Adelle's Blog Spot

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Category: Free Inquiry

TA DAAA

The big reveal.  In times where everything is so uncertain. And scary and up in the air. I think Art can combat those feelings and through that we can create a sense of calm. Doing this free inquiry project throughout the first semester of teacher school, solidified that I am put on this earth to create. And help others find that passion that I possess.

I had so many more plans to travel and see the big blue ball that I call home. Since Covid 19. I have found myself stuck, in my apartment. Some days I don’t even leave my house. Being able to paint an old photograph from Greece, where I lived before I got into art school. It helps me think that, Ill get to go back there sometime. The not so far distant future.

Getting Close to the Finish Line

Here are some recent photos of the painting. At this point of my free inquiry project, it basically done. I am just obsessing over small details and slight variations of colour and tint. 

Next week I will reveal the final product and the photo I have been working from. 

Building From the Wall Up

This week on “Painting With Oils”

I am now working on the depth of the wall and painting the shadows that will create the illusion of 3D on a 2D medium.This will allow depth to come into the painting and make the wall pop off from the background. For the shadows I am using a mix of blue and brown. This contrast from the red and yellows I added last week will provide harmony throughout the piece. 

This step will allow for my knowledge of colour theory. Blue and yellow are complimentary colours which balance out the tonal quality I am trying to achieve with this piece.  Adding the depth of shadow is making the brick/marble to pop out from the canvas. While still maintaining a monochromatic scheme of white.

It is really making me wish I could go back to Greece.

 

Continuing with an Endless Canvas of White

Welcome Back! 

Another episode on Painting with Oils. Last week I looked into texture and how I can build up the illusion of a wall – a very Greek Marble wall. I have continued to drain my tube of white paint and have used different pressures when applying the paint with my brush. I have also started to use different sizes of brushes in order to reach my intended feel and those hard to reach/ create spots on the canvas. I have started to add accent colours of red and yellow (ochre) near the bottom left hand corner to introduce rock and stone into the painting.  The colours are faint and subtle as I have mixed them in with the white to capture the desired tint. It does not look like much when you are staring at the same white canvas with only minor adjustments every 20 minutes. However, I think it is starting to come to life. The many, many hours given to this painting just might be paying off.  Hopefully, the photo I am recreating will be impressed. 

PS. I am sure you are wondering, where is this photo you keep talking about. I will reveal the final painting with the photo at the end of this inquiry project. I do not want you to have any expectations of how it is “supposed” to look. 🙂 

You’ll just have to keep tuning in each week for the chance to be a part of the final reveal.…

Building Texture – Research

This Week on:  Painting with Oils 

I will dive into a little bit of research with how to create texture. Although this video is aimed at abstract paintings verses the realism route, I am taking with my photo to painting approach. The video still helps me understand how to build up the texture by allowing the paint to have a mind of its own. By not forcing the paint to flatten on the canvas, it creates height and levels. This method can trick the eye into thinking it has a 3D effect when it is a 2D medium. Having the paint thicker and thinner in some parts can help the painting come to life. 

 

Tune in next week, to see the how I made out with creating texture. 

Applying Colour

Week 3

This week in my painting process update,  for my free inquiry project, I have started the colour.  The photo I have chosen to replicate with paint is a very greek looking brick/marble wall. I have realized this will be a lot of white. A LOT OF WHITE. As I started to paint over the brown base, I make purposeful brush strokes to highlight the indents and the depth and shadows in the image. I added some blues and yellows to create texture of shadows and the warmth in the highlights. I also applied thick stokes of clean white paint to create the traditional cobblestone like walkways of the Greek islands.

After a while, I started to get snow blindness with all of the white paint, not unlike how my eyes feel when I am using screens for 7 hours a day. It might be time to look away and give my baby blues a chance to rest. However, I am really enjoying this process, and it has become a great creative outlet to put my stress into. A way to decompress if you will. I am quite proud of myself for finding paint. I usually shy away from colour – I am a lover of white, grey and black.  I guess you could say I  have found a middle ground with a monochromatic paint scheme.

Tune in next week.

Swish & Flick ♥

Free Inquiry

Week 2

Getting the Base

With the start of a new week, I have started to gain momentum with my Oil painting project. I set up my dinning table as a makeshift studio. I found an old sheet and covered my table. I set up my brushes and paints. Then, I started by painting a base coat of brown. I have done this to create depth and build the painting up off the canvas. It is a slow process as Oil paints take up to 3 days to dry. It is also messy and does not come off easily off your hands – AND YOUR CLOTHES. I have surrendered an old t-shirt as a smock. I have noticed that Oil paints require a coarse, thicker brush compared to acrylic paintbrushes. This is because the paint is heavier, and thicker compared to its lighter, and thinner counterpart. I have printed off some old photographs I took when I was living in Greece studying Photography. I plan to use these as a template for my painting.

 

 

 

 

Learning to Paint with Oil Paints:

 

During the Winter of 2020, I started a Class with the Art Education Department on Painting. We were told to use only Acrylic Paints. This sparked my interest in using Oil Paints, as there is a historical relevance to this medium.  I had a lot of free time over the last 6 months because of the Lockdown and the Pandemic in a whole.  I used this time to expand my knowledge of Oil paints and canvases.