tags: contemporary realism - still life painting - Zippo lighter - 5x7 - daily painting - oil painting
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A Vintage Light
5x7 inches
oil on canvas panel
Yep...it's another from the weekly challenge paintings from the Daily Paintworks, this week hosted by Michael Naples: the Zippo Challenge. The challenge was to use burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and white to paint this vintage Zippo lighter. I altered the format and experimented with different crops, being mindful to not repeat intervals and paying attention to values.
The easy part was matching the variants of gray using just the BS and UB; the hard part was getting those details down correctly. I'm actually surprised I was able to do this alla prima and not have it be a smeared mess, especially since I've never attempted to paint anything quite so detailed in oils before.
I freehand sketched this on the canvas with a pencil yesterday, but did double-check measurements with a ruler just to make sure, and then adjusted shapes and lines as I went along with the paint. This makes me want to do more still life paintings of shiny things!
Apologies for the reflective glare...I really need a polarizing filter for these wet paintings, especially when they are taken inside.
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This afternoon's sky - sweeping cirrus clouds:
Hurray for the clouds!
ReplyDeleteSonya, I'm not an artist or anything - I don't appreciate "art" as much as I ought, perhaps, though "I know it when I see it" may apply - but I'm enjoying following your blog here. I just really appreciate your take on... things. :)
Oh, and the Zippo looks very cool!
You did a fine job on your painting, Sonya, and I enjoyed your description of the process. Feel like I'm in the same classroom with you. I love shiny things, too!
ReplyDeleteHey, Kev - thanks for dropping by! It matters not a bit that you aren't an artist - I appreciate your comments, and am glad you found something here interesting. Sky/cloud photos are a recurrent theme, for sure.
ReplyDeleteHi Diane - thanks! It does feel like we're sharing a classroom, doesn't it? I've started really looking forward to these challenges every week.