"Shield" (5x7 oil on panel) painting process
Greetings,
Sometimes (most times?) my paintings are just about finding beauty in simple things.
Here is the setup. Just an apple wrapped in foil. The plan is to bring as much drama and focus as possible to those warm apple reds by making everything else complimentary and subservient (greenish, yet relatively unsaturated).
Empty restful space is an important factor in composition. If my apple were to take up the entire panel, there would be nothing relative to the apple to let it be special. The apple needs to be within just the right amount of non-special area for context. So the apple is allowed to be the "odd man out". Beginning stage:
And the finished small painting, "Shield" (5x7 oil on panel, 2015):
You'll notice I omitted the stem. Just a choice. I ask myself, does this element help or hurt the painting? Or neither? If something doesn't absolutely improve the painting, I try to leave it out.
Thanks for reading! -David
Wow, this is sooooo beautifully done! I love your style. Congratulations David!
Thank you!
Great job. I am always so impressed by your work.
I realize that this is a small piece, but in general, do you like to stick to the small and medium brushes or do you also break out the big boys?
That tinfoil is pretty spectacular. I am wondering, how exactly did you tackle the folds in the foil? Did you just block in your base shadow and then cut in all those light folds with your light gray or blue or whatever that is? Or did you work in sort of an additive and subtractive fashion?
I wonder because when I was still really new in oil painting it was my understanding that it was always best to block in your darkest and then cut out with your light colors, but now I am starting to see that isn't necessarily always the case and sometimes can make the job difficult for no apparent reason.
On the apple skin I really like the way you laid down your thick paint in the general areas and then blended it. All of my work is painted so thin that I really miss out on some of the great texture you have in your paintings. Another great job friend. Be well.
Yes! I try to use the biggest brush that gets the job done. For a painting this size, I definitely didn't go above a #4 bristle. But in the larger paintings, sometimes a 10 or 12 comes in handy. For the tinfoil it is just a case of back and forth, constantly correcting. I never get it right in the first try, and I work wet-into-wet so the order doesn't matter much. Yes!! Thick paint can be great in the focal areas. More paint in the lights = More reflected light to the viewer = more powerful. Thanks for the great comment.
Great sketch dude! Thanks for sharing🙂
Thanks!
I always look forward to your posts. This apple is very minimalist. Do you do prints or only sell originals? I could not tell from your website.
Currently I don't offer prints, just selling originals. Thanks for following my posts and for letting me know! :)
Your vision and skills are of the upmost in my mind. Followed, upvoted and resteemed. ...and shared to almost 7000 people on Twitter.
Peace
p.s. An upvote on my latest time lapse oil painting would be miuce?
Thank you!
how pure, how accurate, how precise is this work ! Every each touch of the paintbrush is just in the right place... every each tone of color is the right one ! what a mastery !
Thank you!!! :) :) I appreciate it.
I'm very excited to find your post on steemit, so good!
Awesome thanks!! :)
Dear Artist @davidcheifetz ! This post has been resteemed and upvoted from FineArtNow account ! See you soon !
Awesome, Thank you!
I think this is a helpful posting. Nice painting and good writing ^-^b
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it!
Good job
I think your work demonstrates a good pictorial technique.
👍nice to meet you
Thank you very much, and pleased to meet you as well.