CHRISTOPHER VIDAL
  • Home
  • The Artist
    • About my work
    • Media/Publications
  • PAINTINGS
    • Paintings for Sale >
      • Landscapes
      • Plein Air
      • Still Life
    • Commissions
    • SOLD Paintings
  • Tuition
    • Online Mentorship
    • Workshops & Demos
    • Plein Air Painting
    • Oil Painting Course
    • Student Works
  • Products
  • Blog
  • Contact

Artist Christopher Vidal  - Blog

Welcome to my blog. The aim of this blog is to share with you some of my experiences related to my artworks, what inspires me and also how it is done. As an artist I am also constantly learning as this is an ongoing process. I also learn from my students when I am teaching in the class. Sharing what I know with others is also very satisfying. This is how we grow and improve. 
I've been teaching art for a while now, and I must say that from this I learned a lot. This helps me to identify what each individual needs in order to become a better painter. Painting is not an easy task especially landscape painting. One needs to have the inspiration to paint a tree or a mountain and it is not a question of just wanting to paint something. I choose to paint something because there was an element that motivated me to do so ...that inspired me. It could be the game of light and shadows or simply the warm colors of a late afternoon. It is sometimes very difficult to translate the colors that nature shows us using paint on a canvas. This challenge could be also a way to motivate you to paint a scenery. 
Most important is that you do not expect that every painting that you paint is going to be a masterpiece. You shouldn't be afraid that your final product is not what you expected in the first place. An unsuccessful painting should be the teaching ground for a better one that follows. This is how we learn. We learn from our own mistakes and from things that didn't work out as we wanted them but with an effort we try to make them better the next time. 
So if you want to become a better painter then you have to practice and paint regularly. This is the only way how you can improve your techniques, discover ones of your own, learn your colors etc. It is all about brush mileage. The tutor is there to help you find your way, shows you the basics and how to use your tools in order for you to be able to develop yourself. 
Looking forward to share with you my knowledge.

Painting from life

10/3/2019

3 Comments

 
shadow box still life painting
still life painting shadow box
Today I am going to share with you some tips about painting from life. Painting from life is one of the best ways to learn how to draw and paint. Besides the techniques that one can learn such a brush work, painting from life also helps you improve seeing subtle changes in colour while improving your observational skills. Both of these are essential if you want to become a better artist. My 3 years of training were almost entirely based on drawing from life objects and this helped me a lot when I came to the stage to paint. 

For this painting I chose the subject matter of drinking coffee. Drinking coffee is almost a ubiquitous activity across almost all nations. I wanted a simple composition consisting of the necessary tools including the mocha coffee pot, cup and spoon together with the raw ingredient, the coffee bean. This series of still life paintings is going to be focused to remind us about the connection between our daily activities with nature. Most of the time in this industrial age where everything is presented to us ready made, people lost touch with nature. 

I used a shadow box with a coloured background with a complementary colour to the objects. The mocha pot was placed towards the right hand side and light directed from the top left, casting shadows to towards the left, linking the objects. The reflective surface of the pot was also reflecting the bluish colour from the cup and the orange colour from the right hand side of the box. The spoon is leaning towards the edge of the table and of the canvas. The easel was placed close and towards the side of the shadow box, with the palette on the right and a small table on the left. Having all the tools needed handy is very important and helps to avoid distractions during the painting process.

The painting surface chosen is a cotton canvas attached to a 30 x 30 cm wooden panel, ready to hang, primed with an oil primer and prestained with mid value neutral alkyd oil mix of burnt umber and titanium white. This initial layer was prepared months ago.

The chosen palette for this painting is very limited and consists of Flake White replacement (Gamblin), ultramarine blue (Williamsburg), cadmium lemon (Blue Ridge), burnt umber (Michael Harding), pyrrole ruby red (Blue Ridge) with a touch of phthalo blue green shade  (Blue Ridge). The medium used was linseed oil. Most of this painting was done "Alla prima". Starting from the darkest object, the cup, moving on gradually towards the mid-range ones and to the lighter ones. This was done on purpose to prevent accidental contamination with titanium white of the darker colours. I used a colour checker to isolate and check the tones where necessary.


3 Comments

    Author

    As an artist I want to share with you my experiences and what is behind my artwork. Every artwork is an expression of the inner self. It is driven by experience. 

    Archives

    February 2025
    January 2025
    September 2024
    August 2024
    June 2024
    February 2024
    August 2023
    May 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    June 2022
    May 2022
    November 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Copyright 2025 christopher vidal.com.au
ABN: 99673806422
  • Home
  • The Artist
    • About my work
    • Media/Publications
  • PAINTINGS
    • Paintings for Sale >
      • Landscapes
      • Plein Air
      • Still Life
    • Commissions
    • SOLD Paintings
  • Tuition
    • Online Mentorship
    • Workshops & Demos
    • Plein Air Painting
    • Oil Painting Course
    • Student Works
  • Products
  • Blog
  • Contact