I have blocked in the base colour to some more of the background. I make minor adjustments to the perspective at this point as I shall with the waving man. The tone of the ceiling will also need adjusting to be a little darker to provide contrast with the walls.
I have a busy personal week with family this week, so will not get chance to add much until the weekend.

 
Detail.
When putting in the latest figure, I noticed that the waving man was out of scale. He is too large to be slightly behind, or level with, the figure just painted, so I shall remove him and re-draw.
The figure I worked on today will need some minor adjustments which I shall do in the next session. I feel the need to add more to the right-hand section of the composition and, so will also begin to block in on that section.

 
     Detail.
Having thought about the atmosphere in a working kitchen, it is not surprising that some of the people cooking would be a little 'flushed'.
This makes for an interesting range of skin tones.

 Detail.
A short session today as a family visit came first!
I did add the hand and arm of the rear figures and the first block in of the figure furthest away. I shall add more detail tomorrow. I accentuated the shadows on the striped shirt which gives a more natural feel to the folds in the material. There are other striped shirts in the composition but they will be more subtle in tone and colour.

 
Working in the same area, I have added more to the figures and completed the first run on the striped shirt. Once dry, I shall accentuate the shadows created by the folds in the material. Whilst I consider myself a realist, I am not a hyper-realist, as artists of that ilk would take longer and complete each stripe with exactitude. In my work, there is a certain impressionism with some detail which is not always apparent in a photograph of the work. The conflict between accuracy and realism is always in my mind, but, to be more accurate with detail in a work like this, it would have to be painted on a much larger scale.

 
The second arm has been added. It is at an unusual twisted angle and not yet as accurate as I'd like   so I shall make minor adjustments at a later stage. As the arm belongs to the lady behind the gentleman, I have given it a different colour tone so that it is less confusing, even though it would be impossible for the man to have his arm right arm in that position.
I have used the same palette on the lady's face.

 
The face of the second man is contorted in concentration. It is set partially against the face of the lady next to him and the conglomerate of bench top items. The lady will be mostly in shadow, which will create dimension and push his face forward.

 In today's session, I worked on the hand and hair of the second gentleman in the middle of the composition.  I under-painted his shirt and added a few shadow areas in preparation for the next phase, which is painting dark blue stripes. As this cooking school is in the centre of New York, it seems to cater to the business office workers who want some skills after work before going home.
This photo shows a detail which I considered as a possibility for the entire composition but decided to add the section on the left to give a greater feel of space.

 I have added the head with hair and beard along with the hand. I still need to work further on the ear, beard and hand to provide contrast and slight shape corrections.
I also added more contrast to the shadows on his apron and increased the folds where it catches on the corner of the bench.
In this composition, the figures at the back ore the real focus, along with the cooking. The two figures almost completed in the foreground just serve to frame the subject and direct the eye of the viewer.
the section on the right of the composition and, in hindsight, I may have left most of that off and enlarged the section with all the interest. Having said that, I shall not neglect that section when I paint it.

Just for interest, I have added this photo taken a few seconds later than the first, which was taken in fading natural light, with its 'blue' bias. The second was taken with the warm LED lighting of the studio on.

 
The gentleman in the pink shirt is finally being 'dressed'. I am happy with the progress but will still experiment with other reds from which to make the pink. The one here is mostly Alizarin Crimson with touches of Winsor Red Deep.
I noticed that the collar on this man's shirt was very 'square' on his neck and so I guessed that he has purchased a new shirt for the occasion. It seemed a little too big, and tends to hang loosely on his body, creating some interesting folds. I was tempted to 'round off' his collar, but felt that I wanted the idea that it was a new shirt, purchased for the occasion, depicted in the work.

With more of the small detail of the bench-top completed, it is looking like the busy kitchen it was. Lots of small detail can appear too busy in a composition, but for this, it is intentional, so as to create the atmosphere I desire.

The maelstrom of the cooking top is beginning to take form. It is a matter of contrast that gives form to the otherwise conglomerate of interrelated shapes. I shall add the hands and arms of the cooks much later and may still need to make minor adjustments to the positioning to make it 'true'.






Detail.

Quite a long time painting for little progress, but that is the nature of my work. I have been adding tiny details to the fry pans and oven handles. I still need to add more contrast in some areas, and define some of the highlights. I may move to block in some of the other areas on the bench top in tomorrow's session which will be a short one, as Wednesday morning is taken up by teaching.












