Marathon Framing Session

Is there a record for the most paintings framed in 2 hours?  I might be a contender with 12 paintings framed up last night.  Still a few more frames left and then packing the car, but almost ready for the first art festival of the season - Narraganset Art Festival 6/27, 6/28.  A bit of rain predicted for Sunday morning, so the beach crowd will be sleeping in and the art lovers get the good parking spots!  The rest of the weekend looks perfect, so come on down!

Post Christmas Commission

I took on one more commission before the holidays, but alas, my optimism about finishing before Christmas was a bit off.  This is Bella at Brant Point on the island of Nantucket, MA. 

As a former owner of a terrier, I know those sweet brown eyes mask a mischievous mind.

Extra Special Portrait #1

I love doing portraits, despite the challenges, but some I enjoy more than others.  This is the first of two I've been working on with special meaning.

Mrs Douglas passed away last winter and left a gap in the lives of my cousin and his partner.  She loved to snuggle among the down pillows and comforter to watch the birds outside her window.  I only knew her for a short while, but she was an elegant little lady.

Mrs. Douglas

Her coloring was perfect for creating a charcoal sketch using a toned paper using black and white charcoal.  It is good practice in observing and translating values.

Special Portrait #2 will be completed soon (I hope).

Wet Paint

Fresh off the easel...  For now.  I say that because as I photographed this piece, I saw changes I needed to make.  So it will probably go back on the easel after a little bit more study.  This was a painting started last October and she has been staring at me wondering when she would be framed.  Sorry Dear, not quite yet.

Breast Stroke 18x24 Oil on canvas

I named this post "Wet Paint" because of a strange dream I had last night.  I was photographing this painting and kept bumping into furniture, brushing against the painting, etc.. I was getting paint all over the place and ruining the painting.  It may have been a premonition as just as I finished the painting, it tipped off the easel.  Luckily, there was just minimal damage.

I think the real reason for the dream is because I have four other paintings in progress.  Where I paint is only 8x8 so I've been careful about where I step.

Christmas Commissions Part 2

 
I almost didn't take this commission because of the initial hurdles, but I sometimes enjoy the challenge.  The original photo was a very small 3x3 and the subject was even smaller.  When looking at the original, there was no way I could use it as a reference, but I took it home and scanned it at a high resolution.  I was surprised how much detail was revealed.  When doing portraits, you can get a good likeness without showing details.  It is all about capturing the shapes of shadows and highlights to reveal the features of the face.  So I jumped in feet first and will be dropping it off to the new owner today.

Christmas Commissions Part 1

Holiday shopping has been a bit delayed this year.  I've been busy fulfilling other's Christmas lists - clients who are giving the gift of art.  Here is the first to be fresh off the easel.  This is Radar and those beige eyes and big ears were a joy to paint.  He will be getting ready for his new home later this week.

Next up for finishing touches is another portrait, and then a still life.

Pet Portraits

Kato on Lake Tiogue

I've done a few portraits of animals that belonged to other people and decided it was time to paint the pooches in my life.  I guess I wasn't a very good "mother" because I can't find too many photos of my first dog, Woody, who was a Jack Russell.  Probably because he wouldn't sit still long enough for a picture. 

But I did have some nice poses of Kato, my Belgian Shepherd.  He was quite handsome, a great Man Magnet, and the sweetest dog until the side effects of Phenobarbital turned him to the dark side.  His thick coat of black fur and big brown eyes made him so huggable.  He was so big it was almost like hugging a human.

I miss them both and wonder if is time to find another addition to my family.  I'll be sure to take good pictures this time.  And I'll go online to find some images that look like Woody.  Wouldn't want him to feel left out.

Making the Best of Bad Weather

A Warm Sport on the Rug

Loosing electricity, and heat, wasn't so bad with this little guy helping to keep me warm.  As the day progressed, he just moved to new sunny spots on the floor, warming his little arthritic knees.  A regal pose like this was perfect for a painting.  And he earned it by snuggling next to me at night until the power returned.

While he followed the sun, I set up by a window and painted a number of small paintings for my solo show open reception. 

A Very Limited Palette

For a recent homework assignment, I had to create a painting using only two colors, Transparent Oxide Red and Ultramarine Blue Deep, and white.  We also created a color scale to understand the range of colors that could be created.

The results were rich "blacks", a broad range warm and cool greys, and some a nice skin tones.   I decided to see what I could do with these colors in a portrait.  I started with an imprimatura under painting using burnt umber.  (not one of the two colors, but it would be painted over)

Mid-point

Imprimatura

The blue robe, background and the darks of the hair were easy, but the skin tones were more of a challenge.  Because the photo had a strong light source, I first used warm darks in the shadows (neck and chest area) thinking the skin should have more of the Transparent Oxide Red.  The face had some reflected light from the blue robe, so I tried blue-greys in the shadows of the face.  I also found some other "cool" areas of the face. This made me realize how many blue-greys were in the neck/chest area, too.  As you can see from the "mid-point" version, it now looks too red.  So back to the easel, and below is the finished painting.