Kidz, Life, Art and Stuff II, 8" x 8", Oil on Board

KLAAS II-Kezia says a prayer before her breakfast

I was really a bit to anxious to paint this piece, that my impatience almost ruined the piece. I got lost in the lines and the drawing and whenever the drawing goes wrong in any painting of this nature....the doom is quite near! But thank God, I rescued it in the end by cooling down and focusing on what actually went wrong. I was so wrapped up in the piece that I didn't take many stage shots but the few here give an indication of my mind's process.

Recording these phases in the lives of my children is a very interesting exercise and I hope to develop this further, maybe into something the can look back in the future as a visual diary. I already have many sketches of Josh and Kezia in sleepmode, you can click HERE to see. I think it's very normal for artists to have their children as part of their painting subjects.

Lest I forget to say-I used the Anders Zorn palette for this piece too, which consists of 4 colours- Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red and Ivory Black.

Kidz, Life, art and Stuff II, 8" x 8", Oil on board-  

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STAGE 1- This is the 'gridding' process, always to make sure everything falls into place and its on solid foundation.  sometimes, I don't do 'gridding' but for safety purposes I go through the rigours of making these lines.

STAGE 2- This is where I lost it, as you can see, I was so anxious to start putting paint with completing the brush drawing...I was heading for disaster!

STAGE 3- After all the rushing, I ended up with a face that looked miles older than my daughter,  I knew I had lost a few lines with the profile drawing that I had to correct and on the hands and fingers too. This picture was also taken in poor light, so the colours are very wrong at this stage. This is a lesson I constantly have to learn over and over again even after all these years of painting. and it's HASTE IS THE ARTISTS WORST ENEMY!!!
I was happy to work a little more hours repairing but how better would it have been if I had made this piece at a steady pace, making sure each shape was correct as I went along.

SPECIAL QUOTE
I must have put this as a special quote before but I think it is more applicable here and it's, "PAINTING TOO FAST IS ON THE LIST OF COMMON MISTAKES AND DIFFICULTIES" by Richard Schmid

Kidz, Life, Art and Stuff I, 8" x 8", Oil on Board

 INTRODUCTION

Hey!! I'm really thrilled! It's June! A month of victory! The month I got married! Yes! And I'm gonna be starting this new series on "Kidz, Life, Art and Stuff"- It's a visual documentary of my observations as a dad at home with the kidz!

Last year I was at home with them for 7 months while my wife worked at Three Bridges-I had to move all my painting gear to my house, during that period I really got to relate with them better and watch them more closely because I was basically with them for the whole day apart from when they were at school, prayed together, I dropped them and picked them up, cooked, bathed, did everything....school work, played games, and often went mad too!

I enjoyed growing up as a kid and I never feel I have grown up myself! So I really enjoyed being what my wife didn't really like to hear me say at the time. But I will, I was "The Househusband".


Everyday was different, I either  sketched, took photos or painted....So get ready to enjoy the fruits of this period!

KLAAS I -Joshua paints on a hot day in the afternoon

Kidz, Life, Art and Stuff I, 8" x 8", Oil on Board

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Stage 1- Grid scaling becomes a necessity to make sure the drawing is positioned right.

Stage 2- I am using the Anders Zorn palette of 4 colours only-Titanium White, Cadmium Red, Yellow Ochre and Ivory Black. I start the sketch with a mixture of black and red, it is diluted with mineral spirits for fluidity.

Stage 3- I run straight into painting shape by shape, my emphasis here is not to overwork it and keep the edges alive! I love mixing mysterious greys!

Stage 4- Bad picture, but this was the stage that I had covered the whole surface, moving shape by shape. It's the "Inside out" technique I often use. It's when i start from a particular point inside the piece and gradually move out.

Stage 5- More of the final stage, a few refining details and the picture also taken in better light.

This is a progress shot while on the easel.

My palette for this painting.

SPECIAL QUOTE
"There comes a time in your life that you just believe anything is possible! You link up with The Spirit and you defeat that ego which keeps telling you, "you can't". You defy the odds and deliver the goods! The future can only be bright to the artist that thinks of possibility!!!"-Adebanji Alade