Detail

Today I worked on the oven and two skillet pans. I needed to adjust the position of the handle on the first pan and alter the shape a fraction on the right side. It will need to dry before I can add the finishing detail.
There are many different areas to this painting which affords me a choice of working area.
After working on the larger ceiling areas, I enjoyed the change to the smaller elements.

 Working at the top of the painting, adding detail to the machinery in the ceiling, has allowed me to feel the width of the composition. The underpainting on the ceiling and coving will not stay so plain, as I have decided to add reflections/suggestions of buildings opposite the school to make it as it would be looking through a window. The tones will also need to be adjusted to keep the focus down on the real subject which is the cooking area and people. I could have done a much narrower composition and left out the majority of the ceiling but, even though it is not the main subject, I felt that it would enhance the composition and provide interest.

I have continued adding detail and more under-painting in the ceiling part of the composition with reflections and shadows in the dark areas, which will add interest. Large 'black' areas, in a painting of the style I like to paint, do not work for me.
I don't use black paint in my work, instead, I make a dark colour, using indigo and burnt umber. This is a technique I also use when using watercolours, where I also eliminate the use of white. I use white in my oil paintings, though, as an area left as the white of the canvas, has an appearance of being unpainted. It needs the texture of the brush strokes to unify it with the rest of the canvas.

 An early morning session, with good light, gave me the opportunity to add some details to the top of the extractor hood. The stay, holding up the suspended ceiling, will need some adjustment with a highlight to the left but I am happy with the progress so far. I have also added a 'glow' from the lamp in the top corner. I find that giving it a glow adds to the atmosphere of the work. Detail

There is not much to see for nearly 2 hours work for today. I have added subtle lines on the wall to the left, adjusted the shape of the light and painted the shadow on the wall under it, started the moulding at the top of the wall, which I am finding quite difficult on this small scale, and under-painted the bottle shape on top of the extractor hood. This will need highlights and a shadow to give its dimensional position.

I shall eventually have to broach the wall between the young lady and man at the left as it has a metal shelf unit laden with appliances. The choice here will be what to paint and what to leave out.

When I am painting, I sometimes feel that progress is slow, but it is not in my nature to rush. One day, I shall attempt an oil that can be completed in a short time frame, working wet in wet so to speak.

As seen, I have been working on the air conditioning pipes in the ceiling with subtle colour reflections and changes in tone caused by their cylindrical nature. I may have said this before, but it is the contrast between the 'industrial' nature of the environment and the 'human' element that makes this subject interesting to me. I think that I may also be making a subliminal comment on the rise of cooking in general society and in the media over the last number of years. It is interesting to notice the number of males in the class. I know that, traditionally,  males predominate in the ranks of chefs but, with equality, comes a better gender balance, where more female chefs occur and more males cook in the home. It can only be a good thing, I think.

Today I worked on some small details on the pots on the bench and the underpainting of the large air ducts in the ceiling. All will need more painting with highlights and shadows to give them dimension. The large light fitting at the top left will be white and its light affects the wall below which is still incomplete. With a 'busy' composition like this it is not always easy to map progress but, when I look back over a few of days work, I see that I am making progress.

This photo shows the entire composition and some of the extra areas that have had some under-painting. The head of the male figure has had flesh added but will need extra details and highlights to make it work for me.
What interested me about this subject, is the contrast between the 'human' elements and the technical equipment.
I am considering applying reflections of objects on top of the painting, once I have finished the subject part, as looking in through a glass window. This would have a similar effect as my first oil painting "Reflections, West 51st Street' blogged some time ago. Reflections of vehicles and buildings would be interesting butI do not want them to be a distraction and compete with the subject so may only add them as 'suggestions' or decide not to do them at all.

I have added a little more detail to the blue shirt and have started blocking in the highlights on the pink shirt to the right of the young lady. I will post a photo tomorrow as the ones I took tonight have too much reflection on the surface of the paint to show it at its best. I shall work also on the electrical details above the head of the young lady. We shall see tomorrow if I have made improvements.

 Not a very good photo of this stage as it was taken with flash at night.
I have just added a few details to the electrical boxes and connecting pipes. I am still unhappy with the dropped ceiling housing the large extractor as it does not all appear to be on the same plane but, hopefully, that will be corrected before the painting is complete.
I am enjoying depicting crowds of ordinary people doing things that interest them, or going about their daily lives. This is the third in the series.