Arto's Art

Charcoal portrait

2012-01-30T00:39:00.002+02:00

Charcoal on paper, 42x59 cm

Porvoo

2012-01-17T00:28:00.000+02:00

Porvoo is a beautiful little town, less than an hour away from Helsinki.

Oil on canvas, 50x33 cm

Cold day

2012-01-08T19:43:00.001+02:00

My first painting this year.

Oil on canvas, 35x27 cm

Flooding river

2011-12-28T21:33:00.000+02:00

Oil on canvas, 41x33 cm

Green scarf

2011-12-08T18:08:00.001+02:00

Oil on panel, 24x33 cm

At parque del buen retiro

2011-12-06T22:25:00.001+02:00

Oil on canvas, 73x100cm

Detail

Museo Sorolla - High res paintings #1

2011-11-30T20:23:00.000+02:00

Last summer I visited Museo Sorolla in Madrid, the former studio of Valencian Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923). It was great to see all those brilliant paintings! Photography was allowed, so I snapped some photos of the masterpieces so I could study them later at home. I'll post the high resolution images here, so you can study them too. Enjoy!

There was a nice garden outside the museum.

Self portrait, unknown dimensions

Madre, 125x169cm

El baño del caballo, 250x205cm

El balandrito, 100x110cm

Nadadores, Jávea, 90x126cm

Niño jugando en la playa de Valencia, 50.2x34.5cm

Pescadora con su hijo, 128.5x90.5cm

Saliendo del baño, 130x150.5cm

Una investigación, 122x151cm

Elmo

2011-11-23T14:03:00.003+02:00

I'm honored to be the godfather of Antti's son, Elmo.

Compressed charcoal and white chalk on blue Strathmore charcoal paper, 30x40 cm

WIP

French braid

2011-11-14T18:48:00.001+02:00

Pastel on paper, 24x35 cm

Figure painting

2011-11-12T18:07:00.000+02:00

I painted again at yesterday's life drawing session.

Oil on canvas, 46x33 cm

Old granary

2011-11-06T22:10:00.000+02:00

Oil on canvas board, 33x41 cm

I forgot my easel so I had to improvise...

Sketchbook #24

2011-10-23T00:41:00.000+03:00

Conté Carbone on paper, 21x30 cm

Figure drawings from friday

2011-10-18T22:44:00.001+03:00

This was an hour's pose (3x20mins).

Sepia and white chalk on paper, 38x46 cm

Sepia on paper, 38x46 cm

Sepia and white chalk on paper, 35x53 cm

Figure sketch

2011-10-09T15:01:00.000+03:00

Oil on panel, 24x33 cm

10th hole

2011-10-02T23:32:00.000+03:00

Espoo Golf Club's 10th hole.

Oil on canvas, 46x38 cm

Standing nude

2011-09-23T23:43:00.000+03:00

From today's life drawing session. I decided to bring my paints with me this time, instead of the usual charcoal. I used a limited palette to save time in color mixing: titanium white, yellow ochre, permanent red medium, ultramarine and ivory black.

Oil on canvas, 30x48 cm

September landscape

2011-09-11T19:45:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas panel, 41x33 cm

Zorn paintings in high resolution #4

2011-08-28T23:50:00.000+03:00

More photographs from last year's Zorn museum visit. I hope you enjoy them!
Click the images to see them in full size.

Midsummer dance (2nd version, 1903), 117.5x90 cm

The little brewery, 47.5x78 cm

Monsieur Mauri, 81x60.5 cm

Mrs. Howe, 124.5x91.5 cm

Mrs. J Donald Cameron, 147.5x113.5 cm

Thomas Wheeler, 79x58.5 cm

Sparf Anders, 89.5x60 cm

Sewing lace, 42x48 cm

A couple watercolors:

Daiduscha, 45.5x30 cm

I could feel the sunlight in this one, it was incredible!

