Continuing still life jug bell and bird.....

Continuing Alla Prima......

Latest alla prima from last Monday - Laurie - 3 hr pose - very pleased -

So today - I drew a cast - and started painting it - a wonderful day that went in a trice  -Sara and I want our very  own casts - we wonder if they're expensive -  because they don't move and they just stay there - very still - for hours - we loved it - I painted  the background first - which seemed a really dark colour until it was explained to me my darkest dark was the mouth and under the brows - and that what appeared to be a very dark curtain was in fact  a mid tone - so I was thrilled to mix not only the right colour - but drum roll- the right value - ta da! Alizarin which I have fallen in love with - even though people complain about it's see thoroughness and non lightfastedness  -( I think it's a gorgeous colour and mixed with ultramarine it makes the most amazing dark black ) - mixed with vandyke brown which I met for the first time today( a wonderfully dark - dark warm brown) and a little raw umber and a tiny bit of white makes the most delicious deep red - the very colour of the curtain in fact - so that done - I vandyked my darkest darks - and squinted and turpsed and united (ish) my shadows - I so look forward to painting further another day

So 2 quick sketches of a Rodin outside the Cantor Museum at Stanford - immediately defying my tutor cos she wasn't with me - enjoying the curves and swiftness of it all - but then turning into a model student upstairs with this brilliant bronze I couldn't tear myself away from - where I had Pete's it's all about angles and Linda's tilts and triangulations heading me in the right direction - not until I realised that the negative space between the corner of the wall and the mans right arm had a lot to answer for -did I use my swish new eraser pen thing - and ended up running out of time - I will have to go back cos its absolutely riveting - a wonderful bronze it is - I'll take a pic - meanwhile below are my drawings

So to further Luma's portrait - I transferred it to a board and then painted with a fine brush - and light paint - I spent most of my time drawing way too heavily and then turpsing it out - but I got to the required delicateness in the end - ready to paint next week -

I am doing a still life painting course also - and I am so thrilled with my apple - I wasn't completely responsible for the vase - but I did all the apple - I put lots of rules into play having had it explained so clearly - all about  light and chroma - and if its a cool light it will be a warm shadow - and a pale version of the chroma round the highlight - amazing  -

More Alla Prima paintings

Here are the rest of my paintings from this particular course -  in order - haven't got the hang of adding text after images  -