Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Step by Step of Ocracoke Morning-SOLD

Ocracoke Morning- 12x16

here is the finished painting done behind where i was staying on the island. imagine waking up and having this scene out your back door.
let me show you how i did it step by step.

here's a photo of what i was working with. i chose to eliminate the grass from the scene and concentrate on the deck chairs and sailboat.
i begin by drawing the shapes and filling in the darks with magenta oil paint in washes. super thin so it doesnt mix in with the top coats.
now i put in the whites and the darks. i do most if this squinting down and looking thru my eyelashes. this gets rid of all the detail and helps me see the big shapes and values.
here i've blocked in all the major shapes in their respective real-life color and use the knife to bring the edges of all the shapes closer to each other which eliminates alot of the magenta, but i leave a good amount too. now go back up to the finished picture to see the finishing touches like water colored lines in the chairs to show the slats. i warmed up the concrete under the chairs, variations in the water, sky, and tree line in the back.

hope you enjoyed this step-by-step of my process. this painting is available at Down Creek Gallery in Ocracoke.

be sure to keep checking the blog for the free painting giveaway contest day. its not today but could very well be soon so keep checking back to WIN!

2 comments:

Frank Gardner said...

Cool step by step. I like how you cropped it down.
That is wild that it has so much magenta in it at the start.

mike rooney studios said...

frank
about 99% of my paintings are sketched in, and a quick three value block-in, with magenta. i used to use acrylic but have found a way to put oil magenta on... scrubbing it thinly into the canvas on the dark shapes and really washy (lotsa mineral spirits) on the lighter shapes. this is working great (not mixing with the top coats) and i dont have to carry water or acrylic paint now. saves me at least a pound in my 100 lb. plein air backpack LOL