Art awakens the soul – A Daily Painter
I enjoy practicing on smaller panels; I don’t feel overwhelmed, and I have room to practice new techniques without fear or messing up. For this painting, I wanted to keep my brushstrokes loose while leaving visible texture. This was painted on a 6″ x 8″ panel.
“Look Down,” for me, is about exploring and discovery. It takes on a playful perspective and calls us to see the world in child-like manner. Sometimes we become distracted with our own thoughts and fail to notice the beauty around us. The model for this painting is my daughter, and, of course, she was delighted to hear that it will be featured in a selected group exhibition at Sulfur Studios in Savannah, GA from March 21st to April 6th.
I am starting to enjoy the use of acrylic paint for the under-painting. It allows me to work farther into a painting in one session and allows the painting to maintain a certain vibrancy that is hard to achieve with oil paints alone. I make go back on the left side to add more detail. I have learned that there are infinite ways to paint clouds and water. The key is to add many colors and work them towards one another.
This is my largest painting yet. Capturing the subtle light in the water and not adding too much detail were the most challenging parts.
I have not worked in grisaille (black and white) for quite some time, so I decided to do this little practice for my upcoming workshop. Doing this reminds me of the importance of values. I tend to get lost in colors when I am working alla prima. I will be doing more of these small studies this coming week.
I am so excited to be hosting my first oil painting workshop, “Introduction to Oil Painting.” As a homeschooling mother, I teach on a daily basis. I am excited to bring my knowledge to those who love to learn! I know I will learn plenty from my students as well. If you are in the Savannah area and want to learn how to paint, please sign up here: https://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ce/programs/oilpainting/
You can also visit my website: https://vanessawithun.com, click on the “Events/CV” tab, and click on the link listed.
I love working on highly textured surfaces. Lots of scraping and laying on of thick paint involved. I enjoy creating a mural-like scene. I guess a part of me thinks back to my upbringing in Bronx, New York. Since I was a child, I was always interested in murals and the textures around me–bricks, cement, and walls. I loved watching the way old buildings decayed to reveal interesting colors and patterns beneath the surface.
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