Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Still Life with a Toothbrush (Day 2)

Here is the still life from yesterday.


Today I started painting local colors in oil. First I worked on the sink top and the wall around it. I think the underpainting helps keep warm feelings on the cold marble top. For the shadows on the sink top, I applied thin layers of oil making purple underpaint appear through them. Here is the result so far.


Someone asked me why I applied underpainting. I have two main reasons: a functional reason and a psychological one. Functionally it contributes to balance the color temperatures. I usually choose the underpainting color whose temperature is opposite to that of the local color to keep them in balance. Psychologically the underpainting helps me get the "feel" of the overall painting. When underpainted, it seems more manageable and less intimidating, especially for large paintings. Underpainting in acylic works better for me because I don't have patience to wait a week or so before I could start painting in oil.

2 comments:

  1. It's like looking at the negative develop into the photo image.

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  2. I like this composition. I'll be dropping in to see the progression.

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