Why Oil Paint

Where does it come from?
Oil paint was used in England as early as the 13Th Century for simple decoration not major art at the time.
What is it made of?
Oil paint consist of small pigment particles suspended in a drying oil, linseed, hempseed, poppy seed, and walnuts, as media for colours

When was it invented?
Brothers Hubert and John Van Eyck, the Flemish painters who lived in the fifteenth century are seen to be the inventors of oil painting

WHY OIL PAINT?
I chose oil painting because it wanted a new experience and to hone in on my painting skills and improve them. I have learned a lot in this class and i now have a new respect for all painters. I believe painters today still choose oil paint because it is a very interesting medium and it can bring subjects to life with a little time and hard work

What I'm Up Tooo

In my oil painting class i have started a new painting. The name of this painting is called surface and texture. You can tell from the name what i will be dealing with. I have a very interesting composition to work with. I believe with all the practice i have gotten so far it can become a great painting.

What is a Portrait

What is a portrait?
A portrait is a piece that shows a person mostly their face or their body.




Georgia O'Keeffe by Alfred Stieglitz
The artist uses a close up view for an intimate composition and the person in the photo uses her hands and jacket to add complexity and subject matter to the photo. This photo coincides with the definition of a portrait that i gave. The colors of this photo is somewhat a sepia tone that gives it a gloomy feeling.

Jacob Lawrence
The artist who made this painting used very vibrant colors to give a very bright mood. The painting does fit within the definition of a portrait because of the subject matter of the persons face and so me of their body.


Chuck Close
In this painting the small squares with different tones put together make the highlights and the shadows of this painting therefor creating the face. This painting does Also fit within the parameters of the definition of a portrait.

New Pictures

Where I'm At

What has been the most challenging aspect of the course so far?
The most challenging aspect of this course so far for me would have to be leaving my perfectionist ways and trying to finish paintings in a timely manner. Also what has been challenging to me in the actual act of painting would have to be getting the right color for certain objects.

In what areas have you progressed the most and how have you progressed?
I've progressed with the color mixing part of painting and this has happened with experience because at the beginning of this course i knew nothing about oil paintings and now i feel like i have acclimated myself with a lot of the aspects of painting including color mixing

How does looking at examples of painting from throughout history affect us as painters today?
It gives the painters of today new ways to look at certain objects or subjects and maybe gives them new ideas for how to paint objects or subjects

Sence of Palce

Edward Hopper

The mood this painting gives is like an open mood. I use that word because out of the door there is a vast amount of water we assume is surrounding the house. Usually when ones house is surrounded by water there might be people panicking but this just looks like a calm setting where it almost seems normal. The way the Artist created this mood was by having no one in the composition and using a bright palliate.

Andrew Wyeth



The mood this painting gives off is like a dreary boring and bland view on the room. The artist creates this mood by mixing bland and neutral colors together to paint with. He also made the dog a neutral shade of yellow and made him sleeping so it made the whole seen look just still and slow.

Famous Paintings

I think Nighthawks by Edward Hopper is the most interesting painting out of the ones given. One of the reasons i think this is because of the composition. There is nothing outside and it is very dark but inside this store with these huge windows there are people still awake and enjoying coffee and what not. I think that there is so much mystery behind this painting like with the man with his back turned and head down. It raises so many questions. Also the fact that there are these people that look like they might be planing something this late in a diner. Since this was in the 1942 this painting was encapsulating it also might be these people in the diner thinking about the war and what was going on. This painting just brings an interesting view of a diner during this time and that is why I think it is the most interesting

Surface and Texture

Artist can create many different types of textures in many different ways. With painting it could bee the brushstrokes that he or she uses, also the type of brush or whatever tool they use. Also the amount of detail they put in color and place. for example in the chair painting she color of the chair is a greenish beige but with the brownish color used shadow on the chair it made it seem like it was a rough texture. In the painting Banquet With Mince Pie the highlights on the big metal cup made it seem as if it was shiny and a hard object. Also in that very same piece the see through glass pitcher was made by painting the reflective parts and the shadows of it.

Still Life With Three Puppies, by Paul Gaughin, 1888

I think that the still life puppies has the most interesting composition because of it's overall view. I think this because for a couple of reasons for one it's balance. It shows the puppies at the top of the painting drinking out of a bowl, at the bottom of the painting you see chalices and a bowl of fruit. The bowl of fruit is emphasized with it's size and the colors used to attract the viewers attention. Although the name of the painting is about the puppies I think the fruit is more emphasized than the puppies considering the puppies are in the background. The painting is mostly done in dull and cool colors except the fruit which is a warm color. The balance of this painting is for the most part even because the way it's painted we can see the puppies are in the background with cups around them and in contrast to the bowl it is even.

Studies in Smallness: Setups

Studies in smallness: Finished paintings

These are my two finished paintings.
I struggled with finding the right colors for the shadows and the highlights because i wasnt too experienced with using oil paints. I felt successful about the shadows that i came out with because i had great help from Ms. Roberts

Homework 1

Giorgio Morandi's and Van Gogh's subject matter are somewhat alike, even though they do go about their paints in two very differenrent ways. They both paint vases but Van Gogh has flowers in his and morandi's had cylinder shapes . Van Gogh uses warmmer colors to give more of spring time feel. In Marandi's paintings he used very bland and neutral colors it gave you more of a colder feel than Van Gogh's painting. Morandi also uses different shades of his colors to add very detailed shadows.

My Skills As an Artist

One of my skills as an artist is to be able to easily think of concepts to convey big ideas.

Why I'm Taking Oil Painting

I am taking oil painting to further my artistic knowlege and skills. This class will better prepare me to undergo the college process and will help by adding works of art to my portfolio.