Painting Jon, Mr Charmer…4 yrs old

continuing with the 2nd part of triptych of sons …..link to portrait of Julian and link to portrait of Justin

Finishing first draft of Jon below was easy enough~

It was when trying to paint Jon's minute facial expressions, I got sooooo frustrated !

Indeed I was stuck in a conundrum for 3 days, editing and reediting….. to the extent

I almost trashed my work into the dustbin. No matter what I did, yet it just didnt look quite kosher!

But I remembered mum's pantang of ever throwing away any photos of loved ones and I sayang all the hours already spent on the art piece .

So I thought I would give it another try after researching on line to see if there were anything that maybe would light up an eureka bell in my head!

Problem 1:

The proportions/position of Jon's eyes was totally not right….showing him last night, he said I made him look like a Korean boy….well, I dont know what nationality but it wasnt a kiddo I recognized either !

Problem 2:

The skin tone was off…..one thing I have learnt, it is so much easier to paint a suntanned skin because the pigment of burnt sienna almost always get Asian skin perfect!. For fairer Jon I tried to add a tinge of crimson, a tinge of red , yellow ochre…. no, not the right shade~ then adding just a dash of burnt sienna and still he didnt look healthy , OMG…..

I decided to leave the eyes /skin tone aside, go on to finish the shadings on the teeshirt/hair and the textures of the foliage background instead.

Rather than repeat another even wash background which I, ehem had perfected :P, hahaha…..I wanted to try something else…..and started to attempt a subtle image of garden with suggestions of grass and vague images of trees..

Along the way, it struck me that the composition would turn out much better if the foliage/grass was painted in detail rather than blurry color nuances of trees .

Just because I had not learnt it yet in class does not mean I should not experiment right? If there is a better way to do this….I'm sure to find out in class next week , hah I can still correct my work ~

Meanwhile today was a masochistic trial as I ended up almost painting every blade of grass/leaf inch by inch….oui.

Notwithstanding my clumsy effort, hey I rather like what I did ….. my garden background looked more refreshing and perked up !

The detailed background did not subtract from the main focus….

Overall I felt it added some depth to Jon and made my painting more dimensional , which should be good, hmmmm?

Yes :)))))

I definitely want to do more such detailed backgrounds for future portraits~

And yeah ….How did I get around to overcome my 2 initial problems ?

Addressing problem 1:

Well I redid Jon's eyes using what Craig Nelson taught in his DVD lesson~ the technique of getting proportions/gestures relatively correct thru using plum lines and checking for angles via simple alignment of 2 landmarks using his pencil!

Jon's left eye just needed to be reduced a tad smaller and his right eye needed to be brought down lower so as to be inline at a correct slanting angle with the left eye.

WoW…..so simple, so common sense and bingo!!!

Luckily I had no problems to wash off my original 2B pencil mark with its earlier wrong proportions/positions in spite of the many layers of watercolors ….

Thats what I love about watercolors….it is so versatile!!

Repainting my fresh lines, I quickly experienced an AHA moment because with those tiny adjustments, wow…..I could definitely see some semblance and recognize my sweet boy looking right back at me as I remember him, aged 4 yrs….aaah, brings back great memories of those happy days~~

This is the link to Craig Nelson's Youtube video: How to draw a realistically porportionate figure

Enjoy and happy learning everyone!

Addressing problem 2 :

After waiting for the skin colors to dry , I then added an overall very diluted wash of vermillion over the skin areas ……viola, now Jon looks ala naturale .

Well….readers, my friends, my sons…...What do you think ?

11.5" x15.5" on 200 gms cold press

Title: Jon, 4 yrs MR FASHIONABLE

© michellechoong_khoo

Presenting Jon above in watercolor…..

My darling, the kiddo ~ a polished Mr Charmer…. complete with an added sunglass in his little chubby hand~~

On hindsight, I should have drawn the Louis Vuitton designer shades that he showed me on his 3G iphone yesterday…..oh , I shall do that when I paint the future triptych sons' series, aged 10yrs!

Asking Eddie as he came home from golf awhile ago : "Well, is this better, did I nail it?"

Hahahaha, I am happy like a sotong (octopus) with his verdict : "Boleh tahan la"……

Even if it was out of the goodness of his heart being in a great mood on Happy Father's Day or if he did indeed literally meant "can stand"…..hohoho, I am singing like a lark in the shower !

After which, woo hoooooo…..time to go onto working at completing the 3rd panel , which is of Justin, aged 4 yrs ❤❤❤

to see all 3 panels together, link 1st triptych

portraiture of the love of my life~ SONS

My first project of family watercolor portraiture will be a triptych of Jon, Julian, Justin when they were all individually 3-4 yrs old.

The initial drafts and first layers of backgrounds have been laid last night …

Today I chose to finish Julian first because his pose was in bare skin , thus I thought easier for me to complete.

