Today’s tutorial is going to take a slightly different form. I’ve been wanting to show a step-by-step process through a painting for awhile, but it doesn’t work very well with smaller landscapes. So I thought I’d show you Chef Kermit, which was a recent commission.
When working on larger paintings, or things with a lot of detail, I start with charcoal, because it’s forgiving. I may spend several hours working out angles and getting things arranged on the canvas just the right way. If I’m uncertain about where a line should be, I’ll draw it several times– as you can see.
Once I get the lines in the right place, then I also block out the biggest dark shapes, which helps me with the next step. I put Burnt Umber on my palette, and using mineral spirits to thin the paint until it’s very loose, I’ll sketch in my dark shapes and big shadows. I use Burnt Umber, because it dries quickly and works nicely as a neutral under bright colors (and it’s cheap), but I’ve also used Burnt Sienna, or even Ultramarine Blue, which also work nicely.
At this point, I’m using a very large brush and I’m not worried about details at all. I’m focused on the core shadow– the darkest parts. I’m looking through my red cellophane fairly often to check the values.
Next, I’ll think about the mid-tones. Usually at this point I start really considering the background, and in this painting it was important to establish the background value, because of the Kermit’s cast shadow. I wanted it to be a big part of the composition, so I knew I needed to get the values right here before I worried too much about color.
Here I’m starting to add color to the major elements of the painting. I wanted the green to really jump out, so I was playing with different neutral backgrounds before I settled on this cool gray.
And here I’ve built up color even more, adding it to the books and the table top, but I haven’t even started on the spatula and the egg. I tend to be pretty detail focused, so I really make an effort to work from “general to specific.” It makes better paintings and it’s less frustrating for me, because often I realize a detail needs to move slightly or change a bit. If I wait to finish the details, then moving something around is a little easier.
Here I’ve begun to clean up edges and block in the spatula. I’ve also begun to add reflected light into the chef’s hat and Kermit’s body. At this point, I tend to get one area to a place that makes me happy, then try to build the rest of the painting up to match that area. Gradually I move to smaller and smaller brushes and tighter edges or more minute details.
This is pretty close to the end. I’ve added the eyes, cleaned up the edges around the egg, and begun the lettering on the books. I should tell you that there was probably 3 to 4 hours of work left on this before I felt completely happy with it, so this is definitely a process. People tell me all the time, “I could never do that!” But if you spend 25 hours looking at a stuffed frog, you’re going to be able to see details and things you wouldn’t otherwise notice. Give it time. Learning to see requires looking at something for a long time. You can do it.
4×4 Wax on Birch Panel. $?. You decide. Email me here.
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