Tag Archives: #zhisuart

Around the Kitchen (IV) – Ginger

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This was an assignment from a painting class (acrylic) a while ago. The purpose was to learn impasto. I chose ginger because I thought the bumpy, textured surface might go well with the technique, and also I usually bought them in bulk from Costco.

It’s a small painting with a single object, and I figured I could get it done in no time. I was so wrong.

There were two things that I couldn’t get used to. First, as someone who started painting first with watercolor, I wasn’t used to putting a lot of paint on canvas. For the purpose of this assignment, we were supposed to achieve a measurable thickness. And acrylic, a water-based medium, dries flat! I ended up working in layers, waited for a long time (longer then usual acrylic time at least) for the paint to dry, and went back to add more and more.

Another thing was the purpose of impasto technique itself. It supposed to be more about expressiveness than rendering, and I had trouble leaving my strokes in and my details out. So I kept going back and forth adding things in and taking them out. I have done so many paintings on this tiny canvas, and what a heavily loaded ginger! 🙂

Ginger, acrylic
Ginger, acrylic on canvas, 10 x 8, 2018

Pairs (I) – Watercolor vs Acrylic

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I posted this landscape in acrylic before, and I recently uncovered a watercolor version of it. So, sorry for repeating myself, but it’s interesting to look at them together:

landscape, trees, acrylic
Path, acrylic on canvas board, 12 x 16, 2015
landscape, trees, watercolor
Path, watercolor, 2015

I like the less defined forms and more spontaneous color ranges a wet-on-wet watercolor creates, but I also like the dark values the acrylic painting can bring out. The reference I used for the two is the same, and whatever difference you see from the these paintings are not by design. It seems the mediums just lead me there. How bizarre!

Once Upon A Time in Hawaii (II)

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Hawaii, surfing, watercolor
Hawaii, waves and surfers, watercolor, 2015

I remember during the trip to O’ahu, we spent most of our time hanging around the usual tourist places in Honolulu. On the last day, thanks to a late flight, we drove around the island for some adventure. We came across some really good viewing spots on the North Shore of O’ahu for watching both surfing and sunset. There were some pretty handsome roosters too.

Once Upon A Time in Hawaii (1)

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It’s vacation time and I dug out some paintings from previous Hawaiian trips.

Hawaii beach, watercolor
Hawaii, beach, watercolor, 2015

I couldn’t remember if this was sunset or sunrise, or maybe it’s just a feeling or memory. One thing I hope this blog would achieve is better documentation of my efforts.

Try New Things (2) – Ballpoint Pen

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I’ve seen many people doodling and sketching with ballpoint pen before, but I never tried. I like the flow and the fineness of a micron or sharpie better. A ballpoint pen is just something you use for it’s conveniency and economy, right? How far can you push it as an art tool? Well, according to British artist James Mylne, this far:

James Mylne (b. 1981), Polo Pony 1 (2008), Ballpoint pen on paper

Look at the range of values a single Bic Cristal could deliver!

No, I am not going to attempt that. I have neither the skill nor the patience. Mr. Mylne’s drawings average 60-100 hours per piece, with the longest 310 hours. While photorealism is probably always time-consuming regardless of the medium, ballpoint pen is extremely tricky because it’s a one way street. You can only go from light to dark, no erasing, no lifting, no painting over.

Still intrigued, I decided to at least give sketching with the Bic a try:

Portrait of a man, ballpoint pen
Portrait of a man, ballpoint pen, 2019. Model from NMA.

And here’s what I learned:

Compare to micron or sharpie, the touches are closer to those of using a graphite pencil. Especially in shading, with good control, you can go lighter than an ink pen, and build up a wider range of values.

Just like a micron or sharpie, since you can’t erase, it exposes all the weakness in your drawing. You need to be mindful about each mark throughout the working process. Scary, right? But also good learning opportunity. If there’s a unwanted mark, the only remedy is to work it into the drawing somehow. This is challenging, may not be possible sometimes, but lots of fun. A few missteps can lead to something unexpected:

Portrait of Jorgie, ballpoint pen
Portrait of Jorgie, ballpoint pen, 2019 Model from Croquis Cafe

Don’t forget to keep a tissue paper handy because you need to constantly remove the buildup at the tip.

By the way, do check out James Mylne’s gallery. It’s not just photorealism, but also a lot of humor.