Daily Painting Practice - 30 self portraits in 47 days and counting

Just another rainy day in the studio. I made my semi annual trek to the art store to re-supply. I usually take two big shopping days per year re-supplying the studio, with occasional side trips for special purchases. This August in addition to teaching a daily painting workshop at the Joslyn Art Museum, I will be doing a once a week, for 4weeks, plein air pastel class at the Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha for the Joslyn.
As you are well aware, I am not a natural plein air painter... add pastel into the equation and I am really out of the comfort zone. However, nothing is gained by not trying new things.

The photo above is me sitting in the studio trying to come up with a way to make my own sanded panels for pastel. I found a recipe for Marble dust and gesso ( here). I'm trying it out on everything. Canvas boards, mat boards and watercolor paper. I'll let you know how it works.
You can tell I'm faking it because there's no paint on the brush. This was going to be my self portrait today but I decided against it. I placed this old...unfinished... painting of a dog out on the easel because it matched my shirt.
I have a bad habit of mixing paint on top of previous mixed paint on my palette. This can make the colors all start to look the same gray color or like mud. Instead of progress photos of random stages of the painting, I thought I would show you stages where I made myself stop and clean the palette. The practice of cleaning off your palette and getting new fresh color is one I learned (again) at a painting demo at the OPA show last month.

This was stage one. Underpainting blocked in. Wipe off the palette, get up wash your hands, put on another music CD.
This is stage two. Half-tones developed ready to think and add details.... wipe of palette, put out fresh paint if needed, get up wash hands, make some tea.

Click on the painting to enlarge the image

Sitting Back
Self Portrait - Day 23
9"x12"
oil on canvas board

Stage 3- sit back and enjoy!
Doing so many self portraits gives you an opportunity to examine yourself and to see yourself in new ways. Here's one view I would never see of myