Remodeling a Painting - Part 3

Welcome back! The remodeled music painting is progressing nicely. There is one change since Part 2, however. I had a revelation when I was painting and decided to switch my boring guitar with one a musical friend, Ron Anthony, designed and built. It is a beauty, with lots of detail and style. And it sounds great too! Of course, it doesn't hurt that Ron is an amazing musician, song writer, and singer.

As before, I'll walk you through paint mixing and application, still going from dark to light. For those who would like to know more about the drawing, I decided to include a mini lesson on perspective, using the tambourine.
I've included some information about color temperature, since I'm at the point where it's important for the harmony that the colors are mixed taking into account the temperature of the light on the subject.
There are wonderful books on art out there, so I've included a few of my favorites.

Going Thicker

In Part 2, I showed how I prepared the canvas and put in a thin coat of paint for all of the large shapes. This time, I'm beginning to use thicker paint, with no mineral spirits. I start with the darkest areas, which is the background, the tambourine and then the guitar and mandolin. I'm always working from dark to light, and thinking about where the light source is. I'm using a medium size bristle brush (#6) for the background and a medium size sable (#4) for the instruments. For smaller details, I use a sable round (#1).

For interest, I prefer a slightly turned view of all of the instruments, rather then a straight on view. I think it's more interesting and also, it helps to provide some depth.

I also started to add some shaping and color to the fabric, and strengthened the stripe that leads toward the tambourine.

Perspective Study of the Tambourine

The tambourine is a side view, making the shape more of an oval, The vanishing point (a point where parallel lines appear to converge) is off to the left, so to check the accuracy of the drawing, I first measure both the width and the height of the instrument using a pencil or my trusty measuring chopstick at arm's length. I put those measurements down, then I add my lines for the perspective, knowing that the vanishing point is off to the left.

I next put in vertical lines that are perpendicular to the perspective lines. To find the center, I draw a line from each corner within the square diagonally to the other. From here, I can draw an oval for the center negative space. I can measure the width of the inside and outside of the tambourine at the halfway point (see dotted line) and add those points.

This is a basic way to draw an ellipse. It works great for drawing things like tires on a car parked at an angle or any round shape that is viewed at an angle.

Mixing the Colors

Here's my palette for this lesson. I've mixed my dark background black, then I'm using Transparent Oxide Yellow for the guitar and for parts of the mandolin, mixing with cadmium yellow and titanium white for the lighter tones. For the paisley fabric, cadmium red, orange, and yellow in various mixes. For the green, Chromium Oxide Green and some Viridian. I'm also using some of this mixed with a tiny amount of red (remember, mix with the complement to subdue the color and in this case, give it a warmer tone). Always check the temperature of your colors and their relationship to each other. If one of the colors is unintentionally standing out, it could be that the temperature is either too cool or too warm.

It's important to note that you can mix all of these colors using your basic complementary colors, so don't feel the need to rush out and buy them. Sometimes, when I order paint from Jerry's Artarama, they send me tubes of odd colors for free. That was the case for the Transparent Oxide Yellow. I normally would mix my own, but since I had it, why not use it?

I'm leaving the music paper for last, since it is the lightest area. The titanium white is too cool, so I will warm it up a bit.

Use Professional Artist Grade paint whenever possible. Student grade paint is full of fillers and has less pigment, making it harder to cover an area. The color is weaker and will also lose its color strength over time.

Why Color Temperature is Important

Local colors in a subject are influenced by the source of light, whether it is warm or cool. When approaching a subject, the first thing you should do is figure out whether your light source is warm or cool. If it's a bright sunny day, it would be warm, if it's cloudy, it would probably be cool. Indoor light can be either warm or cool, depending on the source. It the light is from a fluorescent light, it will most likely be cool. Once this is established, you should keep the temperature of your colors consistent throughout the painting.

In this painting, the source of light is a warm incandescent bulb, so when I mix my colors for my subjects, I'll know to use or mix warmer shades of each color. The shadows are different. We'll talk about how to do shadows in Part 4.

Words on Paper

Some of my favorite painting books are:

• Alla Prima II by Richard Schmid
• Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting by John F. Carlson
• Color Harmony in Your Paintings by Margaret Kessler
• Landscape Painting by Mitchell Albala

Some great drawing books:

• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
• How to Draw What You See by Rudy De Reyna
• Drawing for the Absolute Beginner by Mark and Mary Willenbrink

Next

In Part 4, I'm going to continue to work toward the lighter tones of the painting. I'l be paying attention to temperature and color harmony as I go. I'll tighten the details and drawings of the subjects and put in the music paper and pen. I'll also address folds, edges, and shadows. By the next email, the painting should be complete.

Use a palette knife to mix your paint on your palette. However, don’t be afraid of mixing some color on the canvas as you work. You may find some interesting results.