Fish market in St. Ives, 100x67.5 cm

Anders was a master in sculpting too:

If I remember right, this was a jewelry box made for Emma.

Fountain figure I, bronze

Previously posted:
Visit to Zorn museum
Zorn paintings in high resolution #1
Zorn paintings in high resolution #2
Zorn paintings in high resolution #3

Mother and son

2011-08-25T20:09:00.001+03:00

Oil on canvas, 94x73 cm

I had to extend the Zorn palette with cad yellow medium and ultramarine deep to get more vibrant greens and blues.

Self portrait

2011-08-16T00:07:00.003+03:00

I decided to sit in front of a mirror and do my first self portrait. I also used the "Zorn-palette" for the first time. My palette consisted of titanium white, yellow ochre, permanent red medium and ivory black. I think I'm going to use it in the future also, it was kinda fun! The mixing is much easier, since there are so few colors.

This, by the way, is my 100th painting.

Oil on canvas, 27x35 cm

Top lit nude

2011-08-11T19:42:00.000+03:00

I felt like working with pastels for a change.

Pastel and compressed charcoal on paper, 50x70 cm

Imatra rapids

2011-08-07T14:31:00.002+03:00

Oil on canvas, 41x61 cm

Progress shots:

Light and shadow

2011-08-05T23:28:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas, 40x34 cm

9 years

2011-08-05T01:50:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas, 40x50 cm

Summer night

2011-07-23T20:38:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas, 48x30 cm

Entering the sea

2011-07-11T02:10:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas, 38x46 cm

Amos chasing girls

2011-07-08T10:10:00.000+03:00

I had a blast painting this!

Oil on canvas board, 38x46 cm

Mother and daughter

2011-07-07T15:42:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas panel, 65x54 cm

Smoke sauna

2011-06-26T22:25:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas, 27x35 cm

Undressing

2011-06-22T23:48:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas panel, 46x55 cm

Detail

Visit to Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

2011-06-20T23:19:00.003+03:00

We just returned from a trip to Spain. I managed to squeeze in a few museum visits while there. Not all museums allow photography, but I'm happy that a few does. Here I'm posting high-res images of paintings and sculptures that I liked from Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, located in Barcelona.

Click the images to see them in full size. I hope you enjoy them!

Ramon Casas - Self portrait 20.5 x 24 cm

Ramon Casas - Laziness 54 x 65 cm

The painting above was full of awesome, subtle color shifts, which sadly my camera couldn't capture.
I really like Ramon Casas's work.

Ramon Casas - Over my dead body 50.5 x 61.5 cm

Detail

Ramon Casas - Study 35.5 x 44 cm

Romà Ribera - Woman in evening gown 29 x 40 cm

Detail

Francesc Masriera - In the precence of the lord 93 x 191.5 cm

Detail

Joaquim Vayreda - The beginning of spring 80.5 x 48.5 cm

Detail

Mariano Fortuny - Moroccan farrier 66.5 x 49 cm

Detail 1

Detail 2

Joaquin Sorolla - Portraits of Elena and Maria with Old-fashioned Valencian Costumes 188 x 253.5 cm

This was the first painting by Sorolla that I saw in person (but not the last!) He was a painter of light!

Detail

Josep Llimona - El bany, Marble

The sculptures by Josep Llimona were amazing.

Josep Llimona - Desconsol, Marble, 66.4 x 78.8 x 68.8 cm

At the stables

2011-06-02T23:06:00.000+03:00

I visited the nearby stables for the first time. It's quite difficult to paint a horse when it's moving all the time :)

Oil on panel, 22x27 cm

Sunday painters

2011-05-22T20:59:00.005+03:00

What a great weekend: Antti, Mauri and I painted together on friday and again today.

Antti and Mauri creating art.

