So I brought home some Cuban guava pastelitos that I love. They're a very simple pastry that is made with layers of puff pastry, guava paste and butter. My friend Marta from MyBigFatCubanFamily has an excellent recipe here. And they're so light that it's easy to eat more than one in one sitting particularly with a nice cup of cafe con leche (cafe aulait). Yum! Anyway this is what I did with one of my models:
Lately this is how I start most of my paintings. I do the imprimatura by toning the canvas in a yellow ochre wash. I need to get rid of the white of the canvas since that is so stark! I then do a loose sketch with thinned burnt sienna paint. Sometimes, if more precision is needed, I'll use my charcoals. Different artists prefer different ways to start their painting. Whether one is "better" than another, I really can't say. I just know that this way is easy for me because any errors that occur at this stage, I can easily wipe and re-draw. And I do that a lot! This was the subject of an interesting discussion I had recently with an artist friend who swears that the only "masterful" way to start a painting is with charcoal pencil. Finish. End of story.
Ahem...OK!
So next I will start adding color to the background. I'll be working wet into wet and from dark to light. And the shadows are next:
