I Enjoy Being a Girl

I Enjoy Being a Girl - Stage 1

Someone recently asked if I had any blog posts that discussed the techniques I use, so I decided to take some process photos of a piece I was working on...hope this helps! 

With the still lifes in particular I start with a very rough sketch (with my brush and a color similar to the color I tone the panel, but slightly darker...usually a brown, yellow ochre, and white). Then I slowly make my drawing color darker in value and refine it into a tighter, more finished drawing. (shown above)

I Enjoy Being a Girl - Stage 2

The next thing I do is to start filling in the colors I see...going from the darkest darks to the lightest lights. This painting was tricky because I'm used to focusing on making things round...lightest in the center and then gradually getting darker, but all bets are off when you're painting something like chrome...I just played around with it...

I Enjoy Being a Girl - Stage 3

I Enjoy Being a Girl Study

6"x6"

Acrylic on panel

The finished painting! I deepened the darks and lightened the lights...put in all of the details, the foreground, background, and shadows....Since I use acrylics, I've found certain mediums very helpful, such as Golden Acrylic glazing gloss and liquitex slow dri blending medium. I've had a few great teachers. Clint (Clinton T. Hobart) has really helped me learn these techniques.