Oil on canvas, 38x23 cm

Gumböle river paintings

2011-05-22T00:28:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas, 38x46 cm

Oil on canvas, 23x38 cm

Fly fisherman

2011-05-20T23:40:00.000+03:00

Today after work I met with Antti and Mauri at Vantaankoski (Vantaa rapids). We had a fun time as always!

Oil on canvas, 23x38 cm

Here's Antti painting the rapids on the left and Mauri working with pastels on the right. In the background is the view I painted.

WIP

Kattilajärvi

2011-05-18T00:27:00.000+03:00

Oil on panel, 33x12 cm

My wife took a picture of me while I was painting

Oil on panel, 24x33 cm

Last light

2011-05-08T23:12:00.000+03:00

Oil on panel, 27x35 cm

Peaceful afternoon

2011-04-28T22:38:00.000+03:00

Today I went to paint after work. I found this nice spot by Vantaa river. I really enjoyed painting this piece and I'm pretty happy with it.

Oil on canvas, 23x38 cm

The weather was absolutely great!

I took some work in progress pictures.

River bend reflections

2011-04-25T20:36:00.000+03:00

Finally spring is here. Nice to mix some greens again.

Oil on canvas, 28x23 cm

Day nap

2011-04-21T21:40:00.000+03:00

I drew my son while he was sleeping.

Charcoal on paper, 51x32 cm

A big step

2011-04-19T16:38:00.000+03:00

I'm very happy to announce that I had a few of my paintings accepted into Art Clipper, a fine art gallery in Helsinki! Big thanks to Antti Rautiola for encouraging me to show my work to the gallery. I'm really excited!

Spring thaw

2011-04-10T22:45:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas, 38x22 cm

Figure drawings

2011-04-10T00:01:00.018+03:00

A couple drawings from friday's long pose.

Sepia & white chalk on Hahnemühle pastel paper, 38x46 cm

55 minutes

Sanguine oil & white chalk on paper, 42x59 cm

45 minutes

Golden nightgown

2011-04-09T00:34:00.000+03:00

Oil on canvas, 73x95 cm

Sketchbook #23

2011-04-04T15:25:00.000+03:00

Pencil on paper, 21x30 cm

I'm working on my largest oil painting so far (73x95 cm), based on this theme. I noticed that I'll need a larger studio easel if I paint any bigger.

Sanguine portraits

2011-04-02T00:08:00.000+03:00

A couple portraits from today's life drawing session.

Sanguine oil on Hahnemühle pastel paper, 38x46 cm

20 minutes

Sanguine oil on paper, 42x59 cm

10 minutes

Approaching spring

2011-03-20T19:11:00.000+02:00

Oil on canvas, 33x24 cm

Budapest Museum of Fine Arts and Hungarian National Gallery

2011-03-10T12:48:00.001+02:00

Last week we made a trip to Budapest. It was a welcome break to this neverending winter. It wasn't exactly warm there, but no snow banks anywhere! Budapest is a beautiful city with its architecture and river Danube. The trip's highlight was Széchenyi thermal bath. It consists of many indoor pools, saunas and three outdoor pools where one can bathe in warm waters even in the winter. The water is supplied by two thermal springs. Highly recommended if you happen to visit Budapest.

While there, of course I had to visit a couple of museums, too: Budapest Museum of Fine Arts and Hungarian National Gallery. Here are pictures I took of some of the artworks:

Hungarian National Gallery

Gyula Benczúr - Baptism of Vajk, 2.45 x 3.6m

This painting by Gyula Benczúr (1844 – 1920) was amazing, not only by its size. It looked so real and three dimensional, especially the robe.

Franz von Lenbach - The Triumphal Arch of Titus in Rome, 130x179 cm

This painting by Franz von Lenbach (1836-1904) also was impressive. It cannot be captured with the camera, but it really had depth and sunlight in it. I had to view it from the side to check that the canvas actually was flat. I wonder what the museum guards thought when I had my nose in the painting when I studied the brushstrokes and kept returning to this painting to admire it.

