View Finder

I read an article about the use of a view finder when creating art out side. It helps you focus in on a composition. Being cheap I decided to make my own from left over cardboard. I love it. I use it too for still lifes. It helps me arrange a set up. To take it a step further, on difficult set ups like the one I am working on now, I tape some pieces of thread across it to make a grid. I then make the same grid on the painting surface and it make my life a lot easier.

I got the idea from Van Gogh who had a carpenter make a large frame on a tripod. In the frame he had a series of wires to make a grid.

Here is a picture of my view finder and my improved start for my painting.

Failure

I started a new painting. We have a cool candlestick holder that I always wanted to render. I found a table cloth that I thought would go well with it. But it needed something else. I tried a few things and finally settled on a bowl. I wanted something small to take your eye down to offset the orange candles. The brown in the bowl I want to lean closer to the orange in the candles to tie them together.

The composition is a little tricky (for me anyway). I took my time, tried measuring and such, but still couldn't get it right. So I gessoed the panel and will try again. One thing I learned is if it isn't right from the start, it will never be right. The best thing to do is start from the beginning.

Here is a picture of the set up and the failed drawing.

Candle over kill

I worked on the candle last night and way over worked it. I was able to glaze the blue area to my liking, but the candles got over worked. Oh well, on to the next piece.

Sketches

My son plays Magic the Gathering. He goes to a comic shop and meets up with other kids to play. To keep myself busy while there, I took my sketch pad. Here are a couple of sketches I did. The first is in graphite. They are sitting around a table drafting cards.
The second is my son and his friend playing the game. I used a conte crayon.

Candles part 1

It has been a while. I have not been been creating art in a long time now. I have been getting together with a friend who plays drums, so I have been practicing guitar lately.

Anyway, back to art. I have been wanting to try my hands at acrylic painting. I picked a simple subject, two candles, and went to town. I used canvas paper.

I painted like a deamon. Very intense. I thought I spent about two hours working, but when I looked at the clock it was only half an hour. I didn't like the canvas paper very much. I also didn't like the painting.

The next day I took another look and saw some merit in the painting. Started to think about changes I want to make. Then thought, I never have painted with acrylics before. I have not painted in a number of years. I only painted for a half an hour. What was I expecting?

So, I am going to make some changes to this painting and learn. I am going to try a couple of glazes over the blue to tone it down. Then I'll bring up the orange in the candles.