Thursday, June 24, 2010

First true oil...



So, I really like oils...the way the paint can be worked and reworked is truly cool. And I found a method/technique that I like (which has room for improvement).

I did this for Illustration Friday. The painting is still wet, so I'm getting light weirdness happening all over the place, but this shows the gist of it.

Hope all is well with everyone.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm jealous man! That's terrific that you could do such a solid piece in oils, no less! And on top of that I saw Paisley on IF and decided to wait until next week...

I like how you did the head - the eye sockets, the nose, the ears - it's all very round and solid.

I think the only thing I could see that's a bit off is the second finger on his right hand...it seems a little long.

Anyways - good paisley!

and where is everyone? I thought this was a critique board. Where's the critiques?

Pixiewinkle said...

I love your "paisley". Very fun. Did you do this oil in one sitting? Very impressed if you did. What's the size?

I think the lighting looks great (you were talking about light weirdness, but I think it looks fine). The fingers seem fine to me as well- they are actually very impressive.

The colors work well. The right hand corner is a lot of space...is there anything that you might want to fill it with- something simple as to not draw the eye away from the main attraction...but if it were for a book it's a good place for the words, so scratch what I said (I think as I write).

A success!

Unknown said...

This looks great and what I really like is that there is a style emerging here that I have not seen your work take on before. Finding a unique style is the hardest thing to do in my opinion.

My only comment is the flower is sort of sitting there and not serving any real purpose. I know that it's part of his jacket, but I'm not sure you would see it if the jacket were opened in that fashion.

Another thing that might help you is James Gurney's book Imaginative Realism. His paintings are wicked sick, but his methods for setting up lighting and posing in the mirror and use of simple sculptures is really inspiring and I think you would really enjoy it.

Keep up the good work.

Patti said...

Nice work on the paisley. The face is fun and interesting too. It is a little hard figuring out where the paisley is coming from. I get that it is the lining but it seems that you should be seeing more of an edge of the jacket. I like your colors, and also agree with steve about the flower.

pete said...

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I agree with many of your points for improvement.

Steve - I do have "Imaginative Realism" and am looking forward to Gurney's next book on color. He's awesome and is definitely one of my heroes.

Pixiewinkle - I wish I could do that painting in one sitting! :) It took me about a week of sporadic work...lots of time doing layers which I wasn't accustomed to previously. It is roughly 14" X 10" on illustration board.

Isaac - Thanks for the critique...I wasn't happy with the hands either, but really pushed to finish to post on IF on time. Any news on your pitches to the execs at Nick?

Patti - Thank you for your comments. I agree about the liner and the flower...they feel like afterthoughts to me, too.

Now on to the next painting! :)

kris fulk said...

Pete, that is awesome! I really do see your style though. I knew it was yours right away.

Coming in last, I definitely see what Patti is talking about. If he's holding up his jacket this way, it would probably work better if he's holding his lapel. The liner would be sewn where the lapel ends, where it folds under the jacket, and we'd see a little less of his super chic pink paisley fabric. There'd also be hints of the armhole as well.

Anyway, you guys already covered it, but I thought I'd expound a little bit more.

I worked only a little bit with acrylics and found the quick drying frustrating. I'm so glad you're loving oils! Can't wait to see more of them :)

Anonymous said...

Great color work. I love it.

Christy/Tiddly Inks Digitals said...

Acckkkk, Pete! I love this...the lining of his jacket is spectacular!!!