Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Cuban Perspectives and Drawing for Pet Portrait

This time last February I was in Cuba
painting with close to 100 other artists.
The weathered patina of the once elegant Cuba is
still effecting my paintings.


Havana was filled with secret inner courtyards, not unlike Barcelona,
Except in much worse condition.

About the painting process:
This turned out to be an interesting exercise in two point perspective.
More than that the tiles on the floor had a perspective all of their own.
Not only do the have to get larger as they move toward you,
they also have a trapezoid shape that fans out at an angle
Like a fan as it comes forward.

Value in painting is relative to what's around it.  So the dark square in the light is
the same value as the light square in the dark.
I know, but it's true.

On top of that there is a shadow thrown by the pillar which I made happen partially by a glaze and
by over painting the lighter squares (in the darker shadowed area) with
the same value as the dark squares in the light.  What? Yep.

I hope that was clearer than mud....
Thanks for following along.

Still time to enter or a chance to win a pet portrait!
www.brucebingham.com

Thanks for following along!





2 comments:

  1. Sweeping with a broom it's a universal image - seen in every country I have visited. Now we have noisy blowers in our town - not quite as romantic for a painting. Congratulation on pulling off such a complex composition. It shows your skill level. The pattern of the floor certainly was daunting but those arches got my attention right away. Great job!
    I had a big smile reading about the black in light same value as white in shadow. Still is a hard concept for many to grasp. Took me forever!! Good example here. Happy to see another painting from the Cuba trip.

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    1. Julie, thanks so much for your thoughtful in depth response. It was all fun and games until the tile which I really needed to give some thought to and approach logically. Sometimes you have to paint what you know and not what you see!

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