Trial & Error ― Painting With Oils #WIP

_{A WORK IN PROGRESS}

Hello there!

It is Sunday and I am having the best feeling in the world ― painting with oils! If I remember correctly, the last time I used oil is in 2015, just before I went to Dubai. It was a still life I painted from life which I later gave to my cousin @maryelsalatan.

For this post, I will (again) highlight the mistakes I made throughout the process.

If you are curious about the reference, you can click this link. It is my most favorite photograph and memory of Dubai, taken in early morning of December 2016.

When faced with a black canvas, my first initial reaction is, "How will I start?" I am one of those people who still get intimidated by a white surface, probably because I still lack the knowledge and skill of an artist most professionals have from years of practice and training.

My favorite solution? Underpainting.

Technically, underpainting is often a monochromatic representation of your values. It is an initial layer of paint which serves as your foundation as you subsequently add more layers of paint.

If you want to know more about it, kindly read the links below:

• "Dead Coloring," or Underpainting
• What Color is Your Underpainting? The Monochromatic and Two-Color Methods
• Underpainting: Why You Need to Do It
  
  
  
  

Now, what I am familiar of is cool and warm underpaintings which is basically values of gray and brown. If you saw my reference photo, it is a foggy morning which shouts cool a lot because of how I edited it, and it clearly represent the feeling I had back in that morning.

Unfortunately, your girl got too excited and started doing the underpainting using raw umber and titanium white ― a warm underpainting. For the record, it is still okay to use that, but if your style is all about representing the best atmospheric aspect of a painting, then it is best to know which underpainting to use and work from that.

Please be guided that I used oil over acrylic in this painting mainly because I want to paint right away as soon as the underpainting dries, and acrylic is perfect for that.

Another mistake I hated with all my being is wrong proportion. This has always been my problem as I get way too impatient with drawing. The result? Unflattering perspective that I had to correct in my first layer of paint.

COLORS USED: Pebeo Titanium White, Winsor & Newton Phthalo Blue, and Ivory Black.

I started painting the background which is just a gradient of cool gray, the center being the lightest. I added a bit of medium to the paint for it to glide on smoothly, making the transition as seamless as possible. Followed by the foreground in which I just splatter deeper shades of gray using the underpainting as guide for my values. Then I proceeded painting the subjects which are cars, road signage, and a person.

I admit getting way too ahead, realizing mistakes a little too late. I spent a good 3 hours just correcting my perspective, proportion, and values; and yet they still look warped and, uhm, ugly. This realization almost made me stop, but again, I remember the words of a good friend, he said, "done is better than perfect."

I continued with detailing despite the imperfection. After adjusting it to my heart's content, I took the painting out to dry so I can work on the second layer of colors later in the evening. I believe it'll dry quite quickly because I made sure I was doing the fat over lean principle in oil painting.

What do you guys think about the painting? Help mes by commenting down below. I am always open for any constructive criticism, specially that I am only a self-taught artist.

Also, please be reminded that my thoughts are purely based on my observations and early learning in painting, and in art in general. If I have given false belief, please do enlighten me.

Cheers!

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