A Few Painting Studies

I created a few painting studies that I wanted to share with you.

The Lion painting study was designed, then applied to illustration board and then painted in gouache. I took a photo of a lion (I can’t remember where I got the image. I go to the zoo a lot so I can’t remember if it’s mine or someone else’s, I apologize). Overall, I wanted a strong subject and I love wild animals so I chose a lion, I then wanted to incorporate a strong, yet simple design element. I put the band across the eye to represent the lion’s eye for the hunt. Matted for a finish. The colors are, of course, much stronger in life.

Hand Painting in Oil by Adam Miconi

On of my favorite oil paintings due to the complexity of hands. This image is a little from a photo, a little from life. I used the photo to get the difficult angle and articulation of the hand. Notice how the fingers squeeze together showing how tightly clenched this hand is. Of course, drawing from a photo always lacks a lot of the luster that you get from life so for the colors I used my own hand as a reference. I then emphasized all the color in the piece. I have a lot of yellows and greens in my skin like many Italians do so I took those colors and pushed them even further. I love the yellows running across the thumb and down the arm.

You can never do enough painting studies. My medium of choice for painting is oils. I did a few of these studies and I’ll admit, they took me much longer than expected but when you are in a painting like I get, time isn’t a factor. I will paint until the dawn of a new day without realizing it. The only reason I ever stop for sleep is the fact that I notice possible mistakes coming on. I rest and I start again as soon as I possibly can.