"Majesty" A visual for the viewer to be mindful that the Lord is Soveriegn over all His creation

 

The term majesty in the Webster dictionary means soveriegn power, authority or dignity. It also is used in addressing or referring to riegning soveriegn and their consorts.  Finally, used to describe the grandeur or  magnificence of a monoarchy however, in this case theocracy the King of the Kingdom of God.

This painting when I finished bringing in all the inspired references certaintly accomplished the desired results.  When I looked at it I thought about a title for the painting and majesty came to my mind.  The rest is history.

I was inspired to do this heavenly scene of the Lord seated on His throne.  It is for the viewer to reflect upon that we are dependant upon Him and not the other way around.  He is the exalted Lord who has all power and authority over all His creation. who will be returning to set up His Kingdom on earth.  Meanwhile, we should humble ourselves to allow Him to reign on the throne of our hearts. 

"which He will manifest in His own time.  He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of Lords who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power."  Amen 

(1 Timothy 6:15-16 NKJV)

He covers the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud over it.  

(Job 26:9 NKJV)

The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. 

(Psalm 103:19 NKJV)

Dee's Drawing of Lupita

Last year in April of 2021 I took the liberty to draw and color in a profile of Actress Lupita Nyong'o.  She is Academy Award, Daytime Emmy Award, four NAACP Image Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Award winner. This drawing was done using vine charcoal and prismacolor pencil.

As you can see I completed the drawing by adding more details in.  Also I developed the colors more.  I accomplished this by using a technique in color pencil drawing called burnishing.  Burnishing is done when you go over the same area with another color or with a burnishing pencil or known as a colorless blender pencil design to make the colors less granny in appearance.  In this case I used a white color pencil over the color and I used a colorless blender.

I hope this blog post has been a blessing to you to read.  Please comment below if you have and comments or question or email me deeweaver15@gmail.com thank you.

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Beautiful Fall Colors Painted in Plein Air

                      Reference Bear Creek north Alabama  

             

"And then the sun took a step back, the leaves lulled themselves to sleep and Autumn was awaked." ~Raquel Franco

In November of 2020 on the week of Thanksgiving I took a trip to paint at Bear Creek in north Alabama.  I saw this scene while I was there and decided to paint it in plein air.  The scene had a rich variety of autumn colors reds orange browns and muted greens from the leaves of trees.  They were very appealling to the eye just rich in chroma or intensity.  I arrived there around 2:30 that afternoon.  The weather was clear sky and very chilly temperature in the 40s for highs.  The area was quiet and the winds were around 5mph from the east.  The water was still hardly no waves.  I said to my self this is very beautiful I need to come back and paint here.

 

This painting was done with 3 paint brushes a flat, round and liner brush.  I simplified the shape patterns in the landscape and mixed the colors to the chroma or intensity as close as possible.  It was a very chilly late afternoon in November.  I saw the scene and I said to myself I will have to come back and paint here again.
 

Drawing Basics and Drawing the Human Figure in Charcoal for Beginners

 

I remember as a young boy struggling drawing full figures.  I was very comfortable with drawing portraits and pretty much any thing else but when it came to figure drawing it was a struggle.  A few months ago around June of 2021 there was a public drawing session held by the University of North Alabama Art Department in which I attended and found out that their were artists struggling to draw particularly the human body.  I now have learned how to draw the human figure.  Later after that drawing session I went to a local artists guild meeting and a artist mentioned that they struggled with drawing the human figure.  

 I took it upon myself to create a video series in which I titled Drawing Basics and Drawing the Human Figure in Charcoal for Beginners.  In in this video I shared my experience in drawing when I was young.  In the video I go over the basic fundamentals of drawing.  I also share with the audience the concepts of gesture drawing and getting down what you see in a lose way.  I also go over the importance of purchasing a wood mannequin along with many other things I cover in the video on the drawing series.   https://youtu.be/j4fWMB8rIa8

Dee's Limited Palette for Plein Air

There has been a few times when I prepared to paint in plein air on to arrive on the scene and relized I for got a color I needed to paint.  Have you ever done that?  Also there would be just too much stuff to haul with me to paint.  

In this blog post I will discuss with you my limited palette that I use whenever I paint in plein air.  My colors went from twelve or more to six due to limiting the colors I bring with me.  It has been refreshing and a big comfort to limit the amount of colors I bring.  

By using a limited palette it allows me to develope a color harmony through out my mixing.  It is very cost effective to not just bring but buy just a few selective colors.  For example I may need a warm green that has a local color of yellow in it.  By using a limited color palette all I have to do is just take these three colors and mix them to get close or right at the color I need.  I would mix a phthalocyanine blue with a cadmium yellow medium mix the two with just a very small amount of blue to the yellow to get yellow green.  I also can disaturate the intensity by mixing the color's compliment or using any color with alter the saturation.  I could use white, gray or brown any of these colors will cause the color to lose it's intensity.  Those three colors are the most  common colors to disaturate the color intensity.

Before I place any color on to my stay wet palette I get my container of Liquitex slow dri gel which is a medium and mix it into my limited palette of color.

