Model Study Number Two 2 8x6 oil

So this is "Number Two".  

Model Study 6x6 oil

Today was the last figure painting group at Judy Schroeder's Gallery in Old Town Orange.  It has been fun having a larger group and getting to try new eating experiences for lunch.  I have enjoyed my time at her gallery and am ever so thankful for the opportunity.  

Painting with other painters as opposed to solo in a studio is a much different experience.  I enjoy both actually.  Love the chance to see how others work and the conversation that ensues.  Artists as a whole are some of the most generous people I know.  Well at least this wonderful group of artist.  I would say they are kind from the heart, loving, generous and ever so grateful for the opportunity to do what they love.  So thanks to all of you!

Solo is good too.  It is deep meditation for me.  Hours can pass, without ever knowing, until the sun goes down.  It is very peaceful.  I totally enjoy this level of peace and thought and living in the moment.  Those times are cherished in this crazy busy world and again I am grateful for the chance to explore them with my paint brush in hand.

This was the first of two small paintings done today.    

Warm Day in April 8x6 oil

Well it has been a long time since I got out to paint.  Just one thing after another and no plein air because of it.  It was a short visit with Kim Vanderhoek out at Santiago Creek.  It was a very sunny morning and warm.  The shade felt good.  

I seem to think a lot more now about what I am painting and how I am going to get there than ever before.  It didn't just flow out of the brush and magically appear.  I got to play a bit with laying in color and feeling and seeing what I thought.  Shapes were difficult for me.  Seems like the simplest concept, but nothing felt quite right.  That was okay because I did not take for granted that nature was gonna give me a perfect composition without fudging things.  Thought  about the focal point and what makes one work.  Darken up or sharpen up edges???  How do I get the eye to go to a point and stay for a bit before moving around the canvas?  I enjoyed working with color and hoped not to over work it into a nice mud.  I think I did fine.  All and all it was a good paint session and I hope to paint with Kim again soon.  

Sheila Reading 10x8 oil

This is Sheila.  She is one of the prettiest models I have painted.  I don't do her beauty justice.  She reminded a few of us of Degas, in that she had a flair short shirt on as she did her gestures in ballet poses.  

Sheila's shoes are just really so so feminine.  She had on three inch silver spiked platform heels.  It would be interesting to just do her shoes on her feet in different poses.  It would be a study in spiked heels...ouch!  One inch is about it for me these days.  Comfort is everything, but I miss those days of spiked heels and just feeling so powerfully feminine in great high heel shoes.

First the Gestures

Today I got to draw!   I only had half a day, so I did these 5 minute drawings and a small painting I will post next.  Drawing these timed gestures is so wonderful.  It is hard to put into words.  There are so many shapes that make up the human form and shapes that surround it. Love looking for negative shapes.  It was a good morning.

Gestures of Paulina

Lately I have been photographing my warm up gestures.  I think it is good to look back on them at the end of the day.  If I got a painting I like in the end, it is fun to see where I was at the beginning.  Usually mornings are stiff and I wonder if I have forgotten how to draw.  I am glad I warm up.  These drawings are all a part of the process.

Paulina 10x8 oil

This was the second painting of my model day.  I tried to stay loose and work to put the strongest contrasts and details in the focal area.

Lovely Paulina 10x8 oil

I had a peaceful painting day yesterday.  We had a new model.  Paulina had never modeled for artist before.  Her face had this wonderful expression of pensive thinking.  I think she was worried she wasn't doing it right.  

It was very nice to spend time on the face vs. the full figure.  I need to spend more time doing this.  I really enjoy it.  I wanted to work on building the form in masses and planes.  The other area I worked on was getting my flesh tone color to have more intensity and value.  I tend to chicken out.  

I had the pleasure of spending the day with some wonderful hard working woman artists, Kamillia Hardy, Arleen Kaller, Dana Cooper, Hillary Miller, Judy Schroeder, Erika and Marcia. 

Shelia 14x11 oil

Just got home from a lovely day painting the model.  We got to work out of Judy Schroeder's Gallery in downtown Orange.  Makes for a fun day, as there are lots of places to eat and walk at lunch.

This was a difficult pose in that here crossed elevated legs were difficult to capture and be convincing.  Shelia is a lovely model and artist herself.  She brought many costumes and things for us to select from for our long pose. 

This pose was about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.  Working through the form from beginning to end takes on many feelings for me.  Often I like the painting about 3/4 through and should stop.  Today I tried to stay aware of that and still didn't quite finish it, but did not over work it.  I need to work on the concept of a finished painting.  I would like to start visualizing the finished work I want to see.  I am slowing down more and stepping back to take in where I am in that moment and if it is what I visualized.  Now getting what I visualize and what I do to look similar in the end is my next area to work out.