Playing with Planes

"Planes on Pears"
Oil on Canvas, 30 x 30
(c) Lesley Powell 2020
(Available at Huff Harrington Fine Art)

Lately I've been painting quite a few still lifes in my studio. I've become obsessed with the yellows and greens of lemons and pears. And I've taken to heart the rule of thumb that "Where there is a plane change, there is a color change".  (Translation for non-painters: where an object's contour changes, the light it reflects changes, and thus its color changes).

It's easy to see the planes on a cube.  Not so easy to see on a rounded object, such as a human head. Or, more prosaically, a lemon or a pear.  Careful observation is required!

"Jug, Lemons, Pear"
Oil on Canvas, 12 x 16
(c) Lesley Powell 2020
(SOLD)

With subjects like this, the fun is in the SEEING. It's a challenge not only to detect where the plane changes occur, but also to see the sometimes subtle color changes that result from the change. 

"Three Lemons and Creamer"
Oil on Canvas, 12 x 16
(c) Lesley Powell 2020
(Available at Huff Harrington Fine Art)

One great master of this challenge was the British painter Euan Uglow. I hesitate to show his work in the same post as mine, because my work pales so in comparison, but just to make my case, see Uglow's lemon below. So beautifully observed and rendered. 

I've been trying to take some lessons from Uglow. If you remember my prior posts, learning from the masters is a time honored method of honing your skills. It's very humbling, yes. But as the poet Robert Browning wrote, "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed one's grasp, or what's a heaven for?"

Can't Live Without...

If you're interested in the nitty gritty stuff that goes on behind the scenes in the studio, this post is for you! I'm writing about three somewhat oddball things that I can't live without.

#1:  100% cotton rags. Why, might you ask, are paper towels not good enough? Well, they are OK for many things,  but not all. When I am toning a canvas and wiping it firmly to spread the color evenly, paper towels fall apart and leave little crumbs of paper all over the canvas. Sometimes even the cotton rags end up with holes in them--but at least they don't leave debris on the canvas. I have friends (who shall remain nameless) who supply me with old T shirts whenever they clean out their closets. Can't thank them enough!

#2: Plastic Squeeze Bottles. My very first painting instructor suggested putting one's medium in a plastic squeeze bottle, instead of pouring it into a metal cup. Dipping your brush back into the same cup of medium throughout a painting session is a sure way to end up with dirty medium. With a squeeze bottle, you squeeze out medium as it is needed, and the rest stays nice and clean in the bottle. Ingenious.

#3: White Artist's Tape. I use this to tape off my canvas in the dimensions of the painting I am working on.  It helps me define my rectangle, and lets me work in any dimension I choose. And there are few joys greater than pulling the tape off when the painting is finished, and seeing the "reveal", with clean, crisp edges. Check it out below:

An added plus: at the end of a painting trip when I strip all the tape off my plein air paintings, the used tape takes on the form of a modern sculpture.  See the last image, and judge for yourself!  If you'd like a future installment of more "Things I Can't Live Without", send me a comment and let me know. (You can comment directly on this blog, or reach me through my website at lesleypowellart.com).  Thanks!

Strong Values

Photo from Jennifer McChristian

Painting is all about making value judgments. And I don't mean the type that concern good and evil!  In painting, "value" describes the relative lightness or darkness of things. Good values are the strongest determinant of the success of a painting--more so than even color. 

If you're not familiar with the concept of value, start by thinking of a black and white photo. The darkest areas are a low value, and the lightest areas are a high value.  Every color has a value, in addition to a hue. The image just above shows a value scale, marked to show values numbered from 1 to 4--a handy tool for the painter.

Demonstraton value study by Jennifer McChristian

It's important for painters to learn to see the world in just a few values. Seeing in just three of four values helps you organize the canvas into a pleasing array of shapes. In fact, some painters always do a value study before they begin a painting. It's a way of problem-solving, before you delve into the canvas. Jennifer McChristian does sensitive and beautiful value studies. She often uses markers in varying shades of gray (see top image). She also uses gouache, such as the value study immediately below. 

Value Study, (c) Jennifer McChristian

Taking a tip from McChristian, I took Copic markers with me to Paris one year. I didn't have time to execute complete paintings, but I did a number of value studies. My favorites became the basis of larger paintings back home in the studio. You can see one example below. The first image is the value study, followed by the finished painting. I tried to stay faithful to the values when laying down the color. As they say, "Color gets all the glory, but value does all the work."  So true!

Value Study, (c) Lesley Powell

"Across Pont des Invalides"
14 x 14, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2017
(SOLD)