The Book of Knowledge and Honing Your Craft

Book of Knowledge
6x6
oil on panel
Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna, Titanium White

Burnt Sienna next to Raw Umber mixed with white makes the Raw Umber appear almost blue. That is an interesting effect after doing a painting of French Ultramarine and Raw Umber. Yet another baby step in learning the effects of color. Without a yellow or a green, it is pretty hard to indicate metal. It is even harder to get any kind of detail on these tiny little studies. That is probably for the best. I simplified and let it be more of an indication.

Just between us, that is actually a picture frame on top of an encyclopedia, but I am playing with a "Book of Knowledge" theme. I think it needs straps and buckles to seem realistic. I would like to take this to the sketchbook and play with it a bit.

I was browsing through blogs yesterday and on Jo Castillo's Blog, she posted a link to the Outdoor Painting website about honing your craft. I found the whole website very interesting and read several past articles. The site is about outdoor painting, but the advice they give is great for any subject. I am going to give some of their exercises a try. I have gone ahead and added those links to my sidebar for easy access.

I have 10 more panels left. There is 24 days until my youngest 4 go to school and 31 days until the last one moves off to college. Not that I am counting...

I have been looking at a few different master copy candidates. I am also looking at ideas for a more surreal/illustrative piece. No matter which I choose to do first, I am looking forward to working on something a lot more exciting.