Me 'n' Nikki, redux

I started this all the way back in May 2021 and then forgot about it. I was very unhappy with the result of the original painting and decided to start over completely.

Here is the original drawing. I drew it digitally, then transferred the image to canvas using a projector. Which seems like it would be the smart thing to do, but it was such a pain to set up that it isn't really worth it. 

Here is where I left off, two years ago. I painted in the background and let it dry for so long I forgot this painting existed until the other day when I went through some canvases in the closet.

I've been itching to try out all my newly acquired painting techniques, so after a two year hiatus I'm going to finally get some work done on this. First things first: fix that cat's face!

The underpainting / imprimatura technique has been an absolute game changer. It's fun mapping out the values ahead of time and keeps me from rushing through the early stages of the process. I used various sienna and umbers in water-mixable oil paint. I also washed over the stairs backdrop to give it a more vibrant tint. I'll most likely go over it again to add some texture, but that can wait.

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Experimenting with gel gloss

Here are three small practice pieces: two are on acrylic paper, the other is on some sort of cardboard stock. I added texture using the gel gloss which is white but dries clear. 

Trust me: It dries clear!

The square paintings were done in oil, limited to three colors each. My idea was that I would lay down the colors in a limited palette and then glaze it with additional colors once the paintings have dried. 

W+N Zinc white, W+N cerulean blue hue, Cobra naples yellow light

I am hoping that adding a yellow glaze will make the picture pop. Reflecting on my progress so far, I wish I had added more paint coverage, especially for the water. But it is what it is - adding more paint will just slow me down. I learned my lesson. There's always next time!

Cobra titanium buff, Cobra persian rose, W+N viridian 

The paint coverage is not great - I will be adding a brighter layer on top. The source photo was taken mid-day but the colors I picked out gave me a different result. Happy mistakes!

This last one was a hot mess. I figured I would paint in base colors only and leave the shading for the glazing stage. So I tried painting with acrylic on top of the gel and ... yeah. But not all hope is lost! I was very curious to see how glazing on top would bring back the shapes that got lost underneath.

It looks cool, but there is a lot going on, especially for such a small surface area. I am hoping to further define the scene once this layer has dried. I don't think I would consider taking this approach again unless it seemed appropriate. I do love the jewel-like depth offered by the gel gloss. There is an overwhelming amount of different acrylic mediums to try out and I'm trying to stay calm before I end up with 20 different gels and pastes.

General reflections

I am relying on the glazing stage way too much. I couldn’t help but get excited about the possibilities! But now I realize this should be saved for final touches on the topmost layers. If you only rely on glazing, the subjects don’t look as solid. When laying down colors they should be as close to the final color as possible. Glazing is for sfumato and other subtle shading techniques.

Another lesson: carve textures into the gel gloss, sparingly. It was a fun experiment. It works in certain contexts, like rough tree bark. I would save the toothpick for the painting stage. I liked carving out lines on the ruins painting. I like seeing the layer underneath. With the gel gloss it adds extra depth.

On to the next layer of glaze

The saga continues! For my next layer I added a glaze of ultramarine blue. I'm also working on slowly rainbowing up those whiskers. 

Added some yellow glaze to these. Not sure I'm liking how the ruins are coming out, but I can always counter the green with a layer of brown or red to balance it out. But after that I will leave it alone. It's just practice and doesn't have to be perfect.

For the eye, adding the yellow gives it an aged look, but I think it's cool. It almost reminds me of the yellowish greens you see in medieval art. I plan on making a few more touches to this eye before I'll call it finished. Now to wait for it to dry.

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Live, Laugh, Love

This is my canvas where I use up any paint I can't put back in the tube. I dislike wasting paint, so it has to go somewhere. There is no particular vision behind this one, just painting as I go. It's weird but I like it so far.

Cobra water-mixable paints

I got a few tubes of Cobra water mixable oil paint:

• Titanium white buff
• Naples yellow light
• Naples yellow red
• Persian rose

There is absolutely a difference from what I’m used to. These are much more buttery and rich than Winsor & Newton. The cobra paint is less viscous than W+N, and behaves more like acrylic paint. It does not spread the same as W+N. It takes thicker applications of paint, and more frequently too. The paint is textured, displaying the brushwork as if the hand had just lifted the brush off the canvas. I love the dynamic, lifelike movement of traditional art.

Left to right: W+N cerulean blue hue; W+N zinc white; Cobra naples yellow light

Because of Cobra’s paint properties, it encourages a more loose and expressive painting style. It also made me understand the importance of brushwork. Every single decision must be intentional and coordinated, for you cannot undo. If you keep going, you risk overworking it. So make sure that stroke counts.

 
For the ruins, I mixed Cobra’s Persian Rose with W+N’s phthalo green, and it produced a lovely range of colors. The use of a tone map made it much easier to place colors effectively. I am hoping to use these colors as bases to be mixed with other colors, or glazed over. These are nice paints and should be treated as such. 

Under the cut is a practice painting of a nude figure.

Nintendo 64

 Messing around with colors on this scanned sketch. Here's the original drawing.

Admittedly, I like the first version better. The colors are more varied and fun. The other one looks too washed out, especially the screen. But I can still find ways to combine the best of both worlds. 

I don't know where this is headed or if I'll even finish it. My attention has been mostly focused on painting right now.

Elle and Winter

Brought home some old paintings from my parents’ house, and I’m debating what to do with them. One of which is this painting of Winter, one of two kittens I looked after in 2017. It’s a long story, but I brought Elle and Winter home from Seattle after visiting a friend, and eventually had to send them back about a month later. The friend ended up giving away the cats, and we aren’t in touch anymore, so I have no idea where these cats are now. But I miss them, man. I cried the day we sent them back to Seattle.

So, let's address the elephant in the room: this is not a great painting. 

But now the good news: I can see a tremendous difference in how far I’ve come since then. Why not paint over it to create a better, updated version? It would be, quite literally, a fresh coat of paint. I loved these little girlies and want to remember the time I spent with them. I want to display it on the wall, instead of finding it in a dark closet years later. But it has to be worthy of that privilege.

The point of no return!

This is a risky move. Once I start painting over the original picture, it’s lost forever. But if this works out, I would consider going over some other years-old paintings that are not very good. My policy is to not go over finished paintings - if it’s done, it’s done. But these are old-old, and I wouldn’t put them on display. So that’s my metric for deciding. I would love to go over my old Nikki paintings if I knew that I could pull it off.

Here's a digital artwork of Winter that I did about three years ago. 

And lastly, here are some photos of the dollies. I wonder what they look like now.

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