Jószef Molnár - Lake in the Polish Tatra

Claude Monet - The Harbour at Trouville

Bertalan Székely - Study of female head

A beautiful portrait by Bertalan Székely (1835 - 1910). He was one of Philip de László's teachers. I was a bit dissappointed of not seeing one single work by de László in either museum. No one seemed to even recognize who he was when I asked if they had any works by him. I guess he's not that popular in his home country. According to the book "A brush with grandeur" and de László archive trust, there should be many paintings in the National Gallery, but I guess they're safely in the basement.

Gyula Benczúr - My Children

Károly Lotz - Ilona Lotz dressed in white

Károly Lotz (1833 – 1904) was another teacher of de László.

Károly Lotz - Bathing woman

Ferenc Dinnert - Flora

János Pásztor - The banished woman

I made a sketch of this beautiful sculpture by János Pásztor.

Auguste Rodin - Eternal Spring, marble, 75x81x44 cm

Master copies

2011-03-08T19:51:00.000+02:00

A couple of master copies in watercolor, both 24x17cm.


After J.S.Sargent

After Joseph Zbukvic

Sleeping

2011-03-06T22:59:00.000+02:00

Watercolor on Hahnemühle Quattro 300g/m²paper, 30x30 cm

Watercolor on Hahnemühle Quattro 300g/m² paper, 30x30 cm

Parsonage hill

2011-03-05T21:39:00.000+02:00

Oil on canvas, 24x33 cm

The weather was sunny most of the time but when I was wrapping up it suddenly started snowing. It passed quickly though.

Figure drawing

2011-02-19T15:26:00.000+02:00

Charcoal on paper, 59x42 cm.

Zorn paintings in high resolution #3

2011-02-17T00:48:00.000+02:00

More masterpieces by Anders Zorn with detail pics, photographed last summer while visiting Zorn museum.

In Wikström's studio, 82x60.5 cm

Les baigneuses, 98.5x68.5 cm

Reflections, 120.5x84.5 cm

Summer evening, 80x55 cm

Une première, 76x56 cm (Gouache)

According to the story, Zorn felt he had used too much gouache on this one and he ended up cutting it into pieces. A fellow artist, Christian Eriksson gathered the pieces and saved them. I'm glad he did!
The woman's pose by the way is quite similar in this painting and "Summer evening".

Girls from Dalarna in the sauna, 86x53 cm

Mother and daughter, 90x62 cm

Previously posted:
Visit to Zorn museum
Zorn paintings in high resolution #1
Zorn paintings in high resolution #2

February, -16°C

2011-02-13T17:21:00.000+02:00

Oil on canvas, 27x22 cm

Figures

2011-02-12T17:27:00.000+02:00

Figure drawings from yesterday.

All charcoal on paper, 42x59 cm.

Figure drawing

2011-02-05T21:53:00.000+02:00

Charcoal on paper, 30x45 cm

Frozen river

2011-01-29T18:48:00.001+02:00

Oil on canvas, 33x24 cm

Spot the painter

Oil portrait

2011-01-26T20:57:00.000+02:00

Oil on canvas, 38x46 cm

Close-up

Axel Gallén exhibition

2011-01-20T23:59:00.000+02:00

Today I attended the opening of the exhibition "All or Nothing – The Young Axel Gallén", at the Gallen-Kallela Museum which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865 – 1931) was a well-known Finnish painter. The exhibition runs 21 January - 8 May, 2011.

Here are some pictures from the exhibition:

Charcoal portraits

2011-01-19T23:55:00.000+02:00

Charcoal on paper, 28x35 cm

I received Dan Gerhartz's new book "Not Far From Home" a week and a half ago as a birthday gift. The paintings are beautiful and the print quality is high. The images are sharp and colors look really good. I enjoy it very much! For a more thorough review of the book, visit Ryan Mellody's blog.

