Life as an art student | Day 8 of 20

Started class with discussion on the topic of the creative process. We looked at the work of Frank Auerbach and really examined the role and the personal goal of the visual artist. The professor really pushed us to start investing in saying and showing something with all of our artwork other than just correct technique. I so appreciate the encouragement that he gave us to not just paint/create art in order to just paint and create artwork. I feel like too often art educators get caught up in teaching only the skill and not also attending to students developing their own unique (and divinely appointed) artistic voices. I feel so blessed to be able to work with this professor and I know that I am going to learn and grow tremendously from this class - too bad I'm already 40% if the way through it! :(

Studio goals for the day were numerous for me:

• Complete another still life of a warm toned vegetable in warm/cool gray scale study
• Correctly set up an oil paint palette
• Apply colors in correct values in oil paint on top of the gray scale study 

Here was my easel set up for the second gray scale study for today - my first one (from yesterday) was a green pepper so I did an orange pepper this go-round. 

Here is a closer look at my brushwork and value work for my finished piece. I'm delighted to say that I really had the hang of things today (after yesterday's ridiculous jumping of the gun multiple times) and I whipped this out within the first hour of studio time...

Part way through the class the professor stopped us all and showed us the correct way to set up our oils and also how to mix colors so they matched what we were painting. I have been VERY excited and apprehensive about working with both oils (I never have before) and also color (I have done this before but not oils in color). I was relieved when my professor showed us some strategies to mix and match colors to what we were trying to paint. Here is my palette set up before I got into the oils...

And here is what my palette looked like after I used it for three rounds...

All that mess and color is PURE HAPPINESS in my book!!

Here is a shot of my easel with my orange pepper and where I stopped today. I stayed after class for another hour and a half and hardly realized the time. It is so easy to get lost when I paint. What a blessing it is to have this time reserved to do just this for half the summer.

And here is a little bit closer look at the fruits (or rather vegetable - HA!) of my labor today. I am planning on warming up the background so it more correctly adheres to the creamy neutral foreground and background that actually is in the set up. Honestly though? I am really satisfied with the progress I made today. I think it helped my apprehension and anxieties to be able to do the color work without anyone else in the classroom. The professor stopped by part way through my progress and he was very supportive and encouraging with the risks that I was taking by using a more open palette than what the actual set up might otherwise call for. What can I say? I like using all of the colors of the rainbow if I can get away with it.

I'm really looking forward to class next week because we will be working with a professional model for all four days of class!!! As I have been told, getting a model in to work from for such a huge amount of time is not often heard of - so the professor says! I trust his judgment completely and am really excited about what I might turn out next week.