Twilight Breaking 8x10
Hello, and welcome to Tonalist paintings by M Francis McCarthy.
Our video follows the progression of this study from its original drawing stage to its completion. Also featured is my rambling narration, so please check it out.
Today I'm posting my notes from the book 'Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light and Color' by Kevin McPherson.. These notes are pretty raw but they contain some real gems from this awesome book. If any of this information resonates with you, purchase it.
This book has been in print for quite a while, I am sharing my notes from it because it was one of the books that I first picked up back when I was teaching myself how to paint. It was very useful and very valuable to me in my learning process. I highly recommend this book to any painter direct or indirect.
The book divided the book into eight chapters
Chapter 1 Seeing color accurately
Chapter 2 Mixing clean fresh color, the light family and the shadow family
Chapter 4 Simplifying shapes for a good start
Chapter 5 Still life painting indoor challenges
Chapter 6 Plein air painting outdoor observations
Chapter 7 Pochade painting small and beautiful
Chapter 8 Studio painting, expanding your horizons
The beginning of the first chapter and goes over various materials and equipment
Of interest, is that he uses a slide projector and approaches the image on the projector as he would a scene in front of him from nature. This is something that I've been doing myself (with a digital frame) for the last year and even more so now that I have a larger monitor.
There's a good note about committing to growth
You need to develop at your own pace. Don't let anyone discourage you. Pledge to paint 100 simple flat poster like paintings as expressed in this book. This is one of the things that I took to heart, one of the best bits of advice that Kevin gave me and that was to do 100 small paintings.
He places emphasis on seeing color truly in nature especially outdoors.
He has a page here that says 'forget what you know, meaning that our preconceived ideas of what colors are and where they should be at. For example, the sky is blue and the trees are green and the grass is yellow etc. are not always, or even usually true.
He has a tip here about your viewing your subject out of focus. Which is something that I do. It's very easy for me because I just take my glasses off. I highly recommend this to anyone that I know that is beginning to paint.
It is called 'squint down' by Bob Rohm and Kevin refers to it as looking at things out of focus. This will increase your sensitivity to color and also put the stress in your painting on the large shapes.
Recommends breaking shapes Into Planes to Simplify the way that the color is breaks as it moves over an individual form.
He puts emphasis in painting the individual color notes instead of the things themselves and this is something that I stress in my own work as well.
Eradicate details. Detail does not necessarily make for a better painting.
Kevin's pallet consists of cadmium yellow pale, alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue and windsor green.
This is his key to achieving harmony,he uses a very limited palette to mix all of the colors that he uses in his painting. This is also the way I started out and I highly recommend limiting your palette for the beginning painter. Colors that I myself added in short order after beginning were yellow ocher and I painting palette for quite a while.
Grays complement brights if everyone is shouting no one is heard, if all your colors are bright and intense nothing stands out.
Changing value versus color temperature; this is something that I read in this book a long time back, but I didn't really get it myself until two years ago. A lot of times what you're perceiving as a color change in nature is more of a value change and vice a versa that's one reason why I like to meet the sky with the edge of my trees with the same value but a different color very effective.
Chapter 3 He starts by outlining that you should clearly delineate what areas of your painting are in the light which areas are in shade this is something that Bob Rohm stresses in his work as well. Simplifying shapes very important, to simplify your shapes and patterns is a good tip. Also, I always try to link my shadows instead of having separate patchy bits trying form them together to create complementary forms and shapes.
A good way to accomplish this is by squinting down and blurring your vision so that you see the large forms and not the detail.
Chapter 4 starts off by talking more about simplifying shapes for a good start. A good painting has unity and variety. You want big simple shapes that is one of the major secrets to a successful painting and something that I'm working on every day.
When starting a painting he recommends painting all the large big flat shapes of color first and then going in and breaking those into smaller shapes. This is something that I do more as a mental exercise than actually, a lot of direct painters do this is to cover that canvas up. What I tend to favor is to have drawing done in Siepia tones and then to go in and paint pretty much from the top down to the bottom.
He mentions looking for negative shapes which is a very good way of getting your bearings in the painting.
This is not something he mentions but reading his book sparked something that I do quite often. That is always spend a while getting the right color on my pallet before I proceed with painting it on to the canvas. Something that's very easy to overlook. I will work at the color until it looks right to me and I will do an experimental daub on the canvas, if its right, I proceed and if it's not I change it.
