Kevin Day Two 16x20 oil

Day 2 with Kevin.  Building up the lights and darkening the shadows.  Working with color.

Need A Little Vitamin "C" 6x6 oil

Today I had my second meeting with "Kevin" at Cynthia Grilli's workshop.  I really had fun.  The only thing is I forgot my camera.  So I will catch up with that next week.
In the mean time I had lots of paint on my palette from today.  I have been enjoying these tangellos with hope of getting a little needed vitamin "C".  I think it is just not enough and the cold is coming and the headache is here.  One thing nice about still life is I can sit and be still while I paint.  I am not much for doing nothing.  Painting takes my mind off my nose and head and all the woes of not feeling 100%.

Sheila 12x16 oil

Wes 12X12 oil

Jordan 16x20 oil

Dana Cooper and I went down to Laguna College of Art and Design for the open model session and painted Jordyn. I was working with part limited palette and a few transparent color to push the color around lightly. I would say this is 2/3 done. It was a good day.

Let's Start In theMiddle 12x12 oil

Just started the first stage of this today. Basically developed the under structure and laid in the values with just a little temperature play. I will let it dry for a day or so and start the highs and lows of values and color.

This is Wes my number two son in order only. He is a hard working newly graduated from LMU in recording arts. He is the sound man. He hears everything. Frankly if I heard all the sounds he can pick out I would go nuts. So thank goodness he has the gift and not me. He is the guy that makes the sound happen from a technical perspective. He works on production and post production sound for voice and music. We take sound for granted. It takes lots of equipment and knowledge to get sound to a movie and musical recording and audio audiences (books on tape). I am very proud of him. And besides all of what he does...he is a wonderful son and good person.

I hope I can paint him well.

First Date With Kevin 20x16

Funny when your painting from a model for 3 days, with hours of staring into his face and gazing up his nose and into his eyes, it kind of feels like a first date. All kidding a side, today was the first day of another 3 day session with Cynthia Grilli. My hope is to get a little juice going. Build up the lights with paint and deepen the shadows with thin glazes. I am testing myself too. I'm pushing myself. I figure it is gonna be fun next week to glaze down and bring up. It's the push pull of painting. You add and take away. You bring up and knock down. Most importantly is to do it without fear of messing it up. Messing up is the best way of finding out what paint can do.

So if I fall down in the snow and you know I will. The most important thing is to learn how to get up. So falling is a good thing.

More to come next week.

Back On the Dusty Trail 8x10 oil

Forgot to put this one up with the last post. I came home and played with it a lot. I would put it in and brush it out. I like my big "broom" brush. I can take out a field in a single stroke.

Kicking the Dust Off 8x6 oil

I have been inside for so long. Going back outside yesterday and just dealing with lugging my stuff and adjusting my eyes just made me wonder. I did two small paintings to which I had to ask myself what drew me to paint this scene and what inspired me. I have no right to be bored with landscape. I just don't think I know what I am looking for... again. I love the lesure of the studio. The thought process of leaving it, thinking all the while and returning with fresh ideas and vision. Have I lost all spontanity? Am I old and grumpy? Hummmm , need to try it again. I ask the question...What do I want from this that is new and interesting? A road, some trees, grass, bushes, and a bit of sky...what can I do to make this talk?

K-a-r-i-n With An Eye 11x14 oil

I say Karin with an eye for two reasons. One is a play on words because her name has an "i" instead of an "e". The second is she is a fabulous artist with a wonderful eye for capturing people in oil. Her name is Karin Jurick and she is and has been very generous with her time. She started the blog "Different Strokes From Different Folks". She has created wonderful challenges for artist to challenge themselves and a blog to post them on to see how everyone has a different eye when it comes to interpretation of a photo.

This painting of mine is one of 118 portraits done of Karin and put in a book as a thank you. Artist and participant in the dsfdf challenges, Jill Polsby, thought of it and followed it through. She sent it off to Karin last week and surprized her. So now we all can post our rendition of Karin Jurick.

Browsing The Talent 12x6 oil

I went to the OC fair last year and browsed the talent. It was a wonderful day to photograph people. I felt like a spy snooping around corners to catch a photo of a browser. I had lots of fun.

The top is the underpainting with the basic ochre, burnt sienna and blue with white. The second is bringing in color.

Just a Few Green Apples 12x12 oil

This one was more about the paint and mixing and adding glazes than the subject.

Bob 12x12 oil

Okay, so I let it alone for a few hours and watched the Super Bowl with "Bob". He asked me if it was okay to say what he thinks about my interpretation of him. I said sure and he said he was thinking about it. That is the thing with portraiture, I might be delighted, but the customer will have their feelings too. How well does one know ones self? How do I know if I captured them, I mean the person, the whole and spiritual person...hummmmmmmmmmmm

The Everlasting Bob- Stage 2 1/2

The evolution on this is pushing and pulling Bob in and out of the picture. Getting a likeness is a triumph, keeping it is a very difficult thing...and I love every minute of the process, YES!

This is not done and I will need to wait to see what happens with the glazes and the paint as it dries. Paint keeps on going long after you put your brush down and it is important to give it it's due. To tell you the truth I enjoy these drying periods because I really don't know what I'm doing next. This gives me time to stare at it and wash the dishes, take a shower, do the laundry and make the bed.

Working on Bob Stage 2 12x12 oil

First stage is dry and time to glaze in the darks and build up the lights. Building up the lights is difficult for me. I am still working on and will continue to work on the value temp and color as long as I can lift a paint brush. It is between the shadow and the light that a painting creates life and I am sure a whole lot more... first things first.

Beginning With Bob 12x12

Here is the start of a new portrait. This is Bob, my husband and next in the line up of paintings. This shows the lay in of yellow ochre pale, burnt sienna, ultramarine and white. Really trying to keep my values in order with some work on the cool shadows mixing blue and green. Next I have to let it dry and then glaze in my darks and punch up my lights. I think this will work well for a base. We will see.


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Self Portrait 12x12 oil

I think I am done.  There are things I see that might just have to be corrected, but not today.  I loved doing this.  I felt like an ant crawling a long.  It is amazing what color there is in flesh.  I don't believe this photo can show the little marks of color that I found myself making toward the end.  It also doesn't show the do and redo which builds up under the surface.  I am pleased that I did get a likeness for the first time in a long while.  I did the structure work first and built on that frame.  I revisited the steps I learned with Cynthi Grilli.  I am excited and can't wait to start another one.  

I want to continue painting on this 12x12 box format and paint my family and friends and hang them side by side on a wall in my house.  People I love and make the difference in my life.  I am always amazed and grateful everyday for all who touch me with their encouragement, wisdom, creativity and kindness.  Love to all : )

Anyone interested, Cynthia Grilli will be offering another, 3 Wednesdays, Portrait Workshop starting Febuary 17, 24, and March 3, 11:00 to 2:00.  Just click on her name for more info at her website.

Self Portrait in Progress 12x12 oil

I seem to be caught between alla prima and glazing.  The idea of waiting is foreign to me and I find it difficult to make myself stop and walk away.  I like to fiddle with paint.  This is not done and I will return to it when it dries to finalize and then start another one.  

I decided to show steps because I need to get over the desire to rush through the early stages of discovery.   I think there is a psychological fear of exposure.  The voice that is old and hardly speaks any more.  The voice that says can I do this??? and what if I can't.  Like the teacher that watches over  my shoulder waiting to catch me in a mistake.  Yes, I said she hardly speaks, but she has her moments.  Today I tend to hear "go girl"  loud and clear.  I have one foot on the negative voice pinning her down, but once and a while my foot slips.  

So hear it is in 4 steps and counting.