oil painting » By Sidney Eileen

Art – Samhain Candles

Nov 032012

I started this painting almost a year ago, referencing a photo I look myself at Halloween. It is a devotional work, dedicated to the sabbat of Samhain, the Celtic new year and the half-way point between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. It is the time I recognize as the start of the new year, when the harvest is almost done, winter is quickly coming, and the veil is thin. In 2012, Samhain falls on November 6.

Title: Samhain Candles
Size: 11″x14″
Medium: Oil paint on canvas board
Sittings: 6
Completion date: 1 November, 2012

To see all the Work in Progress images -
Project: Samhain Candles

Painting Updates – 23 October 2012

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Oct 242012

On the evening of Tuesday, the 23rd of October, 2012, I did a bit more work on two oil paintings.

Mermaid Drowning Cover – WIP 9
12″x16″ oil paint on Gessobord
For this layer I added more detail to the clouds, and the surf. I also removed the masking tape. I think I may have put too much yellow into the sea foam, so I’ll likely be adding just a bit more paint there on the next sitting. Otherwise, it’s just the female figure.

Project: Mermaid Drowning Cover

Samhain Candles – WIP 5
11″x14″ oil paint on canvas board
I painted the shadow areas of the objects with an opaque black paint, and added lighting detail. There is also another layer of paint on the top of the candle and the flame, and some slight highlighting on the pumpkins.

Project: Samhain Candles

Painting Updates – 8 October 2012

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Oct 092012

On the evening of October 8, 2012 I worked on two oil paintings. I added another layer to the book cover for Mermaid Drowning, and I resumed work on the Samhain Candles still life. I hope to have both paintings finished before the end of the month.

Mermaid Drowning – WIP 7
12″x16″ oil paint on gessoboard.
2 sittings
For this layer I added only black and white paint, which I used to lighten the color of the sand and reduce the yellow tint. I also added stronger shading in the sand and the rocks.

Project: Mermaid Drowning

Samhain Candles – WIP 4
11″x14″ oil paint on canvas board
5 Sittings, including the underpainting layer.
My apologies that the photo is a bit too yellow.
On this layer I painted in the subjects. It’s mostly flat black, but I did paint wet-on-wet to add details where a lot of lighting was needed. I am not expecting to do anything else major to the reflection images, but I will be laying down at least one more layer of black paint to the objects, and adding more highlighting details. The white paint I used is very low pigment load, so I also expect the bright white areas to be less brilliant when the paint is dry.

Project: Samhain Candles

Mermaid Drowning Cover Art – Update 10/5/2012

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Oct 052012

My parents are preparing to publish their very first novel, and I am creating the cover art for them. The title of the novel is Mermaid Drowning. The cover art depicts the main character, Evelyn, watching the sunset at the beach with a storm looming on the horizon.

Mermaid Drowning – WIP 1
First sketch concept art for Mermaid Drowning book cover.

Mermaid Drowning – WIP 3
Sketch 2 for the book cover of Mermaid Drowning. They decided they wanted her to be wearing completely different clothing. Aside from the horizon line, the straight lines are all there to help me lay out the composition appropriately for a book cover.

Mermaid Drowning – WIP 4
12″x16″ gessoboard
To transfer the details of the concept sketch I used carbon paper and traced the sketch using a the tip of a paintbrush.

Mermaid Drowning – WIP 5
12″x16″ gessoboard
I masked out the central figure so I can seamlessly paint in the background around her. I also masked off the horizon line so I can underpaint a clean and straight horizon. I used ordinary painter’s masking tape of the kind you find at any hardware store.

Mermaid Drowning – WIP 6
Oil paint on 12″x16″ gessoboard
The central figure is currently masked out with normal blue masking tape so I can seamlessly paint in the background around her. I also masked out the horizon line before laying down the underpainting for the ocean, but I had removed the tape while painting so I could paint the rock on the right. I’ll be painting the ocean, waves, and sky all in the same sitting so they will accurately show the same colors. The underpainting will help to give the ocean depth beyond the sky colors it reflects.

Project: Mermaid Drowning

Painting Updates – 23 March 2012

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Mar 232012

I spent four hours this afternoon painting, finished the test portrait for Diana, and worked on two other paintings, a Celtic knotwork piece and a still life.

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Complete Contentment – WIP8

5″x7″ Masonite board
Oil paint
7 sittings

For this layer I added orange shading on the cat’s knot work.

Project: Complete Contentment

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Samhain Candles – WIP3

11″x14″ oil paint on canvas board
4 sittings

I finally purchased some warm hue black (lamp black) and used it to darken the shading in the background. I did not make any other changes, but the previous WIP was overall a bit darker than the actual painting.

I am now happy with the background, and in the next sitting will move on to the still life objects.

Project: Samhain Candles

New Painting – Diana

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Mar 232012

Today I finished the style test portrait for Diana, in preparation for making very large oil painting portraits of her children.

The finished painting is 9″x12″ on canvas board. It was made in eight sessions.

