Ruralocity Blog

As expected, nobody thought too much of my second homework project from this past week, though this in-class work got good remarks from the instructor. So did my other homework.

I’ve been busy networking this week (dinners, conferences, etc.) and didn’t get around to my second homework assignment until tonight. I have a feeling it’ll get ripped apart tomorrow in my class, but really this is more along the lines of what I wanted my stuff to look like.

Last Saturday at art class was kind of frustrating. It all started with my composition of what should have been a simple, basic still life consisting of a pear, lemon, and apple became three blobs of color. I’m also having a lot of trouble mixing colors. I’d pretty much given up on this one about ten minutes into it, but within the confines of my class I was kind of stuck. So I slogged my way through and this was the best I could do. I really wish I’d started with a different composition–that might have made this a touch more salvageable.

So I was given a little extra homework to do this week. In addition to the full-color painting everyone’s been assigned, I was asked to do another one color plus white (like we did the first week). So this is what I came up with. It’s better than the fruit disaster, I’ll say that much. I might try this same composition in black and white, in addition to a full color of something else later in the week.

Today I finished my first oil painting. I’m enrolled in a six-week class at the Lawrence Arts Center. We were presented an angular head to sketch and then paint using only black and white paints, focusing on sharp and smooth lines.

This is what I came up with. I guess it’s OK. Honestly, I think the photo of it looks better.