Another thing I like to do is and that he doesn't mention, is that I like to modulate my color. If you have a sky that in your reference has just one shade of blue I would deftly modulate the tones from my dark blue to light blue but I would also try and give it a shift from say purplish or greenish at the top to a something more yellowy white or gray white at the bottom.
He makes a good point that painting is a series of corrections. Says that when there are no more corrections to be made, the painting is done.
In reference to sky holes he makes a good point that most painters learn from experience but is something that I picked up from Bob Rohm as well and that is; sky holes are actually darker than the surrounding shade of sky out in the main sky area. Also, the smaller the hole the darker it's color perception should be.
Good tip here which we mentioned earlier; is do what he calls a start which is a simple flat shape study with no detail. You should pledge to do 100 of these. I think it's good to do one a day. At the end of this process you will be a much much better painter. This is one of the biggest best tips that you could ever get from any book and it is extremely valuable and useful.
In this chapter about simplification he does a painting demonstration of a seated woman.
It's a good idea to look for a variety of shapes
Work from big to small.
Chapter 5 is about still life painting and indoor challenges and I do not have much to say about that.
It is a good idea to suggest detail rather than doing it. This is an idea that's taken me a long time to wrap my head around. Suggested detail is far more vital than detail has actually been painstakingly rendered.
Also, it allows the viewer more relaxation and freedom while looking at your work. If you delineate every single detail it's going to have a tight feel that is unpleasant.
Chapter 6 is about plein air painting. I have experimented with plein air painting and I think it is a very viable practice for any artist to engage in. For my purposes though I find working in the studio to be a lot more beneficial.
What I do instead of doing plein air paintings, is to do my small studies prior to doing my larger painting. This gives me the freedom of a plein air with the control that the studio brings.
Issues that I have with plein air paintings are that,some artists like Kevin can make a quite a good painting en plein air but most en plein air paintings have a very samey quality (to my eyes) and that is because the painter is constantly moving to keep up with the changing quality of nature, the change in quality of the light, moving shadows and all the other assorted problems that drive me crazy.
He recommends breaking down your motif into a dark value and a light value sketch previous to actually doing the painting, even if you're just doing a little quick color sketch. This is the equivalent of my initial drawing stage where I use for Sienna and Phathlo green to do my drawing/under painting.
Not in this book but something he said definitely sparks off in my head is that your sky is always going to be the lightest thing in any painting you do. Exceptions to this might be very strong reflections in a pond or lake that are nearly as bright as the sky however. Most the time reflections in water are darker than the colors in the sky that they are reflecting.
Kevin does a gallery section at the end of many of his chapters that show off examples of work utilizing the principles that he is outlined in that chapter.
Gallery seven is about Pochade painting and I do not have much to say about that. Other than I have given it a go and it is basically plein air painting with a small box where you do small studies. This can be very valuable exercise and I recommended any painter give it a try.
Chapter 8 is about studio painting.
He does a demonstration painting based on a small study (done on site) and photographs as well as other notes that he is taken.
He starts off with a warm brown (he calls it a warm brown but it looks quite like a burnt sienna to me) under painting which is good, that is one of the things that is giving his work vibrance.
He mentions in this section that there are many ways to complete a painting and to start a painting and that you should try different approaches to see what works for you.
Good tip here about challenge yourself to do unfamiliar or difficult subjects this will help you grow.
He recommends stepping back often to judge your work so that you do not overwork it. This is very valuable information and something that I'm getting better with all the time.
In the conclusion he sums it up this book is basically about color. Thats why it was called Fill your paintings oil paintings with light in color. So, there's a specific theme to this book . This is also his second book, his first book goes more into basic approaches to creating paintings whiile this book concentrates on making better paintings.
He states color is but one aspect of picture making. You must learn to see color accurately and mix it properly; you must also understand light and shade and how to simplify shapes, composition, drawing etc.
Very good tip here about setting realistic goals throughout your painting career, and keeping track of your progress. Then you can look at older paintings, go back and visit earlier works from time to time. You may surprise yourself. There may be some things you could can do again but overall you will improve.
There is a page dedicated to recommended reading and an index of terms.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
A bit about Twilight Breaking 8x10; This painting was done back in Jan of 2014. I'm pretty happy with it and it's a motif that I enjoy returning to.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Twilight Breaking by M Francis McCarthy, 8x10 Oil Painting on Wood Panel |
Today's painting is Twilight Breaking 8x10.
Our video follows the progression of this study from its original drawing stage to its completion. Also featured is my rambling narration, so please check it out.
Today I'm posting my notes from the book 'Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light and Color' by Kevin McPherson.. These notes are pretty raw but they contain some real gems from this awesome book. If any of this information resonates with you, purchase it.
This book has been in print for quite a while, I am sharing my notes from it because it was one of the books that I first picked up back when I was teaching myself how to paint. It was very useful and very valuable to me in my learning process. I highly recommend this book to any painter direct or indirect.
The book divided the book into eight chapters
Chapter 1 Seeing color accurately
Chapter 2 Mixing clean fresh color, the light family and the shadow family
Chapter 4 Simplifying shapes for a good start
Chapter 5 Still life painting indoor challenges
Chapter 6 Plein air painting outdoor observations
Chapter 7 Pochade painting small and beautiful
Chapter 8 Studio painting, expanding your horizons
The beginning of the first chapter and goes over various materials and equipment
Of interest, is that he uses a slide projector and approaches the image on the projector as he would a scene in front of him from nature. This is something that I've been doing myself (with a digital frame) for the last year and even more so now that I have a larger monitor.
There's a good note about committing to growth
You need to develop at your own pace. Don't let anyone discourage you. Pledge to paint 100 simple flat poster like paintings as expressed in this book. This is one of the things that I took to heart, one of the best bits of advice that Kevin gave me and that was to do 100 small paintings.
He places emphasis on seeing color truly in nature especially outdoors.
He has a page here that says 'forget what you know, meaning that our preconceived ideas of what colors are and where they should be at. For example, the sky is blue and the trees are green and the grass is yellow etc. are not always, or even usually true.
He has a tip here about your viewing your subject out of focus. Which is something that I do. It's very easy for me because I just take my glasses off. I highly recommend this to anyone that I know that is beginning to paint.
It is called 'squint down' by Bob Rohm and Kevin refers to it as looking at things out of focus. This will increase your sensitivity to color and also put the stress in your painting on the large shapes.
Recommends breaking shapes Into Planes to Simplify the way that the color is breaks as it moves over an individual form.
He puts emphasis in painting the individual color notes instead of the things themselves and this is something that I stress in my own work as well.
Eradicate details. Detail does not necessarily make for a better painting.
Kevin's pallet consists of cadmium yellow pale, alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue and windsor green.
This is his key to achieving harmony,he uses a very limited palette to mix all of the colors that he uses in his painting. This is also the way I started out and I highly recommend limiting your palette for the beginning painter. Colors that I myself added in short order after beginning were yellow ocher and I painting palette for quite a while.
Grays complement brights if everyone is shouting no one is heard, if all your colors are bright and intense nothing stands out.
Changing value versus color temperature; this is something that I read in this book a long time back, but I didn't really get it myself until two years ago. A lot of times what you're perceiving as a color change in nature is more of a value change and vice a versa that's one reason why I like to meet the sky with the edge of my trees with the same value but a different color very effective.
Chapter 3 He starts by outlining that you should clearly delineate what areas of your painting are in the light which areas are in shade this is something that Bob Rohm stresses in his work as well. Simplifying shapes very important, to simplify your shapes and patterns is a good tip. Also, I always try to link my shadows instead of having separate patchy bits trying form them together to create complementary forms and shapes.
A good way to accomplish this is by squinting down and blurring your vision so that you see the large forms and not the detail.
Chapter 4 starts off by talking more about simplifying shapes for a good start. A good painting has unity and variety. You want big simple shapes that is one of the major secrets to a successful painting and something that I'm working on every day.
When starting a painting he recommends painting all the large big flat shapes of color first and then going in and breaking those into smaller shapes. This is something that I do more as a mental exercise than actually, a lot of direct painters do this is to cover that canvas up. What I tend to favor is to have drawing done in Siepia tones and then to go in and paint pretty much from the top down to the bottom.
He mentions looking for negative shapes which is a very good way of getting your bearings in the painting.
This is not something he mentions but reading his book sparked something that I do quite often. That is always spend a while getting the right color on my pallet before I proceed with painting it on to the canvas. Something that's very easy to overlook. I will work at the color until it looks right to me and I will do an experimental daub on the canvas, if its right, I proceed and if it's not I change it.
