My Teddy Bear Still Life (WIP)

I started this project in June. Then there was a death in the family and the desire to paint left me. I started a new job shortly after that and didn't start to pick at it again until the end of October. To be honest I didn't know if I ever would finish it.

I started painting this using The Carder Method. He recommends starting with a still life. Fruit was out of the question. Frankly anything perishable was out of the question given the inability to devote hours a day to paint. I was looking around the house for objects when I came across this Teddy Bear given to my mother from my nieces. I also had the jelly bean jar and was trying to arrange them when out of frustration I dropped the bear in the jar and I liked it so now I had a subject. It still isn't done but It should be soon. Here is where I'm at. The shadow needs work and I am not done with the bear as I wanted to get the background and foreground done to help with the values on the dark side of the bear. I also have to re-do the letters in bean as I dragged yellow paint over it when blending the jar.

 

My Set up has changed since I took the reference photo (several times) and the camera tends to bleach out the shot. 

Update

I decided to tinker a little more. I wasn't happy with the lighting and highlights. Here is the result.

Update

I did some more work on my latest cloud study. Have yet to fill in the tree line at the horizon but that is not the object of this exercise.

More clouds

Being fascinated by clouds and the desire to paint realistic clouds, I am trying yet another cloud study. This one unlike the rest is from a reference photo. I have been driving to and from work with my camera. When I see an interesting cloud formation with interesting lighting I snap a shot of it. This is my reference photo.

This is my work on progress. I am going to let it dry because my highlights seem to be getting absorbed by the blue contrast.

Keep in mind this is just a study. It is on a 6x8 canvass board. Had this been an attempt at a real painting I would have broken out the proportional dividers and done it proper. Will post more as it is done.

Update

I couldn't help myself. I had to retouch my cloud study. I added some contrasting color and highlight. Even though it looks white it is actually a very pale yellow.

 I think I'm done with it now. As for my woodworking. I happened by the dumpster next door and to my joy and elation I picked up 2 more 4 inch thick slabs of Sapele. Almost 20 inches long and over 11 inches wide. One mans garbage is another mans gold. In this case at approximately $10.00 a board foot and each slab being the equivalent of almost 8 board feet, do the math. It was an offer I couldn't refuse.

Clouds Revisted

Now with a change in my work routine I drive into the sun each way to and from work. It fits right in with my fascination with clouds. I read a post on the wet canvass forum about doing 100 paintings focusing on one aspect to develop that skill. The poster was focusing on waves. While I would like to focus on clouds I don't know if I will actually do 100. Actually, I do know I won't. On my last try I wanted to develop a predawn shot where the sunlight is already hitting the clouds. A scene I am not unfamiliar with. I was not happy with the results at all. Having not painted since July I decided yesterday to give it another try. This is the result.

I achieved more of the effect I was looking for. As a painting goes, it's no great shakes as much as an exorcise. Here is a larger image which will show each nitty gritty detail.

The one thing in addition to the light was not to over blend. It is an amateurish mistake and kills all contrast and definition. These exorcises are being done on 4x6 canvass boards. They are cheap enough and I will probably paint over it anyway. Watching the clouds as I do (i know it's weird) they are very rarely just white. They're white, blue, grey, yellow, orange, red, purple and violet. I frequently catch myself stopping to look at the sky and wonder to myself; how would I paint that? It is a big benefit to working outdoors again. I love it.
I kept looking over the larger image and decided to "edit" it. I did some light stippling  with a dry brush to soften the highlights and blend the purple and yellow on the cloud at the top left. Now I am happy with it.

A Slight Detour

I started a new job recently and much to my pleasant surprise, I am right next door to a high end custom millwork shop. They make custom staircases and use a lot of Sapele and Teak for their handrails. The majority being Sapele which is similar to Mahogany. Anything in the dumpster is fair game for the taking. This wood is too beautiful to see go in a landfill and I'm not too proud to let it go to the landfill. The image below is my first project from this wood. It was from a slab of wood 20 1/2 inches long 11 1/2 inches wide and 4 inches thick. Most people wood look at that and say what would you do with that? Why, make 2 bowls out of it of course!

It measures 9 3/4 inches wide outside diameter and probably 3 1/2 inches deep.

Here is a side view still mounted in the lathe chuck. This hasn't even been hit with sandpaper at this point and the grain pattern is already pronounced. This is the same wood Cadillac boasts that their dashboards are trimmed out with. I cant wait to see it finished. Not bad for an otherwise piece of garbage in my opinion. Don't mind the table cloth.