Second painting session...White Water lily

I waited. Then I painted! The white paint was dry and ready for me to start applying the final layer. As you can see, it's pretty much done.

I ended up bumping the contrast as to make it more defined and interesting. The reference photo was very bright and overly exposed thus not having much in regards to depth. I will see once I've worked on the rest if I need to tone it down or not...but right now I think it works. What do you think?

I will add the final "bright" white spots at a later date...more than likely that will be when I'm adding all the final touches.

I'm really fond of the lemon yellow in the stamen. There's something so hopeful and cheerful about it! Almost like a shining yellow sun!

My next step is to tackle the lily pads. That will take the longest as there are so many! Stay tuned for more :)

close up of water lily

First painting session

Today was a productive day...well painting wise it was! As you can see, I have done much in regards to blocking in the canvas. Every bit of white canvas is now hidden with paint!

first painting session

 I decided to tackle the lily pads and water simultaneously as it was easier to define the lily pad edges when I had the water to counterbalance. Colours and shapes still need tweaking but I think I'm off to a good start.

I even decided to block in the water lily. Mostly because titanium white takes a while to dry and it's much easier to paint a nice bright white when there is a base layer already applied. Below is a closer view of  the painting.

close up view of progress

I think I will let the painting dry a little...maybe for a couple of days because as it stands right now everything is pretty slick and any additional applications result in paint being smudged around. A look that I do not want!

In the interim, I may even start another! I have two pieces that I plan on entering into a couple of summer exhibitions. I might sneak in a blog post or two of those...

Next up...White Waterlily

The Waterlily series continues with another10x30 inch painting. This one will feature a white waterlily surrounded by a multitude of lily pads.

As always my first step is to find an inspiring reference image from my digital photo archive. Every year it seems to double in size! This particular image came from a last year's visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens to see the Roses in bloom.

After I've adjusted the levels and found a suitable canvas size (I crop the image accordingly) in Photoshop, I print the reference out onto an 8.5 x 11 sheet of double sided matte paper. Sometimes I enlarge a section that requires more detail. In this case it was the waterlily.

Now I'm ready to start using oils!

reference image with close up of flower

I roughly transfer the image onto canvas using thinned out oil paint. The colour really doesn't matter as I will end up painting over the lines. Sometimes I go over areas with a darker shade to reinforce the proper shape. I really believe that a strong drawing will save time and avoid frustration when it's time to paint. I prefer to concentrate on the proper colour when I start the painting process and not on whether or not the object is in the correct place and if it's the right shape. Obviously I adjust the shapes as I paint, sometimes making them exaggerated or eliminating odd bumps, etc...

transferred image

My next step will be to start colour blocking the shapes. I'm not sure what I will tackle first. More than likely the lily pads and then the water. It also depends on how ambitious I'm feeling...I might decide on the water lily instead!

Red's final!

It's done! What do you think? The photo doesn't really do the final painting any justice...I didn't have the greatest lighting but it's still okay.

Red Waterlily | oil on canvas | 10x30 inches

As you can see, I finished the fourth lily pad. It has more of a purple tinge to it compared to the other three. I also played around with the water. Adding shades of green, blue and violet to the dark areas. The highlights were also added to the lily pads using Titanium White.

I had fun painting this one and I'm really looking forward to continuing on with the series...

...progress once again!

Again, I'm sooo very sorry for the delay in images! I have finally been able to sit back down and work on the painting. I don't have an image for the step between that last post and this one, I totally forgot to take a photo! You didn't miss much as I just decided to further colour block the lily pads and I left the waterlily blank.

My next painting session consisted of me deciding to tackle the waterlily and then everything else! Usually depending on time constraints, I prefer to colour block my objects but for the flower I decided to go straight into painting the final colours.

The colours of the flower in the painting differ from my reference as I was requested to make it red, which was fine with me. I had a challenge trying to make it 'red' and not appear too pink. Perhaps I didn't have the right shade of red in my paint arsenal but I think I did an okay job...? I used Alizarin Crimson and Vermillion with a touch of Magenta. I tried emphasizing the 'red' by using the Vermillion to outline petal edges and I added patches of it it pure form in certain areas. (see image below)

close up of flower

 

When I moved on to the lily pads I already had the general colours laid in, which made painting over them with the final ones less of a battle as I didn't have the white background to contend with.

I decided to make the edges more of a purple instead of red as I thought it would look better with the greens and the shades found in the water. The reflections in the water have shades of violet and gray. I also didn't want to over do it with the red! I think the combination of purple and green work extremely well, especially when the green is more yellow based and the purple is more pink based.

As you can see by the image I'm almost done! I just have the fourth lily pad to complete. The basic final colours are there and I only need to add small areas of varying colour.

painting in it's final stages

Once the paint becomes tacky I will be able to add the 'final' touches! They would include the lightest parts of the painting...the white dollop on the waterlily petal and my signature.

Then it will be on to the next painting...I still haven't decided which one it will be but stay tuned...!

2011

Hello!

If you have been following my blog then you will have noticed that I haven't been very vigilante with posting new entries! I've been busy with my other projects but please stay tuned because I WILL be posting current progress shots.

Until then, I would like to direct you to my etsy page where I will have prints, cards and screen printed accessories & apparel available for purchase.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/zoricak

I have also been working on my website, making a few changes here and there. I plan on doing a total redesign of my site...I'm excited about that!!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful year and I look forward to adding new posts soon!

