My new model was ready for his first portrait. He seemed to think it was a good idea.
My art consultant /wife reminded me that not every portrait has to be a big formal deal. Art should be accessible and enjoyable and it should celebrate life.
Baby skin is like nothing else you will ever paint.
I love the pastel texture I have going on with the paint. It adds to the playful character of Mr. Christopher.
Almost there. A few details and I will call it finished.
click on the image to enlarge the picture.
Christopher's First Sitting8"x10"
oil on canvas board
You gotta love that hair!
Tag I'm it.
If you are like me, you read a lot of other artist's blogs. So no doubt you have probably seen posts about
Tagging before. I have been tagged before and blew it off as nothing but an Internet chain letter. But I have recently changed my thinking. Going back through the links in Tagged posts can bring some surprises.
One of the most enjoyable things for me is discovering new artist's that blog. I like being surprised, finding a new good blog with work that I admire is a thrill, especially when I discover I have something in common with the artist. Take
(Stacey Peterson) an artist I have admired since reading her first posts. We have several things in common: we both are trying hard to figure out this "
painting full time thing" after we both crossed over (nice way to say we quit) managing projects in the engineering field into art. Stacey has a new member of her family and I babysit a new grandchild. This post on tagging is Stacy's fault you see, because she has recently tagged me after being tagged by
(Mike Bailey). Without Mike having tagged Stacey I would not have found a wonderful new artist
(Sandra Flood). Following the Tags backwards can be interesting. I have discovered Mike used to live in Flemington New Jersey, small world - so did I. And Sandra lives in Frenchtown, N.J. about a block away from where I did (I lived there 20 years ago.)
If you have been tagged you are asked to please follow these rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
So, 5 random things about me.
1. I once had a life reading done (30 years ago). The kind that tell you about your past lives and what you should be doing in this one. It never mentioned art for this life.... was that a sign or a critique? But it did mention something about writing and sharing a message. I hope this blog counts.
2. The first picture I can remember drawing was in first grade. It was a landscape with a fox jumping over a log with a bush and a tree. I still remember the composition. I was the only one in the class that didn't draw lollipop trees. Mine had branches leaves and roots at the base and the sky was two tones. I still draw the same tree when I sketch a tree from memory. Either I never got better or I was pretty good at trees.
3. My dream is to have an art retreat in Nova Scotia. Where artists can come and rent a room with a studio by the day or week. I even have the name picked out. Peaceful Palette. Would you come?
4. I am a compulsive brush buyer. I buy a brush every time I go to the art store. But I never use more than 3 or 4 brushes when I paint. ( and like Stacey, I don't wash them like I should... Once a week maybe)
5. I have never been west of Omaha. ( Except for a business trip to Las Vegas for 2 days which doesn't count).
Here are my five chosen taggees.
(Sheila Vaughn) Sheila has a wonderful feel to her work. An artist in England who paints with a fine style. She varies her subjects which I like in a daily painter.
(Darren Maurer) I know Darren will hate the idea of being Tagged.. that's why I am doing it. Darren is the guy who started me in this daily painting and blogging thing so I owe him.
(Tracy Helgeson) I know Tray has been tagged before but she is feeling a little under the weather and could use some emails wishing her to get better soon. I thought this is might be a good way to cheer her up. She is one of my favorites to read.
(Sarah Trefny) Sarah is the person who gave me the instructions on installing the small thumbnail gallery on my blog. Her work is beautiful. I am jealous of her white pitcher painting. Actually any of her paintings.
(Anthony Zierhut) My favorite sketch artist in any blog. Anthony's blog is so worth visiting. He wins my Norman Rockwell Award for the way he captures his family in the stuff we all do and always wish we would have sketched .
This is the closest I am going to get to sending a Christmas card. (Charley Parker at Lines and Colors) has a piece on Haddon Sundblom who illustrated Santa for Coca Cola. I painted him in a little different setting.