Another thing I like to do is and that he doesn't mention, is that I like to modulate my color. If you have a sky that in your reference has just one shade of blue I would deftly modulate the tones from my dark blue to light blue but I would also try and give it a shift from say purplish or greenish at the top to a something more yellowy white or gray white at the bottom.
He makes a good point that painting is a series of corrections. Says that when there are no more corrections to be made, the painting is done.
In reference to sky holes he makes a good point that most painters learn from experience but is something that I picked up from Bob Rohm as well and that is; sky holes are actually darker than the surrounding shade of sky out in the main sky area. Also, the smaller the hole the darker it's color perception should be.
Good tip here which we mentioned earlier; is do what he calls a start which is a simple flat shape study with no detail. You should pledge to do 100 of these. I think it's good to do one a day. At the end of this process you will be a much much better painter. This is one of the biggest best tips that you could ever get from any book and it is extremely valuable and useful.
In this chapter about simplification he does a painting demonstration of a seated woman.
It's a good idea to look for a variety of shapes
Work from big to small.
Chapter 5 is about still life painting and indoor challenges and I do not have much to say about that.
It is a good idea to suggest detail rather than doing it. This is an idea that's taken me a long time to wrap my head around. Suggested detail is far more vital than detail has actually been painstakingly rendered.
Also, it allows the viewer more relaxation and freedom while looking at your work. If you delineate every single detail it's going to have a tight feel that is unpleasant.
Chapter 6 is about plein air painting. I have experimented with plein air painting and I think it is a very viable practice for any artist to engage in. For my purposes though I find working in the studio to be a lot more beneficial.
What I do instead of doing plein air paintings, is to do my small studies prior to doing my larger painting. This gives me the freedom of a plein air with the control that the studio brings.
Issues that I have with plein air paintings are that,some artists like Kevin can make a quite a good painting en plein air but most en plein air paintings have a very samey quality (to my eyes) and that is because the painter is constantly moving to keep up with the changing quality of nature, the change in quality of the light, moving shadows and all the other assorted problems that drive me crazy.
He recommends breaking down your motif into a dark value and a light value sketch previous to actually doing the painting, even if you're just doing a little quick color sketch. This is the equivalent of my initial drawing stage where I use for Sienna and Phathlo green to do my drawing/under painting.
Not in this book but something he said definitely sparks off in my head is that your sky is always going to be the lightest thing in any painting you do. Exceptions to this might be very strong reflections in a pond or lake that are nearly as bright as the sky however. Most the time reflections in water are darker than the colors in the sky that they are reflecting.
Kevin does a gallery section at the end of many of his chapters that show off examples of work utilizing the principles that he is outlined in that chapter.
Gallery seven is about Pochade painting and I do not have much to say about that. Other than I have given it a go and it is basically plein air painting with a small box where you do small studies. This can be very valuable exercise and I recommended any painter give it a try.
Chapter 8 is about studio painting.
He does a demonstration painting based on a small study (done on site) and photographs as well as other notes that he is taken.
He starts off with a warm brown (he calls it a warm brown but it looks quite like a burnt sienna to me) under painting which is good, that is one of the things that is giving his work vibrance.
He mentions in this section that there are many ways to complete a painting and to start a painting and that you should try different approaches to see what works for you.
Good tip here about challenge yourself to do unfamiliar or difficult subjects this will help you grow.
He recommends stepping back often to judge your work so that you do not overwork it. This is very valuable information and something that I'm getting better with all the time.
In the conclusion he sums it up this book is basically about color. Thats why it was called Fill your paintings oil paintings with light in color. So, there's a specific theme to this book . This is also his second book, his first book goes more into basic approaches to creating paintings whiile this book concentrates on making better paintings.
He states color is but one aspect of picture making. You must learn to see color accurately and mix it properly; you must also understand light and shade and how to simplify shapes, composition, drawing etc.
Very good tip here about setting realistic goals throughout your painting career, and keeping track of your progress. Then you can look at older paintings, go back and visit earlier works from time to time. You may surprise yourself. There may be some things you could can do again but overall you will improve.
There is a page dedicated to recommended reading and an index of terms.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
A bit about Twilight Breaking 8x10; This painting was done back in Jan of 2014. I'm pretty happy with it and it's a motif that I enjoy returning to.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Twilight Breaking 8x10 (Detail) |