Vanitas 3 update (9-22-2015)

I have been working on this piece over this summer and I am not done yet. I am looking at about 100 more hours to go on this one including a watercolor section. Below is how it looked a few days ago. I am hoping I can at least finish the graphite section by the end of October.

Update on Vanitas #3

After a year of interruption, I finally got back to working on Vanitas #3 I had started last summer. This image has soooo much fabric in it and I am using graphite, so it is naturally going very slow. On top of that, I have been working on another project simultaneously right now (I am going to post on this 2nd project shortly). So that too is slowing down the progress of this piece. Anyway, I have almost finished 1/3 of the piece. This is going to be part 1 of a diptych. I hope I can complete this part 1 before the end of this summer.

Vanitas 2 update (8-16-2014)

Working on the black fabric. I am using this masking fluid and it's a great product. It dries fast, it is easy to peel off and doesn't damage the surface. It lifts off the graphite a little but that's not a big deal. I can touch it up fairly easily. This masking fluid along with painter's tape allows me to create really clean edges. A couple of more days of working on the background, then this piece will be finished.

 

Vanitas 2 update (8-10-2014)

I had to teach a photo workshop to high school students for a week and my work on this piece slowed down a bit. Now I am back on track. I have completed the pomegranate and I am in the middle of rendering the fabric. Naturally it is one of the most time-consuming subjects to render. I am not completely happy about the way the left half of the fabric under her lower body looks in my original reference photo. So I am going to collage that part of the fabric from a different shot taken during the same photo session. The pictures below are just quick snapshots. I am going to do proper photographing of the piece once it is finished, which I estimate will be sometime next week.

Vanitas 2 update (Day 18)

I have finished the figure of Vanitas 2. I struggled with the face a little more than the rest of the body trying to make it look right, and I think I finally got it. Now on to the background.