Zorica

...and the saga continues :)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I wasn't quite sure what to do next. Either paint blocks of colours in or just go for the final layers. I ended up doing a little of both. Here's a photo of the background being painted in. I decided to try and make it more finished, so that I only have to add a few additional shades/colours here and there.

background

My next step was painting in the lily pads. I decided just to block those in using colours that were bright and would be seen when I added the final layers of the 'real' colours. Those colours are usually the more subtle, muted shades, though my favourites are the pure ones :) As you might have already gathered from seeing final examples of my work!

Here's the next photo, the lighting isn't the greatest but you get the gist.

blocked in lily pads

My next step is either to start painting the waterlily itself or go back to working on the lily pads. I will decide once I sit down in front of the canvas, see what kind of mood I'm in and what I feel like tackling in that painting session!

And so it begins....Red Waterlily, the process

As promised, this is the first installation of my painting process.

Firstly I decide what to paint. This particular series is for a client of mine, who is graciously allowing me to display my work at their place of business. We had a consultation and it was decided that my idea of having a series of waterlilies would work best. I created a layout for their space and pitched the idea of waterlilies. I'm glad the idea passed as I'm very excited to be painting all these beautiful flowers!

My next step is to gather images that I think would work as paintings. Luckily I have a slew of waterlily photos that I can see working as paintings. Almost all of my reference images are from my own private stash of photos.

*when I illustrate I usually combine images that I find on the net with my own reference shots.

I then determine canvas sizes. I do this after looking at the image. It usually "tells" me what will work best. Sounds bizarre but sometimes images only look good smaller than life and other times they only work if painted larger than life! Generally the rule is life size or smaller. I decided that for this particular series since it's to be displayed as a group, the canvas sizes and image sizes should remain relative to each other.

Without getting into the specifics, which might just confuse at the moment, I will only briefly touch on the final wall layout. Pink Waterlily is the archetype, as it will be the maximum height of 24 inches. Red Waterlily and another painting entitled White Waterlily will be 10x30 inches, making them the widest of the bunch. Both will be mounted together, one above the other. The final two paintings will be 24x12 inches, both mounted side by side.

Wow, okay so now I will finally show you some pictures!

I find a blank canvas...

10x30 canvas, ready to be painted!

Now I print out my reference images. I usually print out a high resolution image on matte double sided paper and if there is a detail that appears too small on the overall print out, such as the waterlily, I will enlarge it. I like to mount my reference image to my easel, though sometimes I have to hold it in my hand if the canvas is too large :( I prefer mounting it to the easel as I find holding the palette and a reference photo a tricky thing to do!

reference imagery for "Red Waterlily", mounted on my easel with Green tape (love Green tape!)

I like to paint using water-soluble oils, though I have recently decided to buy pure oils since my favourite brand of water-soluble oils are no longer being carried at my local art store, boo :( I thin my paint down using Walnut Oil. A good friend of mine, who is also an artist, told me that using Walnut Oil prevents yellowing in the future. So Walnut Oil it is!

I forgot to take a pic of a freshly set up palette...will add one here soon!I like to layout my palette with a cool and warm version of each colour (yellow, red, green, blue and brown) I also have Titanium White and Permanent (or Zinc) white present on the palette. I add my luxury colours of purple and pinks if those colours are needed for the image. Sometimes I even add a small daub of Payne's Grey. Though usually I just blend a really dark shade of brown using Raw Umber & Prussian Blue (cool) OR Raw Umber and Ultramarine Blue (warm), depending on if I would like the colour to appear warm or cool. I also enjoy adding strokes of those colours in their pure form to liven those areas. Those pure daubs usually end up being my favourite areas of a painting :)

Now that everything is in place it's time to transfer the image onto the canvas. Depending on what I'm painting, I usually try to make the transferred drawing as accurate as possible. I find that it helps me save time so that I can just concentrate on applying the correct colours and making the shapes work rather than concentrating on if the spacing is correct, etc...I will also adjust shapes as I paint but that usually is minimal if I've done my due diligence while in the transferring stage.

Since this particular series has very organic lines I use thinned down paint to transfer the image. Otherwise my process would be a little different. I will touch upon that at another time...

Here's the transferred image...what do you think?

transferred image

My next step is to let the paint dry, then I can start colour blocking using light washes of paint, though I might go straight into the background...not sure what I will do as of yet.

A little more about Pink Waterlily

I finished the painting! Not sure if it took me an hour...I'm just glad I finished it! So here it is, the final. Notice any differences?

Pink Waterlily | oil on canvas | 24x24 inches

Here's a little info about the piece...I really love the outdoors, weather permitting ;P so in the spring, summer and fall when I have the time I visit the Royal Botanical Gardens. I wander through their gardens, feeling happy and in awe with nature and the gorgeousness of it all.

This past summer I visited the Hendrie Gardens and was so excited to see the waterlilies. I LOVE waterlilies. With a borrowed camera in hand, nicknamed Niki, I took as many photos as I could.This current painting is the result of said plein air photoshoot.

The upcoming series of posts will feature another painting entitled, "Red Waterlily". I know not very imaginative title-wise but sometimes the literal works.

My first entry

After thinking about this for a while and realizing that people really ARE interested in my work I decided to start a blog about my art. Sounds silly but sometimes artists forget that what they create IS magical and people are always curious to see how this magic is achieved!

The purpose of this blog is to give people an inside look of how I create my paintings, from start to finish, which includes all the goodies in between :)

Having said that, I have included a photo of a painting entitled, Pink Waterlily, that is almost complete (another hour and it's done!). After which, I will showcase a painting from start to finish, so stay tuned!

I am excited about this and I hope you join me on this magical adventure.

Cheers,

z

Pink Waterlily | oil on canvas | 24x24 inches