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.

Still Life with a Toothbrush (Day 1)

Here are models for this week's still life project - my toothbrush and an almost empty toothpaste sitting around my bathroom sink.


First, I sketched out on my 16 x 20 inch canvas with a china marker. I like using the china marker because it gives bold, clear lines and doesn't leave much powdery stuff unlike a charcoal.


Then I applied acrylic underpainting. I chose acrylic for this task because it dries fast allowing multiple layers in one day!


I continued to underpaint warm colors for the sink and the wall.


Then I started underpainting cool colors on the metal faucet, some spots on the toothbrush and the toothpaste.


Finally I added purplish blue on the shadows and some red lines around the objects. Here is the finished underpainting waiting for a "nice oil treatment", which will start mañana.