January 1

2011-01-03T22:16:00.000+02:00

Oil on canvas, 41x22 cm

Oil portrait

2010-12-29T11:25:00.000+02:00

Oil on canvas, 38x46 cm

About photographing oil paintings

2010-12-20T17:15:00.001+02:00

I thought I’d share with you how I photograph my oil paintings. Photographing drawings, pastels or watercolors is pretty easy because the surface is flat and diffuse. Taking good photos of oil paintings however is quite challenging, because of the surface texture and glossiness. It seems no matter where the light source(s) are put, there are a lot of bright specular/direct reflections from the canvas which alter the perceived value of the paint. A dark area in a painting appears too bright because of the reflections.

I have tried different approaches (haven’t found the perfect solution yet though), but I’ve narrowed it down to two setups which work for me:

Tilted camera approach
Using cross polarization

I usually try #1 first, but if there are still too many direct reflections, I’ll use approach #2.

First some general things that are common to both techniques:

I use a single lens reflex camera with a medium telephoto (around 100mm or longer) lens. If the camera is too close to the painting, it will see more direct reflections than if it’s farther away. Also, a wide angle lens typically causes barrel distortion, so a longer lens is a better choice.

I shoot RAW, so it’s easy to adjust exposure and white balance later. The camera is on full manual mode, so I can control the aperture and shutter speed. The ISO is kept low (100-200) to keep noise down.

I use a tripod for the camera and a light stand for the external flash unit (strobe). I generally use only one strobe for lighting a small painting and two strobes if it’s a large painting. The strobes are triggered with cheap wireless flash triggers. The flash is placed as far as possible from the painting to ensure even illumination. The angle to the painting is around 30-40°. By keeping the light source angle so small the brush strokes can be seen better because side lighting reveals texture.

1. Tilted camera approach

Normally when photographing artwork, it’s advised to keep the camera centered and parallel to the painting. In this setup, however, the painting is shot from a higher angle, so the camera sees less reflections of the canvas texture and brush strokes. The lens aperture is kept small, around f11 in order to keep the whole painting in focus. See image below.

After the image is taken, there’s going to be vertical perspective distortion. The farther the camera is from the painting, the less perspective distortion there is to correct. I take care of the distortion with Photoshop Elements’ vertical perspective correction tool. Now the image is rectangular, but too short vertically. That’s corrected with selecting the area of the painting and stretching it vertically using Free transform tool until the correct aspect ratio is reached. All this pixel stretching degrades image quality, but it’s not an issue though when posting small images to a blog.

I would much rather use a tilt-shift lens (e.g. Canon TS-E 90mm), but those are pricey. It would allow keeping the camera parallel but off-axis to the painting and no perspective tweaking in post would be necessary.

Tilted camera setup

Pros:

Most reflections are gone
Colors look natural.

Cons:

Not possible to remove all reflections.
The need to correct perspective and aspect ratio in Photoshop. Image quality drops.

2. Cross polarization

In cross polarization the light from the strobe is polarized by placing a piece of linear polarizing sheet in front of it. A circular polarizer is placed in front of the camera lens. By rotating that filter it is possible to control the amount of direct reflections. I prefer partial polarizing, since the texture looks more natural. I keep the lens aperture around f5.6, which is small enough to get a sharp image but large enough for the flash to be able to produce enough light through the polarizers, which eat light quite much.

Cross polarization setup

Pros:

The amount of reflections can be controlled and completely removed if desired.

Cons:

The colors are too saturated and contrast is increased: the dark areas go easily too dark or black, especially if the painting surface is matte.
There’s a lot of tweaking in Photoshop when trying to match the colors to the painting.

