Saturday, September 29, 2007

Egg sketch #6


9/28: Egg sketch #6, oil on canvas panel, approx. 3x5 in.

This one went beyond 20 minutes - at some point I had to wipe out the inside of the egg to rethink it, as I didn't know where I was going. All I cared about showing was the shadow falling on the egg. I haven't really been racing against myself with these sketches, but just trying to get down something convincing in a short amount of time. Using color mixes that are sitting on the palette already (which is what I did for the most part) is sort of like coloring with a few shabby crayons picked out of some other kid's bucket when you're used to having all of yours lined up in the box, in a complete set all nice and clean. The process is a little different but you can do the same work - maybe sometimes better, almost as if you're trying to show this kid what you're capable of under the circumstances. This other kid, of course, is you....

Old English word of the day:
ǽg [ī]: egg.
Very close to its modern German relative. It is interesting to me that the O.E. "egg" sounded more like our modern "eye," and vice versa (eye=éage). Curiously in this case the Old Norse spelling/pronunciation would take hold in Britain, what with all the Vikings plundering and then settling (wícing=pirate) - which caused the Anglo-Saxons' own word to disappear. Some other English words would lose out in this way, though not always to become obsolete. Compare for example the Scandinavian-derived "skill" to the English "craft," "anger" to "wrath," "skin" to "hide," and "husband" to "man." Damn Vikings....

Friday, September 28, 2007

Egg sketch #5


9/27: Egg sketch #5, oil on canvas panel, approx. 3x5 in.

I think this was around 20 minutes - probably could have been quicker if I wasn't reshaping the bottom edge repeatedly because of sloppiness. It has been really interesting to see what I can do when thinking more reactively, not having much time to overthink.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Egg sketch #4

9/26: Egg sketch #4, oil on canvas panel, approx. 3x5 in.

This was around 17 minutes. The egg is sitting on a rumpled paper towel.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Egg sketch #3

9/25: Egg sketch #3, oil on canvas panel, approx. 3x5 in.

I kept track this time - this was about 16 min. These studies just prove that even when I think I don't have time I could easily put an egg under a lamp and paint it.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Egg sketch #2


9/24: Egg sketch #2, oil on canvas panel, approx. 5x3 in.

Same amount of time on this one. I was pretty tired, wasn't concentrating much, and almost forgot to place the highlight. And now that I'm awake I notice that the shape is square on one side.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Egg sketch


9/23: Egg sketch, oil on canvas panel, approx. 3x5 in.

It felt weird not doing anything from observation on Saturday so I did this in about 10 minutes or so with some colors (brighter than usual) that were already mixed on my palette. Or perhaps it was 15-20 minutes after some fudging along the top edge of the egg to smooth the shape - which made it a little less "furry," otherwise it's a pretty spontaneous and fresh egg study. Who would have thought I'd keep going back to eggs?

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Work in Progress: Polar bears


9/22: Here's part of the sketch for a painting I'm working on for Highlights. They had dropped the deadline for it a while back but the other day decided that they do want to use it, so I'd better wrap it up soon. This was my painting work for the day....