Here is my limited color palette.

The three colors at the top from left to right are titanium white, cadmium yellow medium and yellow orchre. 

Finally, the three colors at the bottom from left to right are as following: cadmium red medium, phthalocyanine blue and raw umber

The three colors at the top from left to right are titanium white, cadmium yellow medium and yellow orchre. 

Finally, the three colors at the bottom from left to right are as following: cadmium red medium, phthalocyanine blue and raw umber

MIXING COLOR TO GET BLACK

In order for me to get close to a black if I ever need it in my painting I would mix up the following color cadmium red medium, phthalocyanine blue and raw umber.

MIXING COLOR TO GET GREY

In order for me to get a grey I would just add titanium white with the three colors I just mentioned above

MIXING COLOR TO GET A COOL GREY OR A WARM GREY

f I need to get a cool grey, there would be a little bit more of blue.  If I need a warm gray then I would mix more brown in the color along with titanium white.

MIXING COLOR TO GET BROWN

If I need a brown I would mix all of the primary colors red yellow and blue.  Whenever your mx these three colors you get a brown.

MIXING COLOR TO GET ORANGE

If I need a orange I would mix cadmium yellow medium and cadmium red medium.

MIXING COLOR TO GET VIOLET OR PURPLE

If I need a violet or purple I would mix cadmium red medium and phthalocyanine blue equally.  In order to get a cool violet I would mix a little bit more of blue than red.   If I need a warmer violet then I would need a litte more red to mix. 

I hope you have learned the reasons in why I use a limited color palette.  Remember that to bring down a colors intensity or pureness it must be mixed with another color particullarly gray brown white or the color's compliment.  The color that is accross on the color wheel from it. 

If this content has been a value to you then please share it with others who need to read it.  Also for more art related content then comment below with your questions and response to this material. Thank you. Shalom 

How to Create a Stay Wet Palette for Acrylics

Have you ever painted in acrylics and while you were still painting some of your acrylic paint dried up.  Perhap also you hava alot of paint left over from painting and you had to throw that paint away.  I'm pretty sure you saw that paint go into the garbage and you said to yourself there has got to be a way of preserving my paints.  For the past three years I have been using a stay wet palette while painting in plein air.  I also use in my acrylic paint a medium called liquitex slow dri gel not the fluid when I mix my limited palette of color before arriving at my scene to paint.  In this blog post I want to share with you the steps in creating your own stay wet palette. 

Here are the items you will need to create your own stay wet palette. 

Step 1

Gather all your items to create the stay wet palette.  There are two items left out of the photo that you don't have to have but if you want precision they are a must.  A pencil and a ruler is optional.

Step 2

Take the medium size cloth and cut it to the size of the bottom of the shallow container.  After cutting the cloth run water over the cloth and after squeeze it.

Step 2

Take the cloth and and place it at the bottom of the container

Step 3

Take the parchment paper and pull it out to the size of the bottom of container.

Step 4

Measure the distance of the bottom vertical from on size to the other and draw a straight line using a pencil and a ruler then use the scissors to cut the parchment paper.

 

Step 5

Take your scissors and cut along the line you made.  

Step 6

Place the curled side of the parchment paper facing down and spread it out to the sides with your fingers.

Parchment paper is strong enough to withstand the paint and the dampness of the cloth underneath.  Wax paper will not work.  I hope you you have been blessed by this blog post on making a stay wet palette.

 

Plein Air Painting as a Beginner with Acrylics

Hello everyone!  Have you been thinking about paintingin plein air or outdoors.  Perhaps you been desiring to paint your flowers outdoors, your tree in yout yard, your garden, your car or truck, your bike, skateboard your lawn mower your shoes in plein air or perhaps your home your backyard, neighborhood on your street or even your local park.

Here are things you need to know before you start your first plein painting.

1. YOUR SUPPLIES

French Easel

Stay Wet Palette

YOUR BRUSHES

It is best to use a large flat brush at the beginning of your painting to block in all your dark shapes such as your shadows first because the light shifts about every 7 to 10 minutes especially in the evenings and mornings.

1. Flat Brush        2. Filbert Brush        3. Round Brush        4. Liner Brush

YOUR TIME FRAME TO PAINT IN PLEIN AIR

As a beginner it is very important to paint close to noon from 11:30am till 12:30 for about one hour.  One hour is reasonable time to paint in a small size of  8"x10" scale or even smaller 5"x 7".

1. Morning

2. Noon

3. Evenings

OUTDOOR TEMPERATURE

It is very important to paint in temperatures as a beginner that is comfortable.  Good temperature range to paint in plein air is from 65 to 75 degrees with less wind as possible.  However, the highest tempts I've ever painted in was 90 degrees in June of 2020.  I was very uncomfortable and sweeting a lot.  I had put a tee shirt and I put it over my head to keep me cool.  I had not checked the weather forecast on that day.  I encourage you to watch the weather forecast before heading out to paint in plein air.

You now know now what to do and what to expect when you go out and paint in plein air.  I advise you to write out a check list of supplies before you go out and paint in plein air.   I hope this post has been a help to you as a beginner.  Thank you.