"The Deadlift" (36x36 oil on panel) painting process
Greetings,
This large painting was a self portrait of sorts. I religiously balance my creative practice with my other favorite activity: lifting. When the balance is just right, both things see a substantial benefit.
A big painting requires lots of paint. Lots of paint means a large palette. This is a repurposed upside-down 16x20 cradled gessobord (with an old botched painting face-down). Works great. Except all that dry surface soaked up the oil and made my paint dry at first. I've been wiping it down with extra linseed between sessions and now it is much better. Give it a year of use and it will be glossy and nice:
First stage:
Next stage:
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At this point I posted it online, thinking it was done. Then one thing started to drive me crazy. I tried to ignore it, but it was too big of an issue. The barbell was severely misaligned with its sleeve. This is the downside of starting loose. Of course from a technical standpoint the misalignment was bad, but more importantly, a powerful aspect of the painting was missing: the feeling of weight and strain. The bar should be slightly bowed down, and if anything there was an illusion of the opposite happening. So I fixed it.
And the finished painting, "The Deadlift" (36x36 oil on panel, 2014):
Thanks for reading! -David
Amazing work @davidcheifetz. Really love the colours and your painting style. Great attention to detail too (which, ironically, is even more important with looser brush work). re-steemed!
Awesome, thank you very much! :)
@veryspider, thanks for resteeming this post!
@davidcheifetz, this is the first time I've seen your work. I like the areas of darker color on the right weights. That area also suggests the feeling of weight and strain. Your dedication shows!
Thank you very much!!
Such a cool painting! How long have you been doing it for? The balance between the composition and colors, crazy cool :) Still trying to figure out perspective myself with sketching, hehe.
I started learning how to paint in 2007 and started painting full time in 2009. Thank you! Color was a big tool in creating focus here. Yes, good for you, perspective is so important!
Another amazing painting. Thanks for showing your process. When I saw the first pic at the top I expected there to be cad red underpainting.
I didn't even notice the barbell until you said something, but there definitely is a big improvement in the last pic.
I love the way you broke up the background with the subtle color variations and texture, and the glow you created. I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Awesome, thanks for reading/observing the details! :)
It's all in the details ;) Be well friend
Such a beautiful palette! Thanks for sharing!
Man, you are so good, I just love seeing your process!! :D
Thank you very much! :)
Very nice David. You can certainly see the strain in the muscles which gives the painting lots of interest. I enjoyed seeing each stage of the painting and your comments.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
wow ver cool...you're a pro ;-)
Thanks!
Enjoying every step of your painting, and even under painted it looks great @davidcheifetz.
Awesome, thank you!
I like your self-portrait, which reveals the nature and hobbies of the artist! Good work, as always !!
Thank you! :)