Relaxing in a field: my latest oil painting with process documentation. Probably NSFW
Above is a closeup from my most recent oil painting. The complete work measures 20in. by 16in. It was done on a simple canvas panel.
The initial sketch was done directly on the canvas with charcoal and a stub of sepia chalk. Since I was just playing around, anything more complicated than this would have been overkill. With the drawing complete, I clamped the panel into the easel at an angle so that the excess oil in the wash used to block out the background dripped in my preferred direction.
After allowing this to dry overnight, I reoriented the canvas and covered the drawing with a rough sketch/underpainting.
Next, I made a wash of linseed oil and gold pigment, and splattered this all over the figures. This wash was brushed on perpendicular to the direction of the background wash's drip-texture, and allowed to run freely down the figures for several hours.
During this time, I used a knife and some titanium white, lemon yellow, cerulean blue, and raw umber to create a more grass-like background.
After a bunch more fiddly work with translucent washes, then stabbing clumsily at the canvas with a little flat bristle brush and various bits of whatever excess paint was on my palette, I ended up with this:
Beautiful! The textures look awesome.
Thanks! Part of why I like oils so much is that they can make painting almost like sculpting because of the textural possibilities: )
you can build up with acrylic as well, and it dries fast. Mix acrylic paint with modeling paste for great impasto. Acrylics are also a very good glue: if you like sculptural effects, try fabric soaked with acrylic mixture and modeling paste. You can even attack rocks securely to your canvas (for heavy stuff, I would recommend using panel rather than canvas).
A anecdote I like retelling is that Arik Brauer during his student days at the Academy in Vienna would sneak up to fellow students heavy impasto oil paintings and using a needle, would "milk" them for a few drops of paint. His own work was done with thin glazes in old master fashion.
Impasto oil paintings take forever to dry.
btw - I don't think this is nsfw. You should see what's at the Vatikan, lol
This is awesome! Probably right about the NSFW tag, it's more acceptable if he was killing her than showing love and affection in western society.
Sad but true. Anyway, in this case, not tagging it NSFW would probably have been okay, but I wanted to see if this post received more, less, or about the same amount of attention as other painting posts not tagged this way.
This is so heart warming -resteemed!
Awesome, @artwatch - Thanks!
What a beautiful process. Thank you for sharing this.
This is amazing @mada. How long have you been making art?
Thanks, @raizel! I've been making art my whole life, but had to re-learn how to do it from scratch about a dozen years ago following a serious injury.
You captured the emotion @mada. Brings me back to a time when I made love in a meadow to a beautiful women!
Right on, @knowtheropes: )
Very Great @mada - I especially love the facial expressions.
Thanks ... the facial expressions were one of my favorite parts of this one to work out: )
The real question is - who's the model and does she exist?
Yes, the models both exist.
Awesome......
Thank you!!!
Wow!! This is super beautiful !
I always love seeing the shots of the creation before the final shot.
Very inspiring. Makes me want to try drawing or painting. I haven't done this type of artistic medium in years..
:)
Thanks @acromott - glad you like it!