There's nothing like a paint rag torn from a Jockey undershirt to wipe in tonal values and remove paint from a brush. There's something about the plush nap that makes them superior to paper toweling. I'm hooked. I can't get my hands on enough of them; Ellis stands guard in front of his wardrobe. He seems to have noticed his undershirt stack is shrinking. Nevertheless, I have confiscated a few on his bathroom breaks and used one to wipe in Ruby. The wipe in made the sag obvious.
If you look closely at the left side, you can see the ghost of the stretcher bar in the background wash. That's not acceptable. I had to stop wiping in the BU to let the canvas dry for a few hours. Then I wet down the back and went to bed. Hopefully when I get back to the studio, the canvas will be tight as a drum. With no pegs on hand, wetting the back was my only solution to get the bounce back. Gallery canvases, the canvases on 1 1/2" stretchers, are supposed to be highish end--yet only the linen ones come with pegs to tighten the canvas. What's that all about?
What's interesting about my some-of-this, some-of-that start on Ruby is I didn't wipe in the whole canvas. I left white showing where the lightest values will be. That's an Impressionistic touch. The Impressionists painted on all white canvases so their colors sparkled. They thought dark grounds dulled colors. I think so too. Keep your fingers crossed that this canvas has tightened.
THIRTY MINUTES WITH SCHMID
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| Richard Schmid, 6 x 8, TMDD Series, Graphite free hand drawing. I got a resemblance, no cigar, but thirty minutes is thirty minutes, a workout session--and that's exactly what these morning drawing sessions are. |
Zo knap gedaan Linda lieve groetjes Danielle
ReplyDeletehet begin is veelbelovend. laten we hopen dat ik kan leveren.
Deletethe start shows promise. let's hope i can deliver.
nice work! love that you left the highlights blank canvas
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I did that, but I suspect it's because I've always wondered why we covered the whole ground with a midtone wash when we were going to have to bring the value back up,to the light. I'll probably discover the reasoning behind the practice when I get into color. 😊
DeleteEverything crossed, including eyes! Would be a shame if it spoiled for the sake of a peg or two. I don't tone my canvas, always forget, and always wondered why too. I do think it dirties the colours. But I do paint very thinly. Good start you really can't beat a rag, quick and easy.
ReplyDeleteDampening the back of the canvas (spray bottle) worked very nicely. The canvas is tight as a drum. I got my bounce back! I never did an overall wash either till this last year and all my reading. I never used a pencil to draw-in. I did draw-ins with Burnt Sienna and a rag. Burnt Umbra struck me as too dark. That was the Linda Technique. 😜
DeleteI laughed when I read about Ellis guarding his dwindling supply of Jockeys! Just wait till the snow is gone, and the two of you can head out to re-supply :)
ReplyDeleteThis post got him to admit he had a couple more I could have. Snow, no snow, online is where I shop for sundry items..
DeleteLooking forward to seeing this painting come to life. And now I must head off to my husband's underwear drawer to look for a Jockey undershirt!
ReplyDeleteI had given up cloth rags for painting till the instructor of the last class I took had them on his supply list. Using them in class, I noticed the paint came out of the brush much better than wiping them on paper toweling. The problem is laundering--and replenishing your stock. 😊
DeleteIt will be interesting to read your forthcoming treatise on the efficacy of comparative brands of gents' underwear in wiping down paintings. I've no doubt it will be major contribution to future instruction manuals. Two super drawings, can't wait to see how you develop the expression on Ruby's face.
ReplyDeleteRuby's face is going to be a tough one. Her lips are pursed, eyebrows raised. I'm also concerned about the all white table and tableware with tidbits of food. this is a portrait as well as a still life! I really know how to pick the challenges! I am a maven, however, on suitable cloth painting rags. The undershirts must be cotton jersey--not an inexpensive brand--something with thickness. Ellis has been wearing Jockey for years. We tried Calvin Klein once, but the material was too thin. If I used it to wipe in paint, the paint would come through the mesh. Jockey is our preference. ;-)) Sorry, no laughing faces. I'm using Vista from six maybe seven years ago!
ReplyDeleteI love where that painting is going....and I recognized Schmid
ReplyDelete