Painting 013 - 5/13

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Oil on gessoboard

8"x8"

Instead of avoiding blue things during my no blue challenge week, I decided that it was probably a good idea to explore how to tackle them head-on. So here is my snuggly blue blanket! I still need to work on drapery, and the edges aren't stellar, but it was a good exercise overall (in my opinion). I didn't use a strong, direct light in this one, either, which was a... choice, but which in itself has merits - not every illustration I'm going to be doing in my future will have the sort of contrasty light that I've been working on to-date.

Painting 012 - 5/12

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Oil on gessoboard

8"x10"

I decided to atone for the previous painting by tackling one of my biggest challenges to date: the glass. And what do you know? Apart from a really wonky, not-in-perspective circle for the rim of the glass  - and some strange things going on with the metal band as seen though a layer or two of glass - and something happening with the interaction of tea and teabag above the line of the water, I think I might actually have pulled it off properly! And without any blue, ohyeah.

But it wasn't until I put it next to the original glass that I got properly excited:

...because that, ladies and gents, is a week's worth of progress.

Painting 011 - 5/11

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Oil on gessoboard

8"x10"

Nnnn. God, this is embarrassing. The first day of my 'no blue' challenge, and I lose it all over the place: not enough paint, deeply flawed drawing, terrible edges...

I mean, it's a good lesson ("try harder not to suck") and a reminder how important it is to may attention to every aspect of a picture - but it's also a bad painting. Sorry ):

Painting 010 - 5/10

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Oil on canvasboard

8"x10"

While I'm generally pleased with the little-jar-of-medium (I think that's my linseed oil...) and pretty alright with that top (which I had before Inception - BRRRRRRRRM), the contrast is somewhat lacking. Or something - it's a painting I look at and go 'eh', even though I'm proud of pieces of it, and I'm not entirely sure why.

After I finished this painting, my roommate challenged me to take all blue pigments off of my palette for five days - a big deal, since I lean on my blues quite heavily. I accepted gravely.

Painting 009 - 5/9

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Oil on canvasboard

8"x10"

For some reason, I went into absolute shutdown over that mint. I painted the J pin without any real trouble, but the mint and its wrapper... I just couldn't do it. There wasn't even a good reason. This means, of course, that I'll be attempting it again, at a later date, but for now... augh.

Painting 008 - 5/8

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Oil on canvasboard

8"x10"

Why yes, this is my flask! It has Hello-Kitty-With-a-shotgun on the other side, but that seemed like it would be a bit much. I wanted a straightforward painting without hitting 'boring', and this, I think, fits the bill. The curve is a little off, and I didn't quite get the fingerprints right, but other than that it's perfectly acceptable.

Painting 007 - 5/7

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Oil on canvasboard

8"x10"

Oh man, this bear! It's from my childhood, made by the daughter of a family friend to hold any newly-orphaned baby teeth for ease of Tooth Fairy pickup. I knew it was creepy even back then, but I love it so.

Painting it was a challenge, mostly because I lost my mind and couldn't figure out how to paint mint-green fabric under warm light. But I got it eventually, and while it's not perfect, I'm pretty pleased with it.