CURRENT PROJECT
SF Untitled (2022)
36″x48″
Oil on Canvas
PROJECT NOTES:
San Francisco has always been one of my favorite places, so I’m looking forward to working on this piece. It is a typical street car scene, but I hope to do a good enough job to rise at least a little above “typical”.
I decided to go larger on this one so I can include as much detail as I want. I also think the soothing color palette lends itself to a larger size.
••• Canvas Preparation •••
09/07/2021
Session 1
I spent quite a bit of time on the initial sketch for this because I want a lot of detail in the final piece. I used the old tried and true method of making a grid for my sketch so I can break the entire painting up into smaller sections. I haven’t used a grid in years but it’s almost a necessity on this type of project.
After the sketch was done, I used clear gesso over the entire canvas. Not only does this prevent the graphite sketch from bleeding into the paint, it also gives a great “tooth” to the canvas for the oils.
09/08/2021
Session 2
After the clear gesso dried (approx 24hrs) I masked off the sky area. This just gives me the ability to be loose while painting and not worry about staining other areas of the canvas.
Paint Tip: Prior to starting with oils, you can actually sand the clear gesso down to make the surface smoother before painting. By adding several coats, and sanding inbetween, you can actually get a textured canvas to be pretty smooth.
Since I will be laying down a base coat of clear oil paint prior to painting the blue sky, I need the extra tooth on this piece – so no sanding needed.
••• Painting with Oils •••
09/11/2021
Sessions 1 & 2
To get started, I first painted the sky area with a clear oil paint. This helps to provide a wet background for blending and making soft edges. The tooth added by the clear gesso makes it possible to have this wet surface and yet still have enough tooth to pull the oil paints off the brush easily.
After the clear, I dropped in the sky, using primarily cobalt blue (+white &/or black).
A couple days later, I blocked in the mountain range. I still have a bit of color adjusting to do, but this is enough to get things really rolling along.
© Copyright 1996-2024 – David Fedeli Fine Art • All rights reserved
© 1996-2024 – David Fedeli Fine Art • All rights reserved
