Oil Painting in Progress

Hi Everyone!

I have been having some fun creating a couple of oil paintings over the past few weeks and I thought that I would share some of this process with you.

"Lilac Still Life 1"  Oil on stretched canvas  12 X 12"

This is the completed painting.  Below are some of the steps I went through painting it.

In this image you see that I have begun blocking in the areas that will be further developed later on.  This is pretty much a mapping out stage that I often refer to in my classes as "place holding".  I'm kind of plunking general shapes in there to get a sense of the over all scheme.

Here you can see that I have spent quite a bit of time creating depth and detail in the flowers....my favorite thing to paint.  I have also begun to form the bowl, giving it a sense of three dimensions.

The grapes are being added along with more detail to the bowl in which they partially sit.  I have gone into the background a bit to smooth out transitions in this area as well as begun creating shadows under items.

This image shows the painting at a point where it is just about completed.  I love the light in this image (I must have done something right when taking the photograph!).  You can see how I have worked to develop a focal area through the use of value (light and dark) and contrast (soft vs. hard edges).  Some fallen petals have been added to help move the eye through the painting.

I hope you have enjoyed this virtual demo.  I plan to offer project based classes in oil where we will complete paintings such as this.   Drop me a line and let me know if this is a class that would interest you.  

Keep Strong and Paint On!