A very simple subject this time for my new still life oil painting:
here's a still life painting tutorial of a piece of bread and a small
milk jug on cloth. With this still life painting I want to go back to
basics and spend some decent time observing and painting light and dark.
I also want to bring back some drama and contrast in my still life
paintings and create something people wouldn't mind having on their
wall!
Below is a still life painting tutorial and update on progress on this painting.
Setting up
The
lighting is traditional, coming from the top left. This is the first
time I've used my new Daylight table lamp, which of course produces
daylight-like light and warm shadows. I've used a piece of cardboard to
cast a dark shadow across the bread, an idea picked up from LoriMcNee's
"3 Tips to Set Up & Light a Still Life Painting" youtube video. Using chiaroscuro, I can achieve high contrast and drama in my still life painting.
Sketch on linen
I'm
using a 24x30cm Belle Arti linen canvas (although I may restretch it to
a 20x20cm format, not sure yet). I really like the Belle Arti fine
linen range, as the weave doesn't distract from the still life subject
and it's a delight to paint on.
Following a few thumbnails and
moving the bread, jug, lamp and piece of cardboard around to find the
right composition, I sketched the setup onto the linen. I paid attention
to the rules of perspective.
Starting the painting process: tonal/value study
What
followed is the most exciting stage of painting a picture, for me
anyway. Taking my time, I'm now working on the underpainting, creating
proper tonal ranges (value study) and mapping out the composition. Since
the colour of the bread is a red, I decided to paint the value study in
a verdacchio. The use of verdacchio, a greenish-grey tint, was very
popular in Renaissance times and was described by Cennino Cennini, in
his
'Il Libro dell' Arte' (The Craftsman's handbook). These
days some of the suggested pigments (e.g., white lead) can be replaced,
resulting in the following palette:
- yellow ochre
- mars black (a fast-drying black)
- titanium white
To
make sure this first layer is lean to prevent cracking later on, I used
Zest it oil paint dilutant. I use Old Holland oil colours.
Colour layers and glazing
I
spent a lot of time slowly and carefully layering colour in this step.
My palette for the bread consisted of raw umber, flake white, yellow
ochre, burnt sienna and phtalo blue (Old Holland oil paint). For this part of the painting,
instead of blending the mixtures, I dragged, dabbed and scumbled the
paint. To soften the appearance of the cloth, I added some of the colour
used in the bread. The jug has a glaze of ultramarine blue.
I've
put the painting in our lounge so I can find out over the next few days what I need to do to improve it. There is a danger of
overworking the painting, especially the bread.
The still life painting tutorial continues soon!
Check for updates on this still life painting tutorial soon! (and keep and eye on www.dutchoils.com!)
