George Pratt's Media Class

[applecheeks]

Thanks for yesterday's class! It was eye-opening to see George work so confidently in both watercolour and oil.

I've been wanting to try oils for ages but didn't know quite how to start. After watching George's demo I felt really compelled to make a dive for it. I used a limited palette of Burnt Sienna, Sap Green and Titanium white as suggested and it turns ut oils isn't as scary as it seemed. Thinking in values was prompted by the limited palette and changes in temperature easy to achieve as you simply choose to mix a little bit more or a little bit less of one or the other colour. The temperatures are made up here based on what looked okay, but I would be curious to hear some opinions on that since I have little theory to back it up.
Compared to digital painting I found myself thinking ahead a lot more since each stroke is relatively more cumbersome to make. In the end this was quite satisfying since you seem more efficient, well... at least when things go right.


Judging by yesterday's chat I wasn't the only one who felt compelled to break out the watercolours and the oils. Post your pieces people!

[George Pratt]

Applecheeks,

Thanks for posting this thread! Glad you liked the class and that it has spurred you on to try oils. They really are fun and can be a lifelong study, as I myself have found out.

Your piece is looking pretty good. I would be careful of using too much pure white. Always try and tweak the white out with a color, either the burnt sienna or the sap green, as it will give the piece more "air". White by itself is cold and fairly lifeless.

And don't be afraid to really put that green in there. It looks as though you're strong on the burnt sienna, but not as sure about the sap green.

I would also throw a bit of the pure burnt sienna on his cheek and let that pop a bit as it will round that cheek out.

Try this combo also: Alizarin Crimson and Viridian Green. Viridian Green has a bit more chroma to it and mixed with the Crimson can create nice cool or warm violets. Also, I believe you can push the darks more with this mixture. But play around with other color combos and see what results you can achieve.

Then, when you feel confident with what you're getting, bring in a "guest" color. Add one new color to the mix and let that color be the point of the thing, where the eye is supposed to go. Continue like this, adding new colors and seeing how they integrate with the whole. You'll find yourself getting very confident in mixing color and you'll have a better understanding of warm and cool relationships.

One thing I will say about oils. It's fine to use the student grade paints, but in watching and working with my students over the years I've found that those student grade paints just don't have the range of professional paints. When I've been out with the students working from landscapes I've seen them struggle to achieve simple results, because the paint they were using just didn't have the pigment to deliver. The colors were lackluster and couldn't be stretched at all. I'll squeeze out some of my color on their palettes and they're blown away by the purity of the color and the general elasticity of the paint. It enhanced and sped up their understanding of color, value, temperature and their paintings seemed brighter and cleaner. Just a thought. You do get what you pay for.

Keep up the great work, applecheeks. Thanks for posting. Looking forward to seeing others post their work as well!

George

[John English]

George-

You are a monster!

The explanation of the mediums, articulation of picture making, understanding of art history and incredible skill make you a monster talent and great teacher.

I thought I would post the finished pieces that George did for his demonstrations, enjoy!

John

[ASVogel]

George,

I'm one of the "offline" students watching the on-demand classes. Thank you for the demos. I actually want to try my hand at watercolor again after not touching it for eons. The sumi ink tip is especially valuable. I also got a lot of the oil class and it directly addresses a non-class related painting I'm working on.

About the water-miscible oil paints: I found that keeping a bar of soap on hand and a fabric towel to wash the brushes regularly while I'm working keep the paint from gunking and pilling up. That being said, it's still not as creamy and smooth a consistency as true oil.

I have and enjoy both. The true oil I use outdoors where I know there is good circulation.

[Thyname]

Haha!
I wanted to do self portrait for my portfolio, so I thought I might as well do an oil painting.

I really never work in color, I haven't used oils since high school, and this was my first attempt at painting a portrait. I usually just work in pencils. I have only been seriously attempting to be an artist for less than a year.

All that being said, I really screwed up my face. I tried to limit my color choice to the three colors you mentioned, except I used burnt umber. Burnt Umber, Tit white, and sap green. I added a bit of crimson because I started to look like the joker, so i might as well embrace it. If I could get some help so I can improve the piece and enter it in my portfolio.

It just doesn't look right to me, I think the lips are out of perspective and the neck is to far to the left. Any crits by anyone would be a huge help, I will try to work on it and keep putting it up.

ps. I don't have any black and white pictures of me. I might scrap this painting, use photoshop to make a different picture greyscale, and start all over.

[Eeric]

If I want to try oils and start simple, what 3 or 4-color setup would you recommend for me? Should I go get red, blue and yellow so I get to practice the mixing process or would it be a better idea to start out with something like black, white, red and yellow?

[Craz]

Eeric: Above, George suggested Alizarin Crimson, Veridian Green and White. His advice in the demo was to use two complementary colors and white, then, when you're comfortable with that, to bring in a new, 'guest' colour.

EDIT: Applecheeks- the patch of light you have going on behind that guy's neck looks too much like his flesh. I don't think there's enough of a value difference there.

