On the Easel 1: Garlic and Chives

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The working title for this is Garlic and Chives, and it is an acrylic still life on a black 10 by 8 inch stretched canvas. I am working from a reference photo, and I have been stuck at this stage for about a week. Something seems a bit off, and I am still not quite sure what. Part of the challenge for this is the reference photo has two light sources out-of-frame, which throws odd but interesting shadows.

acrylic painting Garlic and Chives in progress
Garlic and Chives, 10 x 8 acrylic on stretched canvas – in progress

Photography versus reference photos for painting

I am feeling a bit frustrated with the very narrow range of reference photos for garlic as a still life subject. Most of what I have found is lighted for photography (duh) which is actually not so good for painting. In painting, especially a still life, you want dramatic lighting with definite contrast between the lit highlights and the shadows – in art jargon, a high contrast in values. The test I use is to take all the color out of a potential reference photo and see how it looks in greyscale (also commonly called black and white).

What seems to be the obvious solution to the lack of good reference photos – set up my own still life arrangement and paint it from life – is not so simple when you start to play around with trying to light it. Most artists who do this on a regular basis have a box and specific lamps to get the desired effect … oh, and usually a cat-free studio. That is my dream: a cat-free studio, with windows that are high up on the walls, with the right lamps to cast the right shadows. Until I attract a wealthy patron, or get a winning scratch-off lottery ticket, it is still in the realm of dreams. But hey, everyone needs to have a dream for what the end goal is.

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Calla Lily two ways

Published on by kmgunnart7 Comments

I did both of these pieces from the same reference photo, and both turned out nicely in my opinion. I worked this drawing first as the sixth in the black and white challenge, done on 9 by 12 inch black paper with white colored pencil. I included as much detail as I could, keeping the pencil point sharp to even get most of the dew drops on the white petal while trying to capture the light and shadow.

Dew on Calla Lily, white pencil drawing on black paper, 9x12 inches
Dew on a Calla Lily, 9 by 12 inches white pencil on black paper, original available $80USD

As the black and white series progressed, I found myself enjoying these white on black drawings a lot when I chose a good subject for it. I will be returning to this medium for more white flowers in the future, with and without additional colors.

As I’ve noted in the caption, the original work is available (unframed). I will ship (packing and shipping costs are extra) so if you want the original, you can purchase it through Daily Paintworks. If you prefer a larger or smaller print, those can be ordered at my Pixels store, while apparel and accessories are at RedBubble.

Update: This drawing won first place in the regional VA healthcare system’s Creative Art Festival, and also took a red ribbon at the county fair, making it an award-winning drawing.

I will likely be revisiting this particular reference photo for more work … as I already have. The art challenge immediately after the black and white challenge was “anything goes” in terms of theme or subject, and I wanted to redo the calla lilies in color on black canvas, using acrylic paints since they do dry quickly enough to scan the same day. I chose this particular photo reference for my first painting, and had two 8 by 10 black canvases gessoed to my desired smoothness prior to the challenge starting. On that first day of the new challenge, the painting flowed smoothly from my brush with ease.

Calla Lily, acrylic painting on stretched canvas, 8x10 inches by 5/8 inch deep
Calla Lily, 8 by 10 inch acrylic on 5/8 inch stretched canvas, original available $125 USD

I think 8 by 10 is going to be the smallest I paint for now. I know some artists love working on a small scale, but I must confess to dreams of working on LARGE canvases at some point in the future. That will likely involve a cat-free studio space, so for now 18 by 24 inches is probably my upper size limit, while 8 by 10 looks to be the smallest I can be happy doing.

For the acrylic on stretched canvas, the original is available, again you can purchase through Daily Paintworks. Prints large and small are at my Pixels store, while swag is at RedBubble. I should probably mention that the image I uploaded to both print sites is the original high-resolution scan, without the domain name on it.

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White Rose: floral close-up in white on black paper

Published on by kmgunnart3 Comments

Continuing with the artwork I did for the black and white challenge, after doing the bald eagle head study, I decided the white pencil on black paper technique works best for drawing white flowers. When I shared yesterday’s White Cosmos post on Facebook, my mother remarked that the petals of the flower have an almost transparent illusion to them, which seems to confirm my impression. (side note: I cannot see where or how to link to an individual FB post, which is a big reason I like blogs so much better.) So, back to drawing white-petaled flowers for the rest of the challenge.