This is the color and style sample portrait for a series of much larger commissioned paintings. They are intended to match the color palette and style of family portraits she already has which were made the better part of a century ago. Unlike most modern portraits, the ones in her family have a very cool feel to them, with an olive toned background. However, I need to balance that coolness with warmth in the skin. To that end, the underpainting color is a dark, cool red. After finishing this painting, I believe I will need to underpaint with cool green instead when I create the larger portraits.

Project: Diana Portrait

Painting Updates – 10 March 2012

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Mar 102012

I spent a little time painting this afternoon. It’s not much, but the weather was turning to rain so I came back inside. I hope to sit down to paint again in the next few days.

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9″x12″ oil paint on canvas board
7 sessions

All I added today were the irises of her eyes. They are phthalo blue and white, with a tiny bit of black for the pupils. Yes, her eyes are actually that color.

This is the color and style sample portrait for a series of much larger commissioned paintings. They are intended to match the color palette and style of family portraits she already has which were made the better part of a century ago. Unlike most modern portraits, the ones in her family have a very cool feel to them, with an olive toned background. However, I need to balance that coolness with warmth in the skin. To that end, the underpainting color is a dark, cool red. As the painting nears finishing, I believe I will need to underpaint with cool green instead when I create the larger portraits.

Project: Diana portrait

Click for larger view

5″x7″ Masonite board
Oil paint
6 sittings

I have re-painted the background areas with alizarin crimson.

Project: Complete Contentment

New Painting – Pentacle Candle and Apple

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Feb 162012

3″x5″ oil paint on canvas board
Five sittings
Reference is my own photo

The finished mini painting shows a pentacle carved candle holder with lit tea light casting a pentacle on a nearby apple.

For the final layer I added glow around the candle flame, and painted in the candle flame.

A look back at the steps leading up to the finished painting:

Pentacle Candle and Apple - WIP3

3″x5″ oil paint on canvas board
Four sittings
Reference is my own photo

In this layer I added light reflection on the apple, as well as brightening and better defining the white on the candle.

Pentacle Candle and Apple - WIP2

3″x5″ oil paint on canvas board
Three sittings
Reference is my own photo

In this layer I brightened up the red of the apple, as well as brightening and better defining the white on the candle.

Pentacle Candle and Apple - WIP1

3″x5″ oil paint on canvas board
Two sittings
Reference is my own photo

Base layer is thin alizarin crimson

Today I first laid down a very thin layer of black paint across the entire canvas. Next I added in a cadmium light red to create the glow on the apple and brushed black back into it to create the pentacle shadow. After that I added white to create the base lighting on the candle holder.

Project: Pentacle Candle and Apple

New Painting – Familiar

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Feb 162012

Oil paint on gallery wrapped canvas, 9″x12″x2″
Six sessions
Reference: One of my own photos of Ringo

The finished painting is a portrait of a magical familiar, a black cat who aids with magical tasks.

For the final layer I thinly added white to create glow from the eye, and from behind.

A look back at the steps leading up to the finished painting:

Familiar - WIP4

Oil paint on gallery wrapped canvas, 9″x12″x2″
Five sessions
Reference: One of my own photos of Ringo

I added some white detailing around the eye, as well as the whiskers above the eyes. I then stared at the overall painting for a bit, because I was very, very unhappy with the entire composition of the lighting. I wanted to give the appearance that the eyes are glowing, but it looked very confusing with the back lighting being so strong. Thus, I colored over all the backlighting with a thin layer of black, also adding some shade detailing around the muzzle.

Familiar - WIP3

Oil paint on gallery wrapped canvas, 9″x12″x2″
Four sessions
Reference: One of my own photos of Ringo

I finally figured out how to get detailed fur texture in paint, so it’s an interesting contrast in the level of detail around the eye and on the rest of the painting.

Familiar - WIP 2

This afternoon I added a third layer to this painting I started about two years ago. It is oil paint on gallery wrapped canvas, 9″x12″x2″.

Project: Familiar

Painting Updates – 16 February 2012

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Feb 162012

I spent about three hours painting this afternoon, finished two small paintings, and added a lot of detail to the commissioned portrait. The two finished paintings will be covered in their own entries, including a look back at all the WIPs posted along the way.

Click for larger version

9″x12″ oil paint on canvas board
6 sessions

For this layer I added lots of details. There was still some pink showing through the eyes, so they received another layer of white, along with some shading. I added another very thin layer of white to the skin so it will have a more translucent appearance. The lips received shading and coloring from Alizerin Crimson and white. A touch of black further defined the nostrils. The velvet shirt is Pthalo Blue and white. Her hair is dark brown and white.

This is the color and style sample portrait for a series of much larger commissioned paintings. They are intended to match the color palette and style of family portraits she already has which were made the better part of a century ago. Unlike most modern portraits, the ones in her family have a very cool feel to them, with an olive toned background. However, I need to balance that coolness with warmth in the skin. To that end, the underpainting color is a dark, cool red. As the painting nears finishing, I believe I will need to underpaint with cool green instead when I create the larger portraits.

Project: Diana Portrait

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