This image shows the differences between the results of tilted camera and cross polarization techniques:

Two charcoal portraits

2010-12-20T00:16:00.000+02:00

Both charcoal on Hahnemühle Nostalgie paper, 30x42 cm

WIP

Sketchbook #22

2010-12-15T11:46:00.000+02:00

Pencil on paper, 21x30 cm

Sketchbook #21

2010-12-10T16:58:00.000+02:00

Pencil on paper, 21x30 cm

Figure drawings

2010-12-03T23:56:00.000+02:00

Some 5 mins and a couple longer ones...

Rabbit trails

2010-11-28T22:00:00.001+02:00

It was a beautiful day to go out painting today. And cold, -14°C.

Oil on canvas, 27x22 cm

First snow

2010-11-21T23:37:00.000+02:00

Oil on canvas, 27x35 cm

Figure drawings

2010-11-12T22:41:00.001+02:00

Willow charcoal on Fabriano Tiziano paper, 50x65 cm

Willow charcoal on Strathmore 500 series paper, 30x45 cm

Zorn paintings in high resolution #2

2010-11-12T13:04:00.002+02:00

Here are more close-ups of Anders Zorn's masterpieces.

Frileuse, 98x66cm

Magda Geber

Marie Cohn, 65.7x52 cm

Mona, 108x82 cm

Links to more Zorn's paintings:
Visit to Zorn museum
Zorn paintings in high resolution #1
Zorn paintings in high resolution #3

Iso Palojärvi

2010-11-07T20:32:00.000+02:00

Oil on canvas, 46x19 cm

Late October

2010-10-31T20:17:00.000+02:00

Oil on gesso primed plastic panel, 15x30 cm

Zorn paintings in high resolution

2010-10-28T22:46:00.002+03:00

Here are three paintings by Anders Zorn that I saw at the exhibition last summer. I always enjoy when I find high resolution images of good paintings, so I thought maybe my readers would also. I like seeing up close how the artist has handled different areas in the painting.

Some of these are a bit blurry because I took these pictures hand held. I didn't have my tripod with me. I had emailed the museum beforehand to ask if photography is allowed, and the answer was no. At the ticket counter I asked the same question and the answer was yes! I'm glad I had at least taken my camera with me just in case.

So, here are three Zorn paintings with detail images. Let me know in the comments if you want me to post more of these.

Baking bread, 140x94.5 cm

Emma Zorn reading, 60.6x40.2 cm

In the fire hut, 120x90 cm

Links to more Zorn's paintings:
Visit to Zorn museum
Zorn paintings in high resolution #2
Zorn paintings in high resolution #3

Sketchbook #20

2010-10-25T16:45:00.000+03:00

Pencil on paper, 21x30 cm

Jump!

2010-10-20T14:44:00.000+03:00

Pencil on paper, 21x30 cm

Espoo river

2010-10-17T20:40:00.000+03:00

Oil on gesso primed plastic panel, 15x30 cm

Sketchbook #19

2010-10-15T17:11:00.000+03:00

Pencil on paper, 21x30 cm

October

2010-10-10T22:01:00.004+03:00

Oil on gesso primed plastic panel, 15x30 cm

Painted with size 12 brush and painting knife.

Scott Burdick's video

2010-10-10T01:24:00.001+03:00

Check out Scott Burdick's excellent video on YouTube: "The Banishment of Beauty". It's an hour long, divided into four parts. It's about modern art and traditional art.

Charcoal portrait

2010-10-06T00:26:00.002+03:00

Vine charcoal on gray paper, 30x44 cm

WIP

Gloms river

2010-10-03T22:44:00.007+03:00

Oil on canvas, 24x33 cm

This one was painted with a Rosemary & Co. Ivory filbert size 12 and a painting knife. The brush is a synthetic bristle, and I like it more than the real thing. It keeps its shape amazingly well, the tip stays very sharp. The Robert Simmons Signet's I've been using are otherwise good, but the tip spreads too much. I'm going to order more of Rosemary's Ivory brushes for sure.

Puddle study

2010-09-26T21:35:00.012+03:00

Oil on canvas, 15x10 cm

The light was fading fast, so I had to be quick. This one took 35 mins.

