Testing, testing...more testing

Last week I shared my enthusiasm for

attempting some "quick" oil sketches...pieces

that would take no longer than 2 sessions and

a couple hours total.  I think these

are becoming my version of the potters'

"test tiles."

In the pottery world test tiles are little experiments where glazes and temperatures are tested on various clays for the sole purpose of gathering data and information.  Almost like paint chips, each tile contains a vast amount of data for those who know what they are doing.  I've been puzzling over what the painters' version of such might be and I believe for me they are these 12 x 9 oil sketches I am doing.  Purposely not investing a lot of time in each, I am aiming to test composition, tone and technique with each.  Even when the results are yucky they hold important information for future use.

For instance:

Remember the odd start to a black cow last week?

Here she is finished.  There is a lot NOT to like about this piece, however I have made a valuable note never again to paint from an unclear photo (black on black cow or dog = trouble).  I also don't like the fact that the lighting was not definitive and thus not very interesting.  Trash the reference photos I took, lesson learned.  And learned before I invested a week's worth of time, a larger canvas and a lot more paint!

Here's another test tile:

I almost went too far on this "first pass."  I began to get caught up in the wood of the broken fence and almost forgot that what attracted me to take this photo was all the angles in the composition.  It really did not need to have each leaf and flower defined...I wanted to play with light and dark angles.

Next pass:

I'm stopping here.  And on the back I will make a note to remember that the background can be even less defined as long as the opposing angles show up in juxtaposition to the fence.  I think I will keep this reference, and this test and consider doing a larger one...in fact, it would be real scholarly of me to jump up a size and paint it again  I should make additional notes and then move up to a very large canvas ...  masterpiece size.

 Because speed and simplicity is one of the defining factors of these trial runs I don't really spend a lot of time mulling over the colors.  I tend to start a palate and then "make do" noting where something more interesting might be good to try.  Below is one of the messes I got myself into by not clearing the colors between each sketch.

Last test tile for this week:

I picked this because the backlighting is always so beautiful but difficult to pull off.  I get nervous seeing that the first plane of the picture is so dark and ill defined.  So this was going to be a push if I went where it needed to go.  The first session was in acrylic as (you guessed it) the paints were out from something else.

Next day in oil:

And, even though I did not touch the tree trunks and the dark foliage could be even more massed in, I will leave it here.  I have enough info to make notes; things like 'a more interesting water body', handle 'trunk treatment' and indicate far shore line and foreground rocks.

Im not sure why I have resisted doing this more often in the past.  I think the key for me is having everything set up and ready to go the minute I enter the studio.  No delay and no deep thinking.  It is ok to stop even without a finished product, something I usually am hesitant to do.

Hopefully one of these test tiles will prove worthy of becoming a piece all on its own.  I hope so.

TESTING 1, 2, 3...

Cindy

Sketching in Oil

After a winter that wouldn't quit, spring has finally arrived

 in the mountains of western North Carolina.  

Energy is evident everywhere and it's contagious!  I am 

out of the rabbit hole, back from western travels and...ready to paint!  

Thank you for traveling with me.  

Let's get back to the easel.

It's easy to use "spring cleaning" as a delay tactic when wondering just where to start on a new painting venture.  If I find myself dusting shelves or cleaning toilets I know I am sinking in that land called "procrastination."  So I gathered up a stack of 9 x 12 canvases, put them on the table of my studio with a paintbrush and pile of photos nearby.  This is my "warm up" station.  The theory is to tackle one photo and one canvas quickly....not agonizing over every little detail.  To get in, get out and be done in no more than 2 quick sessions.  Good or bad results don't matter; the deal is to get your hands dirty and your mind tuned up...like stretching before a run.

I was so enthusiastic on my first day that I forgot to take early photos....I could hear the mental clock ticking and wanted to get my session in before I lost my steam.  So here is what the first swipe gave me:

Please don't recall that I once swore never to paint cows....after a week with grandchildren the expression on this calf made me giggle so I had to do him.  I let him dry, went on to bigger stuff and returned the next day to finish up.

Done.  Remember, it's an exercise....trying to draw in oil and work with what goes down.  Warming up.

So today while out sketching on a nearby farm I met another cow...this one had the cutest harlequin face with a white heart and a triangle just below it.  I tried so hard to photograph her and of course she would glance down as soon as the camera came out. But I wanted to try.

Now, if there is one thing harder than painting (or photographing) a black dog, it is a black cow!

Nothing shows up!

See what I mean?

But I'm going to try and this time I captured the rough stuff for you to see.

Really rough...but warming up.

Time to quit for today.

I may actually start using a timer so that I don't get overly involved in these warm-ups and defeat the purpose.  But for now this is fine.  I'm sure this baby will morph a bit when I return.

I hope spring has you contemplating new projects and ideas.  I have a feeling that flowers will be next up on my agenda...they are so incredibly gorgeous right now; and I think I remember saying that I would never paint flowers, so it is about time!

Warming up....literally, figuratively and colorfully,

Cindy