in Fine Art-Painting.  I only have one semester left and I am so excited to go back to Otis.  

Despite my change of circumstances I am still pursuing my desire to master painting.  The Mandala is retired for now.  At this point you will be able to see me work on my personal projects, not just student projects.  Again, I am just learning - have done relatively few paintings.  I have nothing but trial and error guiding me now (and the occasional Youtube video).

I welcome your comments and suggestions.  I will try to reply to them as soon as I can.  I hope you enjoy this change in the blog or at least find my struggle amusing. :)

Day 6 

Mandala

 

Day 6 Supplies:

Canvas:

Your Mandala

Oil Paints:

Yellow Ocher
Cadmium Red Light
Ivory Black

Titanium White (Williamsburg preferably)
Your mixed value series

Brushes:

1/8" to 3/4" brights series

Misc:

T-shirt rags

Palette (round or square - whichever you prefer) or

Palette Paper (grey - not white)

Vegetable oil for cleaning brushes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adding Color:  Yellow

Finally I am ready to apply what I learned in the color workshop to my Mandala.  It's not necessary to take the color workshop to do this, but I found it very helpful when I was mixing my colors.  This value series is more complex than our grayscale with just raw umber and white.  I am mixing cad red light and ivory black to yellow ocher in order to get the darks.  If I just mixed the yellow ocher with the ivory black I would end up with a green as the ivory black has a bluish hue.  So I add cad red light to keep it neutral.  I kept my midtone as pure yellow ocher and added white to it to get my light series.

Just like with the previous steps, I started with my midtone, yellow ocher - laying it down right on top of my grayscale.  Then, since my colors were already mixed, it was easy to just add the lights and darks as I did before.

I also used the yellow ocher in the outer crescent to fill out the circle...

On a different note...

We got two new students in class tonight.  It seems the more people we have the more fun it is in class.  They are just now starting the Mandala.  I am no-longer the newbie.  But I have to pick up my pace or they will catch up with me.

I am also the first person to apply this Zorn palette to the mandala project here.  It's a little intimidating as I have nothing to compare it to.  I have no idea what this is supposed to look like if I do it correctly.   

2-Day Color Workshop: Zorn Palette

2-Day Color Workshop

Zorn Palette

 

Color Workshop Supplies:

Canvas:

2 Canvas Boards:  Provided by Kline Academy

Oil Paints:

Yellow Ocher
Cadmium Red Light
Titanium White
Ivory Black

Brushes:

Small and Medium Sable Flats and Filberts

Misc:

Palette Knife (Medium-sized)
Paper Towels
Plastic Trash bag
Small jar with Walnut Oil or Linseed Oil for cleaning brushes (NO TURPS)
Large glass palette or wood palette (Stay-wet container with glass inside, glass should have grey or brown paper underneath, no mixing on white surfaces!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Color Mixing Workshop:  Zorn Palette

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the 2-Day Color Mixing Workshop at Kline Academy.  Sixteen students piled into the back studio to learn the nuances of the Zorn Palette...  a limited series of colors suited well for mixing skin tones.  Since the next step of my Mandala would be focussed on the Zorn Palette, I thought it a good idea to learn what this palette was all about.

Anders Zorn

I don't know much about Anders Zorn except that he is the one who popularized using this series of colors to mix rich, beautiful skin tones.  His paintings are lush and lively with radiant light reflecting off the surface of his figures.  I found it hard to believe that he only used 4 colors to mix such a wide range of skin tones and was eager to learn the secret behind his genius.

The Process

Color Wheel Template

We were given two canvas boards painted a neutral pearl grey and with one - a color wheel was traced on the surface and the other - the outlined figure of a man.  The color wheel we were to create first and then that would be used to help us recreate a color study of the man on the other board.

Above you can see the three colors we were working from - Yellow Ocher, Cadmium Red Light and Ivory Black.  The primary colors were painted into the inner wheel then we used white to create the 4 gradient tints radiating outward.  The trick was to create transitions that were as seamless as possible - meaning there were only slight jumps from one tint to the other - not drastic ones.

Next, we filled in the inner wheel between the primary colors...  Those colors were also tinted with white to finish out the wheel.  The strip to the side was made up of all three colors to create a pure neutral greyscale. 

Finished Color Wheel

Below is the male figure we used to implement our color study.  We used a process of "tiling" - meaning that we weren't trying to create a blended reproduction of a photograph, but instead were "tiling" colors from the color wheel where they best matched the larger shapes within the image.  The effect reminds me of camouflage uniforms.

Unfinished Color Study

If you are interested in this process, painting flesh-tones or just want experience in being able to control the colors you mix, you should take this workshop.  Our instructor, Brianna Lee did such an excellent job walking us through the color wheel that I feel unqualified to try to explain it myself any further.  The workshop itself was a blast and I met many new friends.

I am finishing up my color study in my regular Beginning Oil Painting class before I move on to finish my Mandala with the Zorn Palette.  I will post photos of the finished work when I am done.