Leona

2010-09-24T00:32:00.000+03:00


Oil on canvas board, 10x15 cm


WIP

For those interested, here's how I painted this:

1. First I toned the canvas with a mix of transparent oxide brown and viridian, thinned with odorless mineral spirit.

2. Then I blocked in the darks,

3. ... and the lights

4. The middle values.

5. After the face and background was ready, I indicated the shirt and that's it!

Juniper

2010-09-19T21:03:00.003+03:00

Oil on canvas, 27x16 cm

Sketchbook #18

2010-09-07T19:26:00.001+03:00

Pencil on paper, 21x30 cm

Sketchbook #17

2010-09-02T20:46:00.006+03:00

Pencil on paper, 21x30 cm
15-20min. sketches after Philip de László's portraits.

2 years

2010-08-29T22:45:00.004+03:00

Charcoal on Hahnemühle Nostalgie paper, 30x42 cm

Purple dress

2010-08-28T17:20:00.004+03:00

Oil on board, 30x45 cm

Pyrgos alley

2010-08-23T22:41:00.004+03:00

Watercolor on Canson Fontenay paper, 24x30 cm

Aphrodite 2

2010-08-19T23:44:00.007+03:00

Watercolor on Canson Fontenay paper, 22x30 cm

I've been experimenting with wet in wet techniques lately. This one's done in Payne's gray. I find watercolors very difficult to control, but I've found some good tips from Charles Reid's excellent book Watercolor solutions. Another book I'd like to own is David Taylor's Solving the mystery of watercolor, but it's runs for a whopping $160 in Amazon.

I just bought my first pure kolinsky sable brush from Rosemary & Co. It's a reversible model that fits nicely into my watercolor field box. It is really a joy to use. If my paintings suck, I can't blame the brush :) The service, by the way was excellent. I ordered a few brushes and on top of that they had thrown in the latest issue of Artists & Illustrators magazine. A nice gesture.

Brush open

Brush closed

Iris

2010-08-11T22:49:00.010+03:00

Oil on canvas, 60x90 cm

Update: added process with WIP pictures. I don't have a fixed process that I follow with every painting. Here's how this painting was done:

1. First I drew the outlines with charcoal.
2. I blocked in the background with a mix of brown and blue thinned with odorless mineral spirits. I didn't use a brush at this point, I just applied the paint with a paper towel.
3. I massed in the dark background and then started with the hair.
4. I added the sky, some more background and hair.
5. Then the face. At this point I realized the eyes are too wide apart and the top of the head too far up. It wasn't easy to wipe that perfectly good eye away, but it was in the wrong place so it had to be done. Gotta practice drawing more so this doesn't happen too often.
6. After the the face was done, I painted the hand, dress and the rest of the background.

Details

Gumböle river

2010-08-07T21:01:00.003+03:00

Oil on canvas, 46x38 cm

Aphrodite

2010-08-06T00:58:00.006+03:00

Pastel on Hahnemühle pastel paper, 38x46 cm

Study after Zorn's "Naken" (Naked)

2010-08-03T18:09:00.001+03:00

Watercolor on Lukas Osaka paper, 17x24 cm

Santorini

2010-08-03T15:27:00.002+03:00

I'm back from Santorini, Greece. What a beautiful place! Here's a sketch I made from the hotel's balcony.

Watercolor on Canson Fontenay paper, 32x24 cm

Rock and grass

2010-07-18T20:18:00.005+03:00

Oil on canvas, 33x24 cm

Säräisniemi

2010-07-14T01:17:00.004+03:00

Oil on canvas, 24x33 cm

Onion and tomatoes

2010-07-04T20:46:00.003+03:00

Oil on canvas, 27x16 cm

Study after Zorn's "Vriden" (twisted)

2010-07-03T20:25:00.004+03:00

Oil on canvas board, 27x35 cm