Don't Touch the Edge + 25 Strokes Paintings

For these assignments, I had to paint a still life of a pool ball using oil paint. The paintings had to showcase the values on the shiny ball. I used different shades of color to show shadows and highlights. I enjoyed doing the two different paintings using the same composition because they are different in style, but show the same object. They also both have values, but they are shown using different colors. The most difficult challenge I faced was finding color in the shadow. I ended up having to put a red sheet of paper under the ball to give the shadow some more color than just shades of black. My painting really works because there are a lot of tones in the pool ball that I had to "pull out" from a solid color. I learned important techniques for oil painting, like to mix all the colors first. If I had a do-over, I would make the lines cleaner and try not to touch any lines on the first painting. I feel the best thing about my work is comparing them to each other and seeing how one object can be interpreted in many different ways and styles.

JPEG snow

Painting with Peggi

Lessons I learned from Peggi Kroll
- I learned that using a lot of paint on my brush isn't a bad thing!
- Peggi Kroll uses sections of color to create a full picture. You can't tell what the image is up close, but from far away the picture reveals itself.
- "Mapping" means dividing the object into sections of color.
- I didn't know that you could show shadows using colors other than black, or highlights in colors other than white.
- Mr. Gaudreau taught me to work quickly and try not to blend the colors too much. He taught us paint mixing techniques as well.
- I saw everyone's finished work, and all of them were very "chunky" and unblended but I could still tell what the image was.
- The video on Alla Prima painting taught me to mix all the colors first before painting. It was very relaxing.
- Line was used with every brush stroke to show the shapes and curves. Color was used to emphasize shadow and highlight. Mapping involves turning colors into shapes. The painting has a lot of texture from the thick paint. Values are shown through shape and color.
- Painterly means open to mistakes and focusing on every brush stroke. It is "laid back" with not a lot of detail, but shows lots of shapes and colors.
- One thing I learned is to not focus on every little detail, but divide the big picture into sections like a puzzle.