Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Oil For Me

Hello all!

Welcome back to another exciting post with Melissa! Today I decided to try my hand at oil paint. This medium has always intrigued me, as I love to blend my colours. I've been told that my style really lends itself to oil paints, but I've also heard many people complain about the medium, saying that it takes too long to dry, it's finicky, they're too expensive... Well I didn't let all the nay-sayers stop me! I wanted to try them, so I did!

And here is the finished product after editing with filters on Photoshop!

Dandy3

As I have never used this medium I bought an inexpensive set from Wal Mart, and I used a very small piece of illustration board to paint on. This board didn't have much of a tooth so it's not exactly like canvas, but for my experiment today I figured it didn't really matter. Next time I will definitely be using a small canvas though.

Supplies

My first step was to map out my image with colour. There was no original sketch or idea really, so I just mapped out a dandelion on a greenish background.

1

After mapping the image out I started layering on the yellow section. I decided to improve the balance it would be well to include a dandelion leaf, so I added that to the image as well. Because oils blend so much I had to use a thick layer of green to make this addition.

2

Next was to add a bit more depth to the focus. By adding a yellow ochre colour to parts of the flower and thicker, darker green to the stem and leaf I was able to give it a slightly more 3-Dimensional look.

3

After adding the darker shades, it came to adding the lighter ones. Again because of it's blending powers, I decided to use straight white to mix on to the flower, stem, and leaf, applying the white to the highlighted and reflecting areas.

4

And after blending in the highlights and shading, I said voila, it is finished. Of course I messed around with the background a bit, improving the gradient, but in the end it turned out to be a simple, neat little painting. This is my very first oil painting!

final

Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more adventures in art!

“I was a dandelion puff...Some saw the beauty in me and stooped quietly to admire my innocence. Others saw the potential of what I could do for them, so they uprooted me, seeking to shape me around their needs. They blew at my head, scattering my hair from the roots, changing me to suit them. Yet still others saw me as something that was unworthy and needed to be erased.”
― Nicole Bailey-Williams

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