Wide Eyes

Wide Eyes
Oil on panel, 8x10

In progress

With this painting, I am putting to use all of the things I have been studying in the portrait and figure workshop this week.  This little darling is my youngest grandson, and I am working from a photo today instead of the real boy.  In the first stage, I have sketched in the lines and placed my darkest darks.  Since I am doing a head and shoulder study, it is more natural for me to paint the eyes first (which is NOT what I learned in the workshop - but just my personal preference).  Once I had the eyes in - I thought it looked pretty creepy on the unpainted surface  - so I took a photo!  It is really why I decided to include my steps!  At the second stage, I have filled out the flesh - marking the warms and cools, which actually look very lifeless on the pale pink wash.  I needed to get some of the surrounding colors in before adding much to the color of the skin.  So much of the color comes from the reflected light from the shirt and other close objects.  I am constantly pushing the temperature of the colors - especially since I am working with a photo.  The colors are so much harder to identify without the live model.  I already see a few things I want to change, but as it is getting late I am going to wait until tomorrow and daylight to finish.  This one makes 425 paintings in 425 days.  We are expecting snow again - and the amounts are widely varied!  I wonder what I'll wake up to!

First strokes

Martice

Martice
Oil on panel, 11x14

This young lady was simply a delight to paint today!  She is just as sweet as can be, and was so patient as we constantly tried to talk her into ignoring her breaks.  Today's focus was temperature, so I kept this in mind as I worked.  Her hair was amazing - with cool light and cooler light reflecting from two separate sources, one more blue, the other pushing lavender.  The skin was truly a challenge.  I found myself seeing one color, looking more intently to see the others.  So much of the life of the painting is accurately seeing all the colors.  With each day, I am seeing more color temperature variations.  Just as with plein air painting outdoors, I can see many more colors when painting from life than I could from a photo.  It never ceases to amaze me.  I am really having fun with this workshop, really trying to push myself to explore the figure and portrait work, and paint more sensitively.  I brought this one home and worked on it a bit more, wanting to capture her sweet, gentle spirit with the oils.  The color is a bit off due to the nighttime lighting, so I'll try to take a better photo tomorrow. Painting number 423 in as many days :)

I can hardly believe that I have been selected as a featured artist in an article by the Missouri Arts Council titled Snapshots of the Missouri Arts Blogosphere!  This is SO exciting!  What an honor it is to mentioned with such amazing artists across the state!  Please go check out the article - there are some wonderful artists and their blogs mentioned.  You just might find a new favorite blog to follow!

Kaleigh

Kaleigh
Oil on panel, 11x14

This is my second workshop day and my first figure painting from life!  I liked the angles of the full pose, so I jumped right into painting the whole figure.  I thought to myself, "This is going to be a piece of cake.  By painting the whole figure, I will be putting less detail into all of the masses - so this will go quickly!"  Silly me!  What was I thinking?  By doing the whole shabang, I opened myself up to ALL those masses - and all those values within each mass.  The focus of the day was values, so I worked more diligently at marking the darkest darks and lightest lights.  I felt I was much stronger at the values in all masses except the skin, and I had to push myself when it came to the darks!  So, tomorrow, I am going to consciously lay in the darks of the skin much more effectively from the get-go!  Another challenge for today was the actual mapping of the figure.  There is so much more measuring with a whole figure than a head and shoulder.  I normally just start at the top and draw down from there.  But today, I marked the top, bottom and right edges where I wanted the composition to sit, and worked all measurements out from there.  I love being challenged, and feel like I really learned something today!  This is painting number 421 in as many days.

Michaela in Charcoal

Michaela in Charcoal
Tinted charcoal on mi-teintes paper, 12x9

The last couple of days I have been drawn to figure work again, wanting to try different mediums and surfaces.  I pulled out my tinted charcoals - which I have only used a hand full of times, and this creamy paper.  I selected the burnt embers color of charcoal - and started my work.  It has been so long since I have used charcoals - that I had forgotten the feel.  The way they scratch against the surface, resisting in some areas - it is so unlike my consistent graphites.  But like an old friend, they grew on me......I remembered how I liked them and how they were one of my first real mediums, when only in the second grade.  The idea of doing 30 figures in 30 days has kept popping into my mind.  I have thought of it before, but I have always drifted away from it.  Maybe it is time for me to give it some attention.  It is a sure way to hone those skills in a hurry.  This is my 169th painting in 169 days.  Where will tomorrow lead me?

Sweet Poetry

Sweet Poetry
Oil on panel, 9x12

My youngest daughter has a special gift for playing her guitar.  All of us play one instrument or another, and I plan to use this as the subject matter for future figure work.  Working on this today has been sheer joy. With each brushstroke, the image emerges.  I find I am seeing more colors in the subject, with each painting I do.  So much of creating the painting is actually seeing what is before me.  These last two pieces have been so rewarding!  I find myself setting up poses in the middle of the night, painting while I sleep, sometimes thinking so hard of what I want to paint - that I can not sleep at all.  It is such a creative adventure - and I do not know what is around the bend.  This path is so exciting - why didn't I start painting every day years ago?  This is day 28 of the 30 day painting challenge and I am SO glad I committed to this event!  It is taking me places I had only thought about :)