Seaside Blossoms - Getting Started with a Strong Underpainting

Seaside Blossoms, 36 x 18, Oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2019

Painted for solo show, "Beaches, Birds and Botanicals"

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I receive many inquiries from budding artists about how to get started on a painting. My answer is always the same, "Invest in your block-in and under painting." What does that mean exactly? For me, it begins with a loose, painterly sketch using ultramarine and burnt sienna... 

My first concern is for placement of the subject and establishing my composition. I establish linear boundaries to contain the various areas of the painting. This helps prevent elements from growing.

Next I consider placement of values (meaning lights and darks of the overall painting), and begin to develop the shapes. This is also the best time to make any needed adjustments to the drawing and overall composition. 

Ultimately, I want my block-in to be a road map to my finished painting. If I take the time to invest in this stage of a painting, it usually tells me exactly where to go next.

Seaside Blossoms, 36x18, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2019

Join me for an upcoming workshop...
Fall Plein Air Workshop at Contemporary Austin Art School, Nov. 8-9, 2019 - Register Here

Antiques on the Corner

Antiques On The Corner, 10 x 9, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2017

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Victorian Place Antiques in Brunswick, Georgia, sits at the intersection of Gloucester and MLK. I was drawn to this storefront by its charming angled entrance, and its architectural reminder of an era gone by. (I also loved the shady parkway that provided cool protection on a hot, steamy Georgia morning!) This building has been repurposed time and again for the various dreams of its ever changing owners. It is now full of beautiful antique treasures. If walls could speak, I am sure this place would tell many tales. 

Huge thanks to those of you who have checked in with concern about the flooding in Texas... I appreciate it so much! All is well with us, but please keep Houston and other flooded areas in your prayers! There has been much loss!

Evening Song

Evening Song, 30 x 24, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2017

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A few weeks ago I posted a study for this larger work that is now on it's way to the Anderson Fine Art Gallery on St. Simons Island in Georgia!! On occasion, my heart breaks with the beauty of the low country and it's dramatic skies. I can never get enough! As I took this piece larger, I didn't want to lose any of that drama, and that required staying committed to the dark passages. Below is an image of my block-in, where I laid those darks in pretty boldly. 

Evening Song Block In

You may be wondering about that little passage of yellow... Early on in the block in, I used Indian Yellow to lay in some of the light areas. Indian Yellow is transparent, and is a perfect "place holder" for passages that will be that color. The transparency allows it to save the yellow areas without contaminating the darks that need to surround it. I used it to hold the spots higher up in the sky as well, I just forgot to take another photo. Try to imagine! :)