The fourth piece of the white on black series

As promised in this post title, day four of the black and white challenge is a white rose, rendered in white pencil on black paper, and in a close-up that goes beyond the frame of the picture. I found this one to be almost meditative to draw and lighten, and while I did not push the highlights too bright, I took care to work on the light coming through the petals in a “glow” appearance. I was not trying for a translucent appearance with the cosmos’ petals, but that was exactly my goal for these delicate rose petals.

White Rose, drawing in white pencil on black paper
White Rose, 12 by 9 inches, white pencil on black paper, original available $80 USD

Rose image recycled

If the lines of this rose seem a bit familiar, it is because I used the same sketch from the same reference photo as I did for my watercolor painting, Electric Yellow Rose. I reversed – or mirrored, or flipped – the image, which was simply a matter of pulling that page out of my sketch book and holding it up against the window to draw it on the back of the sheet before transferring it to the black paper. Sometimes I want to explore an image in multiple media, so I try to make small changes to it so no two are exactly identical. I guess you could call this a fair warning, as I absolutely love this particular reference photo and will probably do it in acrylic, pastels, maybe charcoal, and definitely in oil paint at some point. The shadows and shapes and play of light on and through the petals is just so visually interesting and even fun to wrestle onto paper (or canvas, soon).

How to purchase White Rose

The original drawing is currently available through Daily PaintWorks, and yes I will ship (shipping and packing charges additional). If you want a print either smaller or larger than the 12 x 9 inch original size, you can order those through my Pixels store. Personally, I think the dramatic contrast of a white rose on black paper will add to a room no matter what size you choose. For those who prefer to wear their art, or have it on household items, click through to my page at RedBubble to get it on various swag.

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White on Black: White Cosmos flower drawing

Published on by kmgunnart2 Comments

This was my second effort for the recent black and white challenge, a single white cosmos drawing in white colored pencil on black paper. Simple and elegant, but simple is not always synonymous with easy! The foreshortening on the nearest petal was tricky at first, when I had tried this image before in regular graphite pencil in my sketchbook, but reversing the paper and pencil colors actually helped for this version, along with highlighting the white of the cosmos’ petals.

cosmos flower drawn in white pencil on black paper
White Cosmos, 12 by 9 inches, white pencil on black paper, original SOLD but prints available

If I were to redo this in color, I would only be adding the shades of warm yellow for the center, and some green for the stem, as the petals rendered beautifully in just white on black. When I first finished this drawing, I wasn’t certain I had the look, but now over a week later I can say I accomplished it, and am pleased with it. It has an ethereal quality to it.

Purchase links

The original is now sold locally, with the buyer stating she will gift it to her father, who has just started painting, as inspiration. If you want an art print of this white cosmos drawing, either smaller or larger than the original’s 12 x 9 inch size, those can be ordered through my Pixels subdomain. For apparel and accessories with this image on them, check me out on RedBubble.

While I experimented with the bald eagle head for the third day of the challenge, I returned to the theme of white flowers for the remainder of the challenge where I actually drew something. More on that in the next post.

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Bald Eagle head study in white on black

Published on by kmgunnart3 Comments

A head study of a noble bald eagle, worked in white colored pencil on black paper. This is actually the third in my white-on-black series, and the only bird in the series, and is itself a continuation of a page from my sketchbook (if you want a print of the sketchbook page, grid still on it, I have that uploaded to my Pixels store here). As a shortcut, I transferred the outline over to my black paper, and while I am extremely pleased with how the eye turned out, I am not so sure about the rest of the drawing. I just cannot pin down what seems off to me, though I do know exactly what I did that made the eye suddenly look so lifelike, so on that point this drawing is a success.

head study drawing of a bald eagle, 12 x 9 inch
Bald Eagle, white on black 9 by 12 inches, $80 USD (available)

Thoughts on this drawing

Not every image is suited to being rendered in white on black. Some look better as black on white, and others just don’t look right either way. After doing this in white on black, I decided I would rather have done it in charcoal, preferably on a warm white or sand-beige toned paper, with white pastel pencil to do the highlights. This being a strict black and white challenge meant I’ll have to get around to that idea later. This drawing did convince me that my white-on-black is best suited for white flowers with strong shadows, so that is what the others (save the last) are. I still really like how the eagle’s eye turned out, a week later. I suppose an all-white bird might work with this style, so that is something to revisit later perhaps.

The original of this is available, if interested you can purchase through Daily Paintworks. Prints are at my Pixels store, while apparel and accessories are up at RedBubble.

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