Santa and Alastair in Ink

After this very busy day, I am drawing in my favorite journal as my daughter teaches me quantum physics!  Everyone else is in bed, and this is my first chance to get in a little art therapy.  I plan to paint this beautiful childhood scene, so I thought a drawing would help get me very familiar with my subjects.  I'm using my superfine Pitt pen in black exclusively.  It reacts in a rather unpredictable way on this super rough handmade paper - and I like it!  The "scratch" noise the pen makes is also new!  It normally glides over the surfaces I draw on.  This paper is SO cool.  What will I do when this book is full?  Painting number 1440 in 1440 days :)

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On Santa's Lap

On Santa's Lap
Acrylic on masonite, 6x8
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Merry Christmas!!  After starting the ham and getting the turkey in the oven, I found some time to get in this painting of little Alan (from 2010!) on Santa’s lap.  I love the expressions and gestures, the simple capture of a magical moment.  It made perfect subject matter for a painting!  I’m still using a limited palette, but I have added ivory black to the hues when getting into the shadows.  The transparent nature of this black makes it a better option than the opaque mars black.  I’m running out of panels again, so I had to prime over the rich pumpkin orange with white before beginning the acrylic block in.  I have grown quite used to that in the last couple months.  Crazy for a girl who has never liked starting with a white surface!   Painting number 1088 in 1088 days.  :)