Still Life Painting Atelier An Introduction to Oil Painting

253 Pages·2010·38.72 MB·English

by  Michael Friel

Still Life with Fruit, 2004, oil on canvas,
20 × 16 inches (40.64 × 50.8 cm), private collection
STILL LIFE
PAINTING
atelier
AN INTRODUCTION TO OIL PAINTING
MICHAEL FRIEL
WATSON-GUPTILL PUBLICATIONS
NEW YORK
Copyright © 2010 by Michael Friel
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Watson-Guptill Publications, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House,
Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.watsonguptill.com
WATSON-GUPTILL is a registered trademark and the WG and Horse designs are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Friel, Michael.
Still life painting atelier : an introduction to oil painting / by Michael Friel. -- 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8230-3408-6 (alk. paper)
1. Still life painting--Technique. I. Title. II. Title: an introduction to oil painting.
ND1390.F75 2010
758’.4--dc22
2009045469
Designed by Karla Baker
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-8230-3408-6
eBook ISBN: 978-0-307-82878-1
COVER DESIGN: Karla Baker
COVER ART: Still Life with Flowers and Fruit, 1998, oil on canvas, 36 × 27 inches (91.4 × 68.6 cm), private collection.
v3.1
Musical Instruments, 1999, oil on canvas,
20 × 30 inches (50.8 × 76.3 cm), private collection
TO MY WIFE, MEGANN DEVINE, AND MY PARENTS, CONSTANCE AND ROBERT
FRIEL
I would like to express my gratitude to my wife, Megann Devine, for contributing her editing
skills, as well as for her support and patience during the writing of this book. I would also like
to thank my editor, Alison Hagge, for the many improvements she made to the book while
preparing it for publication; Candace Raney, for her belief in this book; Cary Cartmill and Ron
Dalton, for their professional photography services; and the directors of Gage Academy, Pamela
Belyea and Gary Faigin, for providing me the opportunity to develop and teach the instructional
material presented in this book.

Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction
PART I
YOUR STUDIO
A Dedicated Work Area
Running Water
Lighting
Studio Equipment
Studio Safety
PART II
YOUR MATERIALS
Drawing Materials
Paints
Color Wheel
Palette and Accessories
Brushes
Mahlstick
Solvents
Linseed Oils
Bodied Linseed Oils
Varnishes
Mediums
Supports
PART III
SETTING UP YOUR STILL LIFE
Gathering Your Materials
Assembling Your Objects
Directing Your Lighting
Positioning Your Easel
Marking Your Setup
PART IV
STILL LIFE DEMONSTRATION PAINTINGS
PAINTING WITH A LIMITED PALETTE
Making a Thumbnail Sketch
Creating a Preliminary Drawing
Making Sure Objects Are Symmetrical
Transferring Your Preliminary Drawing to the Canvas
Establishing the Underpainting
Adding Color to the Underpainting
ALLA PRIMA PAINTING WITH A FULL PALETTE
Painting Alla Prima
PAINTING REFLECTIVE SURFACES
Painting Reflections
PAINTING TRANSLUCENT SURFACES
Painting Glass
PAINTING WITH A GRISAILLE UNDERPAINTING AND GLAZES
Painting in Grisaille
Applying a Glaze
Scumbling
Painting Smooth Surfaces
Afterword
Bibliography
Index
Bouquet, 1987, oil on paper,
30 × 23 inches (76.2 × 58.4 cm), collection of Constance and Robert Friel