Portraits v. Landscape v. Still Life?

[Mikael Melbye]

Here are the rest of the photos:

I dip a rag in mineral spirits after having "dotted" the canvas with the color, and simply keep on smearing until it is even.

Then the drawing in "pigment pen" stands out very nicely, ready to receive the daring brush.

All the best

Mikael

[Allan Rahbek]

Hello Mikael,
It

[Mikael Melbye]

Dear Allan,
No, I don't always work the same way, but I thought that I couldn't do this fairly large canvas in one go (1,5ft X 4ft) and therefore wanted to have the opportunity to work a little like the old masters. Maybe some glazing and so on. We'll see what comes out of it. I sometimes use it in portraits too, but it depends very much on the mood of the portrait I think. When it is very "Chiaro-scuro" it sometimes is a help for me to start with a middle value and work in both directions.

The "pigment pen" is a water based very densly pigmented black or brown (rust) colored pen that can be bought in most drawing supplie stores. The good thing about it, is that it doesn't desolve with anything, as opposed to for instance the simple pensel drawing which disappears immediately with the kind of treatment i give it here.

The Danish Academy is not an art school, but simply an accademy for artists, scientists, authers and other scolars. They have two studios for painters and some music rooms for the musicians, the cellar is full of pots and other artifacts from anscient Rome for the archeologists and they have a great library. It is mainly a place of contemplation and inspiration. And of course it is in the middle of Rome which is the battery for all of us here. So that's why there are no models to do portraits from, so I'm afraid that's not what you are going to get from me here. You applie for a grant to come here, or you can pay for your stay as a privatist.

I'm glad you like the pines. It's so Rome that I just had to paint them.

Greetings from

Mikael

[Nicola Scott]

Hiya and welcome
I really like your paintig of the woman with her hands on the edges of the canvas.Great idea

[Linda Brandon]

Mikael, your "Nocturne" is extremely beautiful and haunting, thank you for posting it. I hope you'll get a chance soon to post examples of your figurative works in process, I'll be watching for them.

[Chris Saper]

Dear Mikael,

Just a note to let you all know that I have moved your "Work from Rome" to this section of the Cafe, where members post non-portrait work.

I have to add my compliments on these lovely drawings, great composition, and fresh style!

[Mikael Melbye]

Well, another couple of days have past, and a few developments are at hand.

1. I block in very loosely the main values.

2. The house got the better of me, and I worked on that more then I should, but now at least I know what it's going to look like.

3. Blocked in the sky.

4. And started to work the top trees more thoroughly.

Somehow I would like to get more loose then this, but we shall see when the final edges are worked on if that doesn't help.

All the best

Mikael

[Mikael Melbye]

Just the last photos of the day.

Greetings,

Mikael