#299 - Golden Slices

6"x 6" oil on artboard  Sold

Alrighty, time to get back on the wagon. I've got to get these next paintings posted up so I can move onto more/new paintings. Special thanks to Jean Townsend, a great painter I ran into last week who got me motivated to get off my butt. There is nothing like the daily painter community (my sangha). It can really help you keep the faith. :)

Time for shop talk!

I just wanted to share a few pics of my lighting and capture setup. So, after too much research I picked up a solux bulb (5000K/36 Degrees Black back) and put in a gooseneck adjustable clip-on lamp. This way I can angle just right so it can light the easel I have set up right next to my monitor (which I've finally got decently calibrated with the eye-one display 2 calibrator). The easel is a cheap wooden one painted matter black. On it is a sanded edge piece of glass painted with black gesso on the underside. I'm using the glass now because it's very easy to scrap (razor) dry paint off and I also wanted more space for mixing right next to the painting. I still use my poschade box nearby to hold everything though. On the new light is just a little bit of black wrap aluminum foil around it to keep light out of my eyes but still on the easel. This last pic is of my rather ghetto capture setup. It's just two clip lights placed at 45° to the ground (mounted on a cheap tripod or the pole of a floor lamp). The light bulbs in them are Alzo CFLs (45w, 91cri). The film over them is a polarizing filter that you use in juction with a another polarizing filter on your camera for some fancy schmancy cross-polarizing that I was mentioning in this long post a little while ago. I know it seems like a lot to go through for cutting out glare, but it really does work. On the ground is just some black velvit taped (with gaffer's tape-highly recommended) to the floor. It might not be pretty, but it's been working well. However, I have been thinking about trying to find a copy stand for this, but I need one that can take these cfl bulbs and the polarizing filters. Also, I'm poor so I might have to make one or get a used one.

edit added (10/25/2010):

I thought I'd mention the camera info:

The camera I'm using is the Canon Eos Rebel T2i with a 50mm prime lens on it (and polarizing filter on that). I take the exposures with the camera set to "aperture priority". This is so I can lock it at f5 (which is about the sharpest aperture setting for this 50mm prime lens). This makes the exposure a little long, but it's locked down on a simple tripod anyway so no problem. The photos are always taken in RAW (instead of jpeg) because allegedly you pick up 2 more stops of dynamic range in the shadows and .1/2 stop in the highlights.

Hit me with some questions if you feel like it. :)

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