Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Painting in Progress: Pocket Watch

This was the drawing I had put down on canvas. Yesterday I got a pretty decent start on it. The original photo is from Steam Punk supply. They generously let me use their photo for the reference photo since the actual pocket watch was sold before I could buy it. They have phenomenal photos so with their permission, I am using the photo to paint from. They have an amazing array of watch parts, skeleton keys, etc. Makes me want to buy everything in their shop.

The shade of grey/brown/black I need is going to be difficult but I think with the right combination of layers I can get it.... this is just getting the initial highlights and shadows in as well as placement and lines. The sad part is that I learned something last month in my RISD class that really helps and I am upset I didn't start doing this sooner. The act of mixing up the 2 or 3 colors I would use most BEFORE I start painting seems like a logical idea, right? Yeah well I JUST started doing that now and it makes a world of difference in the amount of canvas I can cover in one session. No one ever said I had a lot of common sense.

Here is the original photo:
And here are pics from after the intial painting session on it. It is 8 by 8.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow! Your attention to detail is amazing. Very nice!

SteampunkSupply said...

Julie, I am incredibly happy that you're painting one of my pieces. :) It looks so real I'm listening carefully to see if it ticks! Fabulous!! I'd love to link to your blog from my facebook page. I have about 2,000 fans who I think would love it. I absolutely love your work!

Unknown said...

of course you can link my blog to your facebook fan page... thank you! sometimes it takes me hours to photograph my still lifes in just the right light... this photo allows me to jump right into the painting process which is the part i love.

your photos are always really well lit and interestingly composed :)

Sherry said...

Julie, I really, really like this. Even more, I think you do such a great job of explaining your process. For someone who doesn't paint, your descriptions are my favorite part.

xoSherry

David Burns Smith said...

Great Watch! The painting is beautiful.