I get so nostalgic just looking at the baby photos of my darlings….they were so photogenic and adorable , now looking back I realized that even then their characteristics were so apparent in the way that they posed.

Jon, my Mr Charmer,

Julian, my Sportman ,

Justin, my Mr StrongMan

Anyway, I had thought to put the first drafts aside to slowly work at them over the weekend but today I was in an artistic mood.

Even in class, I stayed back to finish my art piece till 3pm …

End June, it will be 4 months since I started art classes at MIA centre….how time flies.

I have very quickly learnt that in art, when the mood to create comes along….to go with the flow and let the feelings guide me along.

And so it was that I actually finished Julian's portrait in one sitting…..WOW, from someone who tends to overcook my watercolors, I have become very efficient indeed!

In the old ways , it would take me an estimated 3 - 4 days but I have learnt to curb my propensity to edit and over correct the shades.

Nowadays, I just give in to the spontaneity and I guess it helps that I quickly got Julian's skin color right from the first dab . There's hope for me to become an artist? Hahaha.

Painting Julian radiates such warm pleasure and joy ….

11.5" x 15.5" on 200 gms cold press

Title: JULIAN, 4 yr old MR SPORTY

© michellechoong_khoo

I think I managed to capture his essense, his little confident muscular pose and I like enlarging Julian's eyes just a wee bit to better reflect his sparkling cheekiness~

I cant wait to complete my portraits of little Jon and little Justin next~~~~

to see all 3 panels together, link 1st triptych

Lesson 14 shallow field, painting patterns

Never ever say never to something unless you give it a try first …., that was the lesson that I learnt from today's painting session , trying shallow field~ a study of still life against a patterned background~

I had always avoided painting patterns, deeming the exercise too tedious .

When told to bring a pattern cloth/wall paper/ wrapping paper with an object…..my intention was to bring the simplest item I could think of...which was my sunglass and my art pouch!

To make it more challenging, Ms Shia suggested adding another element , a box of color pencils, sunglass pouch, watercolor box…..aiyo, this is gonna turn out to be a major headache, I thought !

So Ms Smarty Pants ~ me ~ quickly opted for my pencil case because it was boxy and should be easier to paint~

Cracking hard on how to position all 3 items so as to best capture some lighted and dark areas on a white cloth….all the while worrying over the challenge of painting all of them juxtaposed in front of my eyes~

I decided to start with a uniform sweet pink wet on dry wash and whilst waiting for it to dry….mmmmm I made myself a cup of 3-in-1 Malacca White Coffee , had a bite of Danish pastry……stretched my legs before I sat down again to further tackle the assignment.

Eh, eh eh ….I was soon engrossed over painting every little details, every nuance of light and designs.

No one could be more surprised than myself that I actually experienced so much pleasure from today's lesson!!! Hahahaha….

My class was supposed to end at 12.30pm but even when the afternoon session students started coming in, it was very nice of Ms Shia to allow me to stay on till 3 pm to complete my art piece , even checking in on my work every now and then~~

first draft completed at MIA classroom

I was pretty satisfied with the outcome of the sunglass with the art pouch but I didnt like what I had done with the little pencil case at all~ it somehow distracts rather than adds to the picture, in which case it has no reason being there !.

How best to salvage my 4 hours' hard work? That was what occupied my mind while driving home...munching on my slices of crunchy guava!

I decided to modify the pencil case into another patterned small bag with colors that complement my red roses and sunglass….

While still feeling inspired , I quickly strewn a scarf for referencing and proceeded to set up the easel to finish my art.

the finished artwork

15.5" x 11.5" on 200 gms acid free cold press paper

© michellechoong_khoo

aaaaah, I think this works so much better…..wouldnt you agree? ;D

Oooops, I even forgot to eat my lunch!

Wow, painting is to be encouraged if it makes me stick to my diet, what a pleasant extra incentive my new hobby has turned out to be~ good good good , Goody!

completion of painting skies assignment

continuing from previous blog

coming home from Penang and taking loads, loads photoshots of skies….

In spite of a splitting headache and to help me deal with my heavy heart over papa's ill health~I sat down, lit a Lotus fragranced incence stick and proceeded to paint my incomplete assignments~

outcome of Project C "Cabo de Gata"

based on a photo shot by Miquel Comes

I looked at all the photos of the skies that I shot enroute to and fro Penang….

the laden skies bespoke the language of my heart….

I will try to paint them another day ~

I wrapped up the night just as the 2nd incense stick burnt to ashes~ another token of thanks to a great pal , Andrea for this tip too.

The incense really helped to keep the bugs away and the subtle sandelwood aura puts one in the mood of creation…..I will never lite another incense without thinking of you, Andrea ;)

scene along East Coast Highway back to KL

11.5" x 8.25 " on 300 gms cold press paper

© michellechoongkhoo

giving thanks to a happy life, for the joys that my sons bring, for the love of my life, for the little blessings daily….

