Tone Oil Painting Exercises

My first tone oil painting exercise after several drills with my awesome teachers.

My second tone oil painting exercise - on my own, November, 2014

(I can see the progress already)

I am so thrilled with my progress in tone painting and feeling very grateful for my ahhhmaazzzing instructors, Michelle, Melissa and Susie.   The founder of Mission Renaissance Larry Gluck was in class yesterday and gave us some great words of wisdom regarding how to build a painting and seeing tones.  It was exactly what I have been craving as an artist.

Plaster Cast Animal Studies

Boar Study (cropped)

Camel Study (cropped)

I really like making the drawings more lifelike with a few more details in the face.  I even erased the head straps off the camel to show off his face a little more.  They have amazing eyes.  I am really happy with the boar's snout - a difficult shape to create - but I think I pulled it off.  

Tone Drawing Studies 2

Three Objects Study

Two Objects Study

My tone drawing course is going pretty well.  It's challenging to keep the original shapes while adding the pastel and not allowing the objects to feel outlined.  The idea is to have a nice transition of tone between objects and create any lines at the end with the lightest lights for highlights and the darkest darks for deep shadows.  Overall, I am getting better at seeing the tones and matching them to the original still life.  I am still working on getting faster at each step to make the overall process go quickly so that I may demo it for my students.  One day at a time.

Animal Sketch From Plaster Casts Studies

Sweet Rabbit Sitting on Hind Legs

This sketch is in charcoal on newsprint done from observing a plaster cast at work.  When I get home, I add lifelike features such as fur and sparkles in the animal's eyes. 

Tone Drawing Studies

Three Tones Apple Study

Three Tones Cup Study

Here are my first two studies for the tone drawing course at work.  I'm enjoying the process thoroughly and absolutely love my job with Mission Renaissance!

Watercolor Study  4" x 2"  August, 2014

This is a portion of a copy of an original painting by Larry Gluck.

The purpose was to learn about layering and mixing original colors and utilizing a variety of methods of washes and watercolor painting techniques.  

Watercolor Studies

Green Apple Study  5" x 5" watercolor on arches, August 2014

I absolutely love learning everyday about methods in art at my awesome job.  This is a study from life using complimenary colors in watercolors using simple flat washes.

Animal Sketches From Plaster Casts Studies

These sketches are all in charcoal on newsprint done from plaster casts studies at work.  When I get home, I add lifelike features such as fur and sparkles in the animal's eyes.  This has been a fun way to learn from observational drawing while my subject sits perfectly still.  

Needless to say, I absolutely love my job teaching children with Mission Renaissance. 

New Sketches of Animals

Baby Squirrel Resting in a Tree, charcoal on newsprint, July, 2014. 

I had so much fun with this sketch that I finished for my Class 2 Instructor class at work that I brought it home to Pyar.  He promptly had it framed for our living space.  

New Sketches of Animals

Baby Polar Bear for Pyar, charcoal on newsprint, August 2014

This sketch was started from a plaster cast exercise that I created for work.  After my supervisor's approval, I added some fur and details on the face to make the baby polar bear more lifelike.  

Watercolor and Ink ~ Recipe Cards

As an Art Teacher, I must try out lessons prior to giving them to my students.  I learn where they may struggle and how to best articulate instructions for the process once I have gone through it myself.  This is one of my favorite new lessons!   The combination of observational drawing, designing an interesting composition/layout and personal ideas creates a unique opportunity for artistic expression.  I was inspired my the art form from Japan known as Etegami.  

In my 3rd and 4th grade classes this term, we are exploring ideas in our own sketchbooks that the students make themselves.   Students will design,  experiment and explore materials and techniques in their sketchbooks prior to creating a larger scale piece of art.