Starting Oil Painting

Oil painting has had its ups and downs in the past few weeks, but overall I've found it to be an enjoyable experience. I definitely like the feel of the paint better than the acrylic or watercolor that I've used, and it has certainly been more forgiving than the two. In terms of my painting so far, I think I'm having trouble "seeing" it; it doesn't feel quite finished or polished, even after the third pass. I think one of the biggest challenges throughout the past few weeks has been lighting, as there have been a variety of very dark, grey days as well as bright, sunny ones. Oddly, I think I had the best time painting when the room was darker. I think that by subduing the contrast a bit, the darker atmosphere helped me see the most important areas without being bogged down in details that were illuminated on sunny days. I do think, however, that my final pass feels a bit odd, especially the pot, and there are areas that need to be refined. I have great hope for glazing and finally getting to add color, as I think this will finally help me be more confident about the piece. Areas such as the tomato and its red reflection on the metallic object will be very interesting to paint. The elements of the composition itself have worked pretty nicely, creating a variety of values. The most difficult area of value has been the bottom of the pot, where it touches the dark box, but again adding the ultramarine color of the pot should really help bring out some contrast and make the piece make sense!

`2/21- first pass 2/23- second pass

2/26- third pass 2/28- third pass final