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our live." ~ANNIE DILLARD

paint more skies~

Trying to fulfill my promise to Ms Shia ~ link to Lesson 13 " studying deep fields"

Later in the evening after dinner…I scoured my archives to see what other photos of skies I have in my iPhoto folders….

I found that all my own photos of skies, were of those taken at diving locations…..or limited to sunsets, sunrises.

Searching my flickr ctc's photos to get skies in different perspectives ….I find Miquel Comes' many photos of stunning gorgeous beach colors and striking smouldering mountain sceneries to be mesmerizingly awsome….

I favorited 3 and sought his permission to copy them onto watercolor:

(A) Wish you were here :

This is simply beautiful beyond words, my favourite of them all~ I wish I was there too ;)

(B) Sister Golden Hair : The contemplative mysterious air makes one pause and ponder

( C) Cabo de Gata : I just love his composition of adding one lone nudist in the wide expanse of sea and sky

Granted Miquel's kind permission , I shall bravely try to attempt to do some justice to his beautiful photos ~ hope he do not end up disgusted with my efforts and edit me out of his contact list!!!!

outcome of Project Photo (A) Wish you were here

draft

first layer

trying out the salt effect for the beach grains…and after many layers of colors for the cliff and the horizon~

Oooops I seem to have shifted the focal point away from the sky and onto the sea /beach instead!

Not that I dont like it but mmmmm, I guess I need to try to paint more skies next~~~

outcome of Project (B) Sister Golden Hair

first draft

many washes of the skies later~ I prefer my sky of the first draft but I love the translucence of the finished painting……again I have succeeded in shifting the focal point away from the sky…oh noooo~

and I failed to capture the mysterious moodiness that the original photo enraptured ~

this needs to be repainted

&

I have one last chance to fulfill my assignment with the 3rd shot "Cabo de Gata"...

I sure hope that I do not end up fussing over the ripples of the waters and the silhouette of the nudist instead of the sky

link to painting of "Cabo de Gata" in blog " completion of painting skies"

If I do, then maybe I may have to change the title of this blog from "paint more skies" to something else perhaps?

Life is simple, Life is Good

lets not fret it too much…have a laugh

btw Have you ever wondered perhaps

"Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?"

hahahaha, have a lovely weekend ahead

♥ michellechoongkhoo

Lesson 13~ Deep Field Study

We all brought photos for today's lesson…..

Skies blue, cloudy, pinky, grey, clear, thunderstormy, early morn or mysterious dusk….because the theme is learning about "deep field" painting …

Wait….I asked why only photos of skies ? Eh how come no mentions on photos of fields ?

Heh heh…deep fields as in skies that are deep in the horizon la~

Ah so des ka ? Ah sooooo! Oh I see~~~

I chose to paint some of my Sipadan photos of the gypies at work in the calm seas off Mabul….to try to recapture the beautiful tranquility and landscape of this incredible paradise which is always always a balm for sore urban eyes~

Sipadan's album link

We were shown how to paint an imaginary fluffy sky…Ms Shia made it seem so delightful , starting to prepare the paper for a very wet wash using cheerful aquamarine blue and also saying if one looks more carefully at the clouds,there are lemony yellows and spots of sweet pinks here and there as well as different tones of grey~

Ms Shia demonstrated by improving on my "icelandic" sky below……she kept saying the colors were so cooling …

I take it to mean my colors were not dynamic enough, hahaha.

Apart from being able to paint/draw masterpieces, obviously there is also language skill to motivate students and my art teacher has definitely mastered that to a pat :)

Thus duly motivated by Ms Shia's demo , my classmates were transformed and furiously proceeded to paint volumes of skies…..wow, 3 or more skies per person no less…..

Alas in comparison I was not as productive ;(

….for after I was done with my Mabul sky above, somehow I became sucked into a time warp ~ engrossed with the micro details of my gypsies on their "sampan"….I lost track of the morning until I heard Ms Shia intoning :

" Michelle ~ I want to see many forms of skies, show me an imaginary sky…done from your memory… "

Huh? Which made me go…." Oh Oooops ~ already 12 noon la….paper wont dry on time, I will practice at home la ok ! "~ I promise!

And viola, Tadaaa this is my completed Mabul panoramic sky with my sea gypies harvesting the sea from their little sampan ~

The photo shot was done with the painting clipped onto my curtains with the morning sun's rays providing a strong backlite~ erm practicing what I learnt from DSLR photography class about aperture, shutter , ISO and exposure compensation….

hee hee~

This is about killing 2 birds with one stone, boink boink~ Hahahaha

and what about my promise to Ms Shia?

read more on 'practise more skies' here

sketching for relaxation and just for fun~

art teacher

art student

cyclist

dancer