Fog
January 2021
Oil on canvas
This piece features a nude figure draped in a dark colored fabric navigating through fog and clouds. There is no distinct ground so the figure appears to be floating. The pose of the figure and the addition of the fabric is inspired by William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s La Nuit.
January 2021
Oil on canvas
This piece features a nude figure draped in a dark colored fabric navigating through fog and clouds. There is no distinct ground so the figure appears to be floating. The pose of the figure and the addition of the fabric is inspired by William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s La Nuit.
Inspiration
Planning/Experimentation
I planned for this project by sketching renaissance style female figures and studying how artists drew them at the time. The ideal figure had pale skin (this was a sign that they weren't a part of the working class), a full belly (a sign they were well fed) and small breasts. I took inspiration from famous renaissance paintings like The Sirens and Ulysses by William Etty. I then sharpened my focus to the painting I was using for inspiration; La Nuit. I experimented by sketching the shape of the figure three times; the first time focusing on the outline and general shapes, the second time focusing on the proportions and small details, and the third time focusing on the shadows and shape of the fabric.
ProcessThe first step in making this painting was sketching the figure. The rough sketch was slightly out of proportion, but I tweaked things as I layered the paint on. Having planned and experimented with the placement and the proportions of the figure in my sketchbook, sketching on the canvas was a lot easier because I had already practiced it. I drew in the fabric wrapped around the figure with a few lines, mainly where the fabric came into contact with the body. I also drew in lines to show the direction the folds of the fabric were going in.
Next I went in with the paint, using a layering technique. I started using strong colors, like brown, pink, purple, yellow, and blue. Then I layered more neutral colors on top. This gave the skin a lot more depth and makes it look more realistic. Pale skinned people have somewhat transparent skin, which is why you can see veins through the wrists and pink from the blood inside the body. To make realistic looking skin, you need hints of the colors that are visible underneath the skin. I layered a flesh tone on top of the base colors, which I mixed with white, some pink, and brown. |
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With the colors all laid down, the next step was to take advantage of the flexibility of oil paints and move the colors around to blend. I ended up using an impressionistic technique, in which I used short, quick dashes of color to make the line from one color to another more fuzzy, resulting in a smooth transition. I layered even more lighter colors on as I did this. As I was doing this, I also paid some attention to the fabric around the body. I mixed dark blue with black to get the base tone of the fabric, and lightened the blue with white for the highlights. Painting the fabric was very experimental; I ended up blending with longer lines rather than dashes to show the folds of the fabric and to give the effect of the wind blowing it back. I started with the base color and gradually blended in black for the darkest shadows, then layered the highlights on top. |
Next I went in and worked on the details. My first focus was the breasts, because they were somewhat centered on the canvas and would be a strong focal point. Because of this, I wanted to make sure they looked very realistic, because it could effect the outcome of the entire piece. To shade the breasts, I used the dashes of color shading technique, but I made the dashes smaller and closer together to encompass the small space. I also blended a lot more white and pink on the breasts that I did in other places on the body.
Another strong focal point is the face, because it is centered right at the top of the canvas. I used the same process I did for the skin for the face; starting with dark brown and pink and then blending lighter tones. I had to be extra careful that I didn't blend out the details too much, because faces create strong shadows and highlights due to all of the angles and indents. The right side of the face, for instance, had to remain significantly darker than the left side, and there needed to be a dark shadow following the highlight of the nose. The eye area is also very dark. I plotted the facial features with small lines at first, and then gradually added details once I knew they were in the right places. |
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I painted in blocks of color for the feet and left them alone for a while, just so I knew where the shadows and highlights were and the general shape of them so that I could move on to the background. The background was a crucial step to the process, because it's what would differentiate the most from the inspiration.
I layered the background with light blue and gray tones, and then blended with white to create the texture of clouds. I created rounded white lines with white paint, and blended them down to give the clouds a 3-dimensional look. I also added spots of darker gray in areas of the clouds. Some of the fog was in front of the body, and I used mostly white paint as a base color for this to cover up the dark tones of the fabric. I watered down the paint with oil to give the clouds crossing the body a somewhat transparent look.
I layered the background with light blue and gray tones, and then blended with white to create the texture of clouds. I created rounded white lines with white paint, and blended them down to give the clouds a 3-dimensional look. I also added spots of darker gray in areas of the clouds. Some of the fog was in front of the body, and I used mostly white paint as a base color for this to cover up the dark tones of the fabric. I watered down the paint with oil to give the clouds crossing the body a somewhat transparent look.
Compare and Contrast
Reflection
This project was extremely tedious but well worth the effort, I am very proud of the outcome. I made fog/clouds with oil paints for the first time, which was quite the experimentation process. I brought a lot of aspects of realism into this piece, and learned a lot about blending skin tones. My progress in using oil paints is very significant in this painting when compared to my first oil painting, Bee and Wildflowers. I have learned to blend colors rather than using colors right out of the paint tube and can blend the paint to make objects look three dimensional. The skin folds and shapes have depth and roundness created by using gradations of colors. I wish I had spent more time on the fabric. I would have liked to have added more detail and made it look somewhat transparent and thin to amplify the feeling of the wind on the skin of the figure. I also could have planned out the face planes better to give it more angles and stronger proportions, it turned out very round and flat.