Tag Archives: figure painting

The Difference Between Painting and Drawing

March 25, 2009 – 6:30 am

People ask me if I sketch in with pencil or charcoal before I begin.   No, I don’t.  So much of painting requires restatement in the process, why start out fumbling from the beginning?  I try to say what I mean from the very beginning. Think about the process of painting as opposed to drawing.  Rendering […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, art, figure painting, oil painting, painting, portrait sketch, sketches | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (19)

I Painted These Lovers Under a Rusted Moon

January 17, 2009 – 6:30 pm

I know that it is very “poster-like”, but that is how it came together.  I painted this couple at Spider House.  They were so in love.  It made me happy.  The end.

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, art, figure painting, oil painting, Oil Sketches Live at Coffee Houses, painting, painting live, painting people from life, portrait sketch | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (2)

I Painted This Artsy Man at Quack’s

December 18, 2008 – 7:43 am

I painted him on a Saturday at Quack’s.   He popped in and sat down two tables away from me,  providing the perfect distance and profile pose to paint him.  It was a very quick oil sketch, but I think that I captured him and his impish personality.  He came over to see what I […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, art, artist, figure painting, oil painting, Oil Sketches Live at Coffee Houses, painting live, painting people from life, portrait sketch, portraiture | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (5)

The Sensual Line of the Rapid Oil Sketch

November 23, 2008 – 9:02 pm

This is an example of the  very rapid, warp 10/volume 11 sketch.  As people are waiting for their drink orders at the counter, I try and paint them.  I have anywhere from one to three minutes to capture the gesture.  It is a tricky business.  One cannot falter, and precision and rhythm of line is […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, art, figure painting, painting, painting people from life, portrait sketch, sketches | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (11)

I Painted People at Epoch Coffee in the KaffeeHaus Style

November 21, 2008 – 11:37 am

I finally stopped whining about the lack of good places to sit to paint in Epoch.  There are only two tables at Epoch Coffee that are located at a natural light source.  At every other table, I am staring into the store-front glass – which causes terrible problems when judging colors – well, you just […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, art, figure painting, oil painting, painting, painting technique, portrait sketch | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (4)

I Painted Him at the Spider House

November 8, 2008 – 6:03 pm

I painted this man at the Spider House.  He had on a white box-tailed button-down shirt, leggings, and white mules.  I saw him again a few days later at Cafe Medici (another coffee house) in a similar outfit.

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, art, figure painting, oil painting, painting, portrait sketch | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (11)

Portrait Vignette of Lacey at Cafe Caffeine

October 22, 2008 – 4:47 pm
By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, art, figure painting, oil painting, painting, portrait sketch, portraiture | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (6)

Oil Sketch Pronto-Prontissimo!

October 18, 2008 – 9:32 pm

When I started college, I wanted to be a fashion illustrator.  I went to a pretty crummy state school my first year, and the only fashion illustration class was in the home ec department.  I couldn’t bring myself to sign up for home ec, so I switched over to architecture.  I flunked out of drafting […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in art, fashion illustration, oil painting, painting, sketches | Also tagged , , , | Comments (9)

Painting at the Spider House

October 14, 2008 – 12:41 pm

I painted this while sitting on the decked section of the patio at Spider House Coffee.  I decided to paint at this spot because of the old gliders and the metal-worked lanterns.  Also, it has a nice living room feel which gives the painting a connectedness that you would lose if you were painting people […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, art, painting, painting technique | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (6)

Painting a Portrait From Life

October 12, 2008 – 1:24 am

I painted this alla prima portrait of this man on the patio of Spider House.  I wanted the flesh of his face to add life to his surroundings.  He was hemmed in the booth by 5 other college students, so he was the perfect live model.  He sat so still, that I should have paid […]

By Lavanna Martin | Posted in alla prima, oil painting, painting, portrait sketch, portraiture | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (4)