Color Studies

 

I've been a little distracted with things like my second COVID vaccine (flu symptoms for about 12 hours, no big deal) but today I got to the easel and back to my 2021 focus on color. Working two-up, I started with Burnt Sienna acrylic to lay in the value pattern using a b/w photo reference.

After the acrylic dried (about a minute!) I could start working in oil paint using color photos as reference. Hue. Value. Temperature. I really meant to stop and take more progress shots but once I started painting I forgot about it. The painting on the left is about 80% complete. I'll try to take more photos of the process when I move on to the second painting. Eventually these little color studies may end up in my new Facebook Shop under the business name, Bina Designs, that I've had since 1988.

A self-portrait

Sixty years ago I painted a self-portrait in oil paint in my high school art class. It was so traumatic that I didn't touch oil paint again for nearly fifty years, instead reverting to pencil and pen and ink. This week I tried it again and it was so much fun!  I made a few short videos. Scroll to the bottom to see the finished painting and the reference selfie it was painted from. I may add my glasses after it is dry. 

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3 Note the vertical palette.

Self-Portrait oil sketch ©2021 Barbara Benedetti Newton

Several years ago I made quite a few pastel videos. 

If you would like to see them, visit my YouTube Playlist