Color Evaluator II - #5002

I was reading a post in a portrait artist forum and some people are using ( red acetate) red color glasses to see tones more clearly and to highlight drawing mistakes.

They say when you look through the lens to take note which areas stand out as the lightest on the model and then check to see if those areas are standing out as lightest in your work.

Looks like a useful and inexpensive tool.  I’m thinking about getting a pair only $7.99 at Cottagemills.com

http://www.cottagemills.com/default/colorevaluator.html

Peter Paul Rubens PDF Files on Color Theory

There is a wealth of information on line in free PDF files, you just have to know where to find them. Here is a great PDF file I found on Peter Paul Rubens about his color theory :

Peter Paul Rubens PDF on color theory



http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/-?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=28850&silo_library=GEN01

100 Lectures for Art Enthusiasts at Online College.org

100 Awesome Lectures for Art Enthusiasts

Whether you’re studying art, or are just interested in learning more about it, there’s plenty of information to be found online. Some of the best resources for learning about art online are lectures, many of them offered by top universities like MIT, Princeton, and Harvard. Here, we’ll take a look at 100 incredible lectures for your art education.




http://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/09/07/100-awesome-lectures-for-art-enthusiasts/

Pachi's critique

Pachi .....an astute art critic and dear friend of mine stopped by this weekend to critique my painting, She said it  was coming out just fine but thought there was something missing that she just couldn’t put her paw on. 

She suggested to balance the composition and to make it more interesting, that “adding a poodle would certainly do the trick ! ”......I told her that I would have to think about it.

Bouguereau's Charity, Oil Painting Study

This started out as a loose sketch for drawing practice and I was going to let it go at that and move on but I miss painting so much I decided to go ahead and start blocking in the colors and refining the drawing a little with paint.

first step in oil painting

One step backward......this is the starting picture I forgot to post the other day. I basically started by toning the canvas with burnt umber then began pulling out the lights with a rag. Paper towel work best for the highlights because they lift out more paint. For lifting out the fine details I use all kinds of erasers . I do my blending with round and flat badger brushes.

Oil Sketch Practice, William Adolphe Bouguereau's Charity.

The alarm clock went off this morning at 5:30AM........ I got up, put on a pot of coffee and started getting ready to go to work .....then it hit me.......its Saturday you block head ! "I hate when I do that ".....  Well instead of going back to sleep, I slugged down the coffee and started an oil sketch. This is a masters study of one of my favorite painting by William Adolphe Bouguereau called Charity. 

Procrastination

Venus cast drawing practice

This is my first try at drawing the Venus cast, and I was surprised at how much detail came out of it when I turned all the lights off and just focused one spot light on the figure. 

I don’t know why I thought I could render it all in one session, because I just couldn't capture all the detail I would have liked to. I’m not sure how long I was working on it, but I just tired out and let go at this point.

I plan on drawing this thing many, many  more time using different angles, mediums and focal points. It looks like its going to be a good and affordable tool to use for drawing practice.  

Affordable anatomical and figure casts suitable for drawing practice.

I've been looking around on line for affordable anatomical and figure casts suitable for drawing practice and anatomy studies. But when it comes to casts, you get what you pay for. Many of the cheaper ones skimp on detail. 

But I found this (11.5" tall on an 2 7/8" X 2.5" Base A.Santini   made in Italy ) Greek sculpture of Aphrodite of Milos ( better known as Venus De Milo ) to be rich in detail, so I gambled 60 bucks and ordered it on e-bay. It just came in this week and I have to say I’m pleased with it . Its made of alabaster so it has some weight to it. It has loads of detail and it fits into my shadow box so I can easily sketch it at my desk using the desk lamp to bring out the shadows.