Tomato

I have been wanting to start painting again on a regular basis but seem to haven’t been able to do it. I work as a medical illustrator during the day in my illustration studio. Once I get enough illustration work done, I go to my fine art studio, Cooley Studios and work on my projects, my independent study and I also teach drawing and painting to my evening and Saturday students. Difficult trying to find time for me to paint but I am trying to commit to painting for a couple hours on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

I am now working on simple painting exercises as a way of encouraging me to keep a consistent schedule. Below is a basic painting I recently made of a tomato. I have a ample supply of faux fruits and vegetables to use as models. I will try to make a painting or two every week and post them.

Michael A. Cooley, Tomato, 3/2013, Oil.
This is a daily painting exercise to keep my hands and eyes sharp.

I am pleased with the painting and will continue onward. For this painting I used the wipe out method. I painted my canvas with a good layer of raw umber and with a piece of rag wrapped around my finger, I pulled out the halftone, light tones and highlights. I left the darker areas of raw umber for my shadow and cast shadow areas. I actually add a little black to the umber for the cast shadow area. Once the underpainting dried, I proceeded to paint in full color in layers. After the finished painting dried, it sunk into the canvas and became dull. I applied a coat of oleogel (I leanerd that tip from my mentor, Marvin Mattelson) to bring the luster back to the painting.

Until next time,
Michael