Fleeting: A Painting in Progress -stage 2

by Lisa Larrabee

I had a lot of fun bringing some color into the landscape.  At this stage I discovered that the Eucalyptus study that I started with proved to be invaluable.  It is still at an early stage, but I was capturing the essence of what I wanted very quickly.

~ Lisa

Fleeting: A Painting in Progress

by Lisa Larrabee

I have typically shared my painting stages as an overview upon completing a piece.  Instead, I am going to share my process while I am in the midst of creating my current painting, Fleeting.

The inspiration for this piece is the Eucalyptus across the street from my house.  I loved the color of the light hitting the leaves and the pale bark of the branches.  I stepped out my front door and took some photos for future reference.

 

I began by creating a small (14" x 11") color study of the Eucalyptus to work out colors and techniques that I wanted to use on the figurative landscape.  I hope to keep the warmth and softness of the study on a larger scale.

I knew that I wanted to use loose draping fabric and bring up an arm (or arms) to create repetition with the branches.  Once I had shot some photographs, this pose jumped out at me and altered the overall direction I had intended for the piece.  The narrative began unfolding and I had to shift focus to the right.  After composing and editing in Photoshop, I was ready to proceed.  I used a sepia hard pastel pencil to draw directly onto my toned panel. 

La Primavera: Painting Stages

by Lisa Larrabee

La Primavera

Oil   24" x 18"

artist Lisa Larrabee

This painting is of a mother, pregnant with her second child, interacting with her young daughter.  I took photo references very informally in her home, where her daughter was more relaxed.  Blooming magnolia trees were added in Photoshop to create the more symbolic setting of springtime and renewal.

I began this piece by toning a 24” x 18” museum series gesso-board panel with a thin wash of burnt sienna.  Once dry, I used a blue toned transfer paper to accurately put my drawing onto the board.  So as not to lose the accuracy of the transfer, I carefully began blocking in the face and branches in oil using only brown and white.  I continued with key elements like the hands and face of the girl.  In areas where the values were too similar to the background, I painted some darker values into the background to help keep the value relationships aligned.

Landscape: Capturing the Light

by Lisa Larrabee

Breaking Through
Oil  18" x 24"

artist Lisa Larrabee

I created this painting in an attempt to capture the brilliant but fleeting  moment when light breaks through the clouds after a rainstorm.

I generally like to begin on a warm toned background.  It allows for additional depth and richness in the colors layered over the top.  I blocked in the main shapes loosely to get the composition set.

Indelible Branches: Painting Stages

by Lisa Larrabee

Indelible Branches
oil 36" x 24"

artist Lisa Larrabee

This painting is a labor of love that I worked on over the course of a year.  It is a self-portrait of me with my boys, but it also tells a more universal story.  I began by manipulating rough images in Photoshop.  This piece is a combination of about 8 photographs and 4 color inspiration references (that changed as the painting evolved).  Part of what made this piece such a challenge was that there was an intangible goal that could only be found by working through the painting process.

First, I roughly blocked in darks and lights to establish the overall composition. 

Sketchbook: Demo to Final

by Lisa Larrabee

This drawing was done as a teaching demonstration for my students.  This is how far I got during the class.  The following day I was able to complete the drawing at home in my studio.

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Monochromatic Profile Triptych

by Lisa Larrabee

These paintings were created using a modified version of the piambura technique coined by the contemporary naturalist painter Adrian Gottlieb.  They began with the classic earth toned foundation of traditional imprimatura  underpainting developed during the Renaissance.  The application of paint is minimal with a focus on accuracy right from the beginning.  Much of the background color shows through.  Unlike Gottlieb's piambura technique, I used glazes and minimal overpainting.  It is very similar to the process that I used for Wyatt, but with a monochromatic color scheme to create a more classic old-fashioned feel.

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