A Little Time-Out 

Varnishing

 

Varnishing Supplies:

Canvas:

Your finished painting

Varnish:

In this Demo, Dina used retouch varnish by Grumbacher

Brushes:

Foam/sponge Brush

Misc:

Disposable plate or tray

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Varnishing

One of the great things about my art class is the impromptu demo.  Here Dina showed us how to varnish a painting done by our June Student of the Month, Nicole.

Dina used retouch varnish, which is a varnish that you can paint over after it has dried.  There are varnishes that you can't paint over so it's important to pay attention when purchasing your varnish.  She poured a small amount of varnish onto her tray and with her foam brush made vertical and horizontal strokes across the surface of the painting...

You have to work quickly as it is pretty thick and dries fast.  Make sure you don't use so much that it puddles or drips down the sides of the painting.  You can lift the painting and use the reflected light to see any spots that may have been missed...

Here is the finished product.  You can see how the varnish adds depth to the painting where the dark areas previously appeared flat.

On a different note...

Cheryl Kline Maintains a beautiful garden between the two buildings which is where we did this demo.  There is also seating and a fountain with lily pads that make a wonderful oasis to retreat to when not painting.

Day 5 

Mandala

 

Day 5 Supplies:

Canvas:

Your Mandala

Oil Paints:

Raw Umber (any brand)

Titanium White (Williamsburg preferably)
Your mixed value series

Brushes:

You will only be using brights during this part of the Mandala.  I only had 3 bright brushes to work with (1/4", 1/2" & 3/4" Wash/Shaders).  I recommend having a couple of smaller brights as it will help getting into the corners.

Misc:

T-shirt rags

Palette (round or square - whichever you prefer) or

Palette Paper (grey - not white)

Vegetable oil for cleaning brushes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mandala Shading (cont'd)

Shading: 3 Largest Crescents

This is probably the most satisfying part of the Mandala so far as it fills in the 3 largest areas and gives me a better idea of how the finished product will look.  First I laid down the mid-tone as follows:

Note that there are now 6 areas set aside for my darks and lights  Remember - the idea is to have a mid-tone to paint into so blending is easier.  I had to make special effort to cover my lines now that I have edges connecting and not just corners...

Laying down my white -  I had to go over this several times to get a nice blend to the fan shape.  Here you see it in the preliminary stage...

The upper edge was the trickiest part.  I wanted just a sliver of dark up there with it keeping true to the crescent shape.  I had to redo this part about 8 or 9 times - starting apprehensively along the edge and working my way into the wet mid-tone.

When getting into the corners I wanted to mirror the previous color as much as possible for symmetry.  Up close you can really see how rough my edges are (cringe).  To make matters worse, somewhere along the line I managed to lean on the wet part of another section of the Mandala and smeared paint in areas it didn't belong...  Oops. 

 Pardon me for a moment while I clean this up a bit...

There, that's better.  Though I wasn't able to completely remove the smudges, it's definitely a vast improvement.  Note to self:  Learn to paint without using the painting for a support.  Dina does this well and makes it look so easy.

On a different note...

I know I could work faster on the Mandala by doing more as homework.  But I am more concerned with learning the technique than I am in finishing the piece.  There are no due dates at Kline Academy.  Everyone is at a different stage in their work.  Some have just started their Mandala, like me...  others are working on their 3rd, 4th, or 5th assignment.

What I get out of taking my time is the one-on-one instruction I get from Dina.  If someone were to have given me the instructions for doing the painting and walked away, I would have a much different Mandala than I have now.  Too many times I needed help with this project to think I could do it on my own.

For beginning painters...  Don't try this at home!  Seek professional help or paint at your own risk. :)

Day 4 

Mandala

 

Day 4 Supplies:

Canvas:

Your Mandala

Oil Paints:

Raw Umber (any brand)

Titanium White (Williamsburg preferably)
Your mixed value series

Brushes:

You will only be using brights during this part of the Mandala.  I only had 3 bright brushes to work with (1/4", 1/2" & 3/4" Wash/Shaders).  I recommend having a couple of smaller brights as it will help getting into the corners.

Misc:

T-shirt rags

Palette (round or square - whichever you prefer) or

Palette Paper (grey - not white)

Vegetable oil for cleaning brushes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mandala Shading (cont'd)

Shading: 3 Triangles Connecting Crescents

This part of the Mandala is a little different.  Instead of just a couple of corners being darkened in, in this part - one whole edge and two corners are dark.  Remember to start with the mid-tone, leaving the upper edge and the three corners empty.  On this one I filled in my white first, giving it the arch to mirror the white arch in the triangle below it.  Then I applied raw umber to the outer corners and along the top.

When applying to the top, these areas were just 1/8" thick with each shade.  This allowed plenty of room for blending.  Here is where I found it really challenging to be stuck with only 3 brushes.  I did nearly this entire section with my 1/4" bright.  Because of this, my paint ended up streaky and I lost some of my good edges to blending with too large a brush.  Trying to get a smooth transition into the corners was a challenge as well, but I really liked the end result.

