Process of Surface and Texture Painting

Why Oil Paint?

Painters choose to use oil paint because it offers more freedom. With oil paint, an artist can always change the painting at any time and and there are unlimited designs the painter can make on a canvas. Oil paint is pigment mixed with oil. Oil paint dates back to the 15th century, when it was used in Europe.
Once a canvas is stretched, many coats of gesso are applied to shrink the canvas. The canvas is then sanded with sandpaper to make it smoother and easier to paint on. Once that is done, creativity begins.

The artist or painter applies turpentine all over the canvas, so it will be easier to erase or fix mistakes. This is true because oil paint dries slower than most paints.Then the artist sketches the forms and step by step builds the up the painting with color. The oil paint and linseed oil used serve as varnishes to produce bright vivid colors. These oils give the painting a glossy finish. Regular paint hardens and you can not go back to fix a mistake; therefore, it shows up in the end result. Oil paint lets one blend colors and show the highlights, mid tones, and shadows of an object, setting, or person more effectively. No brushstrokes are shown; with regular paint the strokes are more visible.

Plus, the artist's style shows through the painting. Glazing is a technique Leonardo Da Vinci used in the painting The Mona Lisa. He kept building up a thin layer of paint upon another thin layer of paint to give the painting depth and texture.


Overall, oil paint has more benefits and advantages than normal paint.

What is a Portrait?

A portrait is a painting or picture that depicts a person's face through visuals and color. A portrait captures a person's characteristics and mood at a certain time.

In the Self-Portrait of Chuck Close, Chuck Close uses a grid to paint his face. Each tiny section is made up of little images using a variety of colors and geometric and organic shapes. This is called minimalism. Chuck Close uses a lot of warm vibrant colors in his face and uses dark cool colors for the background. The black turtleneck fades into the background; this draws the focus to his face. He also uses techniques such as photo realism and pointillism.

Photo realism is when a lot of detail and normal everyday items are used to make an image look like a photo. Pointillism is a style using tiny dots of color to produce a cohesive painting.

These techniques give the portrait a pixel photo feel. This painting shows Chuck Close is a very meticulous and successful painter.

The person painted in the Librarian by Giuseppe Arcimboldo really loves books and probably loves to read. The open book used for the hair could mean the person has an open mind.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo really arranges the books well to compose the nose, cheek, and lips of the face.

In the painting Diego on My Mind, Frida Kahlo has an image of Diego Rivera above her eyebrows to show she is always thinking about him. Diego Rivera was married to Kahlo, but they had a rocky, unsteady marriage. They had their ups and downs. tears fall down Kahlo's face to show how worried she was over Diego whether they were together or not. Kahlo also uses warm colors to bring out the features of her face and Diego's.

Although all these artists answer the concept of portrait, they do not convey the concept in the tradtional way. Close, Arcimboldo, and Kahlo reinvent the idea of portrait through different styles, shapes, and forms. They use images and symbols to make a unified portrait of a person.

Reflection on White Objects Painting

Completing the White Objects painting was a real challenge for me because I had a tough time adding the shadows, making highlights, and getting the right color and texture of the fabric.
I spent too long outlining the objects and fixing one part at a time. I finished the painting yet I do not feel as though i really completely finished it. I would have worked more on adding details to the fabric and the cups.

For the next painting, I plan to pace myself and not take so long on one part of the painting.

A Sense of Place

The mood created in the mansion is one of abandonment in the first painting. This painting by Anselm Kiefer shows the slow deterioration of a hallway in a mansion. The glass seems broken and the brown wooden walls seem to be crumbling based on the varied texture. Kiefer uses continuation of the open doorways and vantange point to make the hallway look like it goes on forever. There is a broken glass chandelier made up of light and dark contrasting colors, on the floor; this shows that this place was once a luxurious wealthy place probably full of people, but it has lost its sheen and glamor now. No one appears to have lived there.

The second painting by Edward Hopper depicts the lady on the right hand side of the theater as being troubled or dismayed. Maybe she was waiting for someone and that person did not show up. She also seems to be in deep thought because of the gesture she makes with her hands; one holding the side of her face, the other hand propping up the first one. The warm bright colors of the red curtain, and the contrasting colors depict the essence of loneliness. The lamp sheds light on the woman's face highlighting her features and captures the emotion in her face. There is a sense of longing also. Plus, the place where she is standing is more illuminated than the rest of the theater. The rows of seats are dim. This creates contrast and puts more emphasis on the woman.

Start of White Objects Painting

Where Are You At?

I really like the pepper I did. Even though it was a small study, it was the first one i really think I did a good job on.

I am still working on the White Objects painting and I find it difficult to get the right color or shade of white that matches the actual object's color. It is a little hard to make the fabric look like it has texture and folds on it. I also have trouble making the shadows and highlights really stand out. However, I am learning day by day and I am getting a little better. I am making my way.

I have improved on color mixing and showing different textures of the cloth in the White Objects Painting through varying the brushstrokes. I have also used wet brush to effectively mix colors and dry brush to blend colors together.

Looking at paintings made throughout history have a huge impact on us as painters today. Seeing others paintings gives us painters inspiration to make great paintings. We receive an insight to the artist's mind, emotions, and views through the abstract and surrealistic paintings. Seeing many painting like Starry Night and Sunflower by Van Gogh and many others helps bring out our creativity.