Thursday 14 November 2013

Shoes, Hats & Bags

This was the subject at today's AVA session. Only eleven members were present, perhaps a reflection of the popularity of the subject! However the hardcore were there gritting their teeth but ploughing on nevertheless. Actually I'm joking as the subject didn't seem to faze anyone that much and there were a variety of reasons for the low turnout.



Yvonne Harry setup


Pat Walker


Yvonne Harry


Not sure whose this is.



Jo McKenna


John


Helen




 This was my setup



Initial Contour Drawing


Fabriano Schizzi Sketching paper A3 120 gm (56lbs)

I was unsure what I wanted to do so decided to just do a drawing on sketching paper. Once it was finished - by my standards anyway - I had so much time left I decided to add a little paint. On it went and eventually finished as shown above. I did think it was going to be a disaster as my approach was half-baked to say the least but in the end I don't think it finished too badly. The whole thing took about an hour with several breaks. I used two brushes, the Escoda retractable Kolinsky Size 12 and the Rosemary retractable rigger. Colours were, Burnt Umber, Raw Umber, Raw Sienna, Quinacridone Gold, Cerulean with some Ultramarine Violet and Viridian in the background plus a little Quinacridone Rose. I also added some pen and ink, not something I normally do, to give it a more defined look.




14 comments:

Laura said...

Great bunch of paintings Peter. Coincidentally my Group covered shoes last week too. We must have got our ideas out of the same hat. ;-) Aren't shoes difficult! They look so innocent as a subject but it is all about angles, curves and proportions, but then again isn't everything! Your looser approach was fabulous. From a fellow Art Group attender. It is great seeing what you lot do. Thanks for sharing.

Peter Ward said...

Thanks for comments Laura. I'm glad you find it interesting. I don't have any great pretensions but sometimes wonder if I'm talking to an empty room.

Jeff B said...

Pete, I like your shoe/hat painting.

Yvonne Harry said...

You sell yourself short, Peter. I liked your painting, the shoes looked well loved but well worn and the hat has a very good texture.

Unknown said...

Some really good paintings this week even though the subject is now a bit "old Hat"! Your painting Peter looks great. Did the sketching paper stay flat or cockle with the addition of paint?

Peter Ward said...

Thanks Yvonne. Actually the shoes are fairly new and haven't been worn much!

Peter Ward said...

Thanks for comments Jeff.

Peter Ward said...

Thanks Jan. I was surprised at how the paper performed, being sketching paper and very light. It took the paint reasonably well and certainly didn't cockle in any significant way. Looking at it sideways with the light on it you can see it isn't flat however just a series of small ups and downs.

Sandy Sandy Art said...

Yours is my favorite! Well done.

Peter Ward said...

Thanks Sandy for kind commentmodenk888

Oscar Solis said...

Nice painting Peter. A nice thing about painting on sketch paper is that it makes you pretty fearless. I've been painting on index card stock and it's made me braver than ever.

Peter Ward said...

Thanks Oscar. You are right. With the high cost of good quality watercolour paper you can have this tendency to think of the cost when painting. Charles Reid also says that painting on a smaller piece of paper reduces the `fear' factor. Unfortunately my favourite size is 16" x 12" - not huge but not small either.

Oscar Solis said...

Charles Reid is right. Regarding the cost factor, one of the things that helped me was when I decided to start using the backs of failed paintings, something which a good sheet of watercolor paper allows (and if that fails, I just gesso the sheet and use it for an acrylic or mixed media piece).

Peter Ward said...

Like minds Oscar. I have a pile of failed and/or superseded paintings and use them a lot. Most (not all) papers allow you to paint on the reverse or `wrong' side.