To clean up edges I used the tiniest amount of oil on a clean brush.  This isn't always possible when you are trying to clean up an area where the underlying paint is still wet.  Luckily, though, my adjacent layers had dried in this case and I was able to come off with a nice, crisp line.

On a different note...

The subject came up about brushes.  It seems it is not always easy to tell what kind of brushes you are using as  every manufacturer has their own way of labeling and it's not always written on the side.  For this beginner I got a lesson in the difference between brights and flats.

Brights are what we are using on the Mandala as they are shorter than flats and thus give you more control.  The width and length of the hairs are about equal on brights.  These are good for short brush strokes.  Flats on the other hand have longer hairs and are better for long, sweeping strokes as they can hold more paint and maneuver more easily.

Day 3 

Mandala

 

Day 3 Supplies:

Canvas:

Your Mandala

Oil Paints:

Raw Umber (any brand)

Titanium White (Williamsburg preferably)
Your mixed value series

Brushes:

You will only be using brights during this part of the Mandala.  I only had 3 bright brushes to work with (1/4", 1/2" & 3/4" Wash/Shaders).  I recommend having a couple of smaller brights as it will help getting into the corners.

Misc:

T-shirt rags

Palette (round or square - whichever you prefer) or

Palette Paper (grey - not white)

Vegetable oil for cleaning brushes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mandala Shading (cont'd)

Shading:  Outer edge of the smaller 3 circles

So today I got to move onto the next part of the mandala.  The process is very similar only instead of starting in the corners with the white, I had to start in the middle.  This, of course is after I laid down my mid-tone on each side of the crescent shape - careful to leave a small area to start with the raw umber in the corners and white in the center.

Next I went in with the white in the center of the crescent shape using an arching motion on each side...

In the image you can see the banding that appears.  This tends to blend in when I lay down my 2nd and 3rd tones.  Any banding that remains I can blend with a dry brush.  Next, I put in my Raw Umber and blended...

Here is the end result....  The process repeats until all three crescents are done.

Day 2 (Part 2) 

Mandala:  Shading

Mandala Shading

Day 2 Supplies:

Canvas:

Your rub-out Mandala

Oil Paints:

Raw Umber (any brand)

Titanium White (Williamsburg preferably)
Your mixed value series

Brushes:

You will only be using brights during this part of the Mandala.  I only had 3 bright brushes to work with (1/4", 1/2" & 3/4" Wash/Shaders).  I recommend having a couple of smaller brights as it will help getting into the corners.

Misc:

Thin palette knife (best for mixing paint)

T-shirt rags

Palette (round or square - whichever you prefer) or

Palette Paper (grey - not white)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mandala Shading

Shading the Mandala

Starting with the inner 3 triangular shapes and my mid-tone, I painted nearly the whole area with my 3/4" brush - leaving only the corners.  This gives me something to paint into - a wet medium to blend my values.  

Next I took my 1/2" bright and painted the white corner with a slight arching motion to my stroke.  The whole corner is pure white, then I moved one brush width down and made a second stroke...  then a third.  By now my brush had run out of paint.  Dina says to just keep going until you use up the paint on the brush.  You can start to see the paint blending as the brush also picks up the mid-tone that I am painting into.  It's important that you don't go back without wiping your brush first or you will drag the darker value into the lighter and ruin the effect..

At this point I moved to my second value...  loading up my brush and starting with the place where I took my second stroke, I laid down my second value.  Then again, kept stroking into the mid-tone until my brush ran out of paint.  I was being careful to keep up the arching motion with my stroke, giving the values a radiating quality to their appearance.

Repeating a third time with my third lightest value, I started laying down the paint where I took my third stroke.  Once more, I kept stroking until my brush ran out of paint.  My strokes were a little bit rough and left me with a banded appearance to the paint.  Dina showed me how to lightly stroke my dry brush over the paint to blend into the mid-tone. When doing this - the brush barely touched the surface of the painting.

Using my 1/2" bright  (would have been better if I had a smaller brush) I repeated the process in the same way with the three darkest values. Starting with pure raw umber in the corners, I took my next two values and blended them out in the same way as my light values. 

I tried to imagine with each stroke that the corner was the center of a circle and I arched my motion around so that this corner would take on the partial shape of that circle.  Getting the strokes to match up into the same circle I have seen really enhances the finished product of the mandala.  It helps give the effect of vibration or radiating light.  If I am successful you will see this in my final work.

When finished, I blended the streaks out then moved on to start the next triangular shape.  Dina wasn't kidding when she said this was all about repetition.  I did find it easier the second time though - and even easier the third.  By the time I was done I felt accomplished and was much happier with the result than I was with the rub-out.

It was time to clean my brushes and pack up.   Dina showed me how to use plain oil to clean my brushes first and dry with a rag.  This makes it much easier to clean all the paint off when I go to the sink and use soap.  This also keeps large amounts of paint from going into the sink drain which is a no no.