[George Pratt]

Eric,

Well, you could start out with black and white but I would also add a bit of Ochre or burnt umber in there too, then white. But you might try one of the others mentioned in the threads:

Burnt Sienna and Sap Green or Viridian Green and white

Alizarin Crimson and Viridian Green and white

Another could be Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue and white

What you have in these is a warm, a cool, and the white to push value. They allow you to concentrate on the value structure and moving the paint around, working with shapes. When you feel comfortable with that then add a "guest" color which becomes the point of the piece, where you want the eye to go.

[George Pratt]

Eric,

Well, you could start out with black and white but I would also add a bit of Ochre or burnt umber in there too, then white. But you might try one of the others mentioned in the threads:

Burnt Sienna and Sap Green or Viridian Green and white

Alizarin Crimson and Viridian Green and white

Another could be Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue and white

What you have in these is a warm, a cool, and the white to push value. They allow you to concentrate on the value structure and moving the paint around, working with shapes. When you feel comfortable with that then add a "guest" color which becomes the point of the piece, where you want the eye to go.

[jantmoen]

I feel like i need to get a better grasp at drawing before i start with the brush. So I get proportions and anatomy figured out. Some day though

By the way; those world war 1 watercolor pieces with inc blew my mind. I could give my left arm for that ink video that was mentioned in class.

[mbarq]

Learned a lot from the demo, especially the brush mixing (thin to thick is a very misleading phrase).

Anyway, used the viridian green + burnt sienna + zinc white.

[George Pratt]

Metaclay,

Nice. But you need to use more of the green to act as neutrals and cools in the face. But for a first crack at it, very nice. Now work the neutrals in there and be mindful of cools in the face. This will really give you more volume. Just don't hold back on the green.


And Jantmoen,

The ink demo wasn't of a doughboy but a female head and shoulders. I do quite a lot of doughboys though for sure in ink. Glad you like the images!
George

[Brent Watkinson]

Metal,

You are getting some good structure to the planes of the face and head.

I agree with George's comments about the color. Your brush work reminds me of David Park of the Bay Area Figurative Painters from the 1950's-60's. Google his name and see if you dig his images. He is one of my favorites.

You look like you really dive in and take some chances. That is a good attitude.

Once you get the color a bit more subtle, you can begin making decisions about how your really intend the head to appear. Good work so far.... keep the attitude!

Brent

[Paul Tucker]

George's watercolor demo really got me excited to crack out the brushes so here are my first 3 attempts. I wanted to keep subject matter as close as possible to the demo so I plucked some reference from the handy character design website http://www.characterdesigns.com/ Thanks to whoever it was that had posted that site in the chat during Discovery!

Here are the specific images I worked from





And here are my attempts with a few minor photoshop adjustments (I couldn't help myself). They are a little blurry in areas from the scanning. For the first one I followed closely along with the video. The next 2 I was experimenting within that process a bit more. I definitely like the last one the best! Can't wait to try more. Thanks for the inspiration and wisdom George!

[George Pratt]

Paul,

Glad the demo got the energy flowing and gave you the wherewithal to tackle watercolor! There are so many things about watercolors that are wonderful, if only you'll let them do what they do naturally.

The reference you have is interesting, though I have to admit, the white is disconcerting to me. It doesn't leave a lot to the imagination. If I were to use this reference, I think I'd drop a grey tone around the figure so that I could see the value structure a little more clearly. But that's just me.

I think these are fine beginnings for you! The one thing that I would stress, which is something covered throughout the Discovery classes, especially that Academy style drawing with two values, is to see if you can work the figure/picture without line. Everywhere you've used line, could you have worked it without line? Rather work tone against tone? That would strengthen each of these pieces. Remember — Dark thing on a light thing, light thing on a dark thing. It's a great rule to live by.

I agree, the last one is my favorite, though the second one has some nice bits too.

One thing I would do on each one of them is to try and make those backgrounds smoother and push them completely off the page. I would avoid the vignette effect for now and shoot for a complete picture. Try a larger brush and really wash those backgrounds in and let them be there but not there. We don't really want to notice them. They're supporting cast members, really, and the figure is the attraction. As it is, right now they have a little too much brushwork in them and the eye is continually pulled back to the brushwork, rather than the figure. We want the background in these to be smoother so the eye can rest and travel unencumbered. Then, the real "eye trip" to quote Barron Storey, is what's going on in the figures!

I like the color scheme in the last one. I would only push a "little" bit more of the green into the figure. Very subtle but it will help to really put that figure in that space.

Fun first run! Now, how about round two? This time, no lines, just tone against tone, and what about a pink or orange kimono?! But, remember, pink or orange in that color space and lighting! Watch the saturation and choose your moment! Where do you really want our eye to go? It's up to you to guide us!

Work those mid-tones and really plan the lightest lights and darkest darks as accents! Don't overdo either.

Also, maybe put her in a space. Give us an indication of maybe a tatami mat that she's sitting on, maybe a couple of scrolls on the walls. Maybe even a tea service sitting on the mat? Where can you take it?

Looking forward to more! Keep up the good work!