Thursday, March 3, 2011

new grisaille for "living in harmony"

10x10 oil on board
I must admit I struggle with how much information to actually add to the underpainting. The purpose is to create a skeleton onto which I build glazes. The real fun begins now as I will see where the painting takes me...see how I grow into it.
This is just a skeleton. I am sure I will keep experimenting with how much is enough and too much.

12 comments:

Lisa Le Quelenec said...

Absolutely LOVE this skeleton just the way it is! Does it need any more? Wow!

loriann signori said...

hi Lisa....Thank you, thank you!
Let's see what happens with a few layers of transparent color!

Roger Seddon said...

Hi Loriann,
You are producing some exceptional work. This underpainting is beautiful. Do you find you get a better result using smooth surfaced board rather than canvas or Uart. Is a smooth ground better for manipulating, blending and overlaying the glazes? At what stage do you decide on the range of colours you will use once you have established the tones?

loriann signori said...

Hi Roger,
Thank you for your kind words! As for better results I prefer a hard board w/o linen or canvas on top. Just board with many layers of thin gesso. Smooth is good. I have been playing a little with texture in the underpainting.... but honestly I have no formulas or special ways. I decide the colors ahead of time and try working out the possibilities before a brush goes to the boards...as Whistler said all the work is already done on the palette.
I must admit to deviating from my plan if the painting tells me to do so...after all who is the boss? It's not me!
thanks!

SamArtDog said...

I totally agree with Lisa. Stop.
Georgous. Stop.
Start another one. Stop.

Roger Seddon said...

Thank you Loriann for your help and advice.I will try working on smooth surfaces which will be an entirely new approach for me.

loriann signori said...

Sorry Lisa and Sam, today I placed my first glaze layer.I need to see where I can go with it.
PS thanks for your kind words! Hopefully it will get even better!

Hi Roger! Good for you to give a hard smooth surface a try. There is so much you can do that is different....sandpaper can reduce and allow you to begin again w/o building up surface..it can also change texture. Enjoy! Let me know how it goes.

SamArtDog said...

Of course it will! I can't wait to see its progression.

Anonymous said...

Hi Loriann,
What a beautiful beginning filled with so many possibilities.I love the transparency of color-those veils of atmosphere-especially in the upper left-where the trees and sky meet. I can feel the moisture in the air-reminds me of a damp cool autumn morning. I agree about your struggle with how much information to actually add to the underpainting. I always thought that it would interesting to record the different stages that a painting undergoes in its creation. If I remember there were a series of photos showing the progress of a Matisse painting.

BTW- I assume that when you refer to "gesso" you are referring to acrylic gesso? If I am right just out of curiosity what brand do you prefer? Daniel Smith has some beautiful acrylic gessos,white, black,stone gray,burnt sienna,buff titanium, iridescent gold,venetian red and yellow ochre but I guess you prefer white for the luminosity that it creates.

NJ ART 73

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

I saw a step by step painting progression of a Portland artist who painted a giant horse painting from the skeleton out. Each layer was another layer of anatomy: the nervous system, the organs, the muscles, and finally, the skin. Very weird. Do you know that there's a movement whose motto is "Keep Portland Weird"?

I like your metaphorical skeleton and look forward to seeing the fleshed out iterations.

loriann signori said...

Thanks Sam...I just couldn't stop there!

Hey NJ,
Thank you for your thoughts.This idea may lead to a series of sort. We will see!
Yes, I normally use acrylic gesso, although I have experimented with oil. I have also tried tinting my gesso, but right now I prefer white. The ones you mention from Daniel Smith I did not know about, I will check them out...you never know.
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your wisdom.

loriann signori said...

Hi Kvan!

Let's keep Portland weird! I love it. I must visit Portland one day! That giant horse sounds amazing..is it documented online anywhere? I would love to check it out.
Glad you like my "metaphorical skeleton!"