I painted my Santa while he was on vacation. He takes off on New Year's eve and heads for the tropics or the Florida Keys.
click on the image to enlarge the painting
This is a a soupy painting in more than one way. Usually I like to paint with a thicker paint, one that is not so slippery or creamy. But I also like to have fun with these daily practice paintings so I loaded the brush with Liquin and let her drip.
I liked how the reflections dance in the dark brown of the crock.
click on the image to enlarge the painting
click on image to enlarge the painting
Cats are fun to paint but for some reason I lost my interest in this guy.
click on the image to enlarge the painting
I know it would only take a little attention and I could finish these. So that is one decision for '08.... Finish these two and make a vow to the art gods to finish what I start.
Here is my new model encouraging me and giving me her best Outdoor Life pose.
I thought it might be fun if I reviewed the steps in the development of the face with some close up photos. Seeing it in stages on one blog post makes it easier to view the progress than jumping back and forth on previous posts. Don't you think?
Now the likeness is in there and the coloring is mapped in. I started to figure out where the cool places for color and the warms go. One of the most important areas I think is the nose. It has to stand out but not be outlined. Tones and temperature are all you get to work with.
This is where I stopped when I though I was over working the paint. Coming back after a few days helps me go back in and build up the form with fresh eyes and fresh color.
click on the image to enlarge the painting
Here is the latest work in progress photo for the larger piece I am working on. As you can see I have started on the flowers. It is at the half way mark. I would say the under painting is complete enough to really begin the fun part. Only...I need some space from it before the fun begins. So I started a daily practice piece.
The first real snow fell this past week. I walked around town (it was 15 degrees so I did not paint outside). However, I did stand there and make mental notes as to lighting and color. I tried to start on a canvas washed with that weird purplish sky color of that overcast winter day.
The colors are all muted to give it a cool feeling.
I think the pencil marks I used for the wires are too harsh here so I needed one more step.
click on the image to enlarge the painting
Stacey Peterson asked if I would post some detail progress photos of the lace curtain. That is just what I am working on today, so you are in luck Stacey. I started with mapping out the patterns, light against dark.
click on the image to enlarge the painting detail
click on the image to enlarge the painting detail
click on the image to enlarge the painting
Day 2 - I am continuing the work of modeling the face. This is mostly base color and structure at this stage. Modeling is a good word... for me it means keep going over the face until it looks right. value/color/ form...value/color/form... this is what I keep repeating to myself. I also started to darken the background so I can judge my light and color better. This helps me judge if the mood of the painting is developing like I want it to.
click on the image to enlarge the painting
This is a color study I did a while ago for a larger work I am calling "Patience". My kids and my wife/art career advisor have been suggesting...no urging... no encouraging me (in a loving way) to finish some larger paintings. (I must once again admit that she is rrrrrrrr...) I have been shying away from finishing larger works. But now I have another confession. I am being motivated by shame.
The artist who tagged me last week (Stacey Peterson) has posted some wonderful progress shots on her blog and is shaming me with the methodical method she uses to...complete...her brilliant work in a few days time. So I am challenging myself to do the same. Here is the first block- in of the larger 24"x30" painting.
click on the image to enlarge the painting
click on the image to enlarge the painting
I thought today I would show what brushes I used at the different stages. I am not very disciplined in my brush selection. Most often I use only one or two. This is the beginning, add some darks, dry brushed ( very little dry paint brushed into the canvas) on top of my charcoal drawing.
Next I go wet like watercolor my paint thinned with turps or Liquin. Note my old out of shape round brush. It no longer holds a point so it is delegated to doing the wash.
Now to thicker paint and back to my stiff little flat.
Same brush different color. I 'm breaking brush rule number 1... use a new brush when changing color.
click on the image to enlarge the painting
click on the image to enlarge the painting
My new model was ready for his first portrait. He seemed to think it was a good idea.
My art consultant /wife reminded me that not every portrait has to be a big formal deal. Art should be accessible and enjoyable and it should celebrate life.
Baby skin is like nothing else you will ever paint.
I love the pastel texture I have going on with the paint. It adds to the playful character of Mr. Christopher.
Almost there. A few details and I will call it finished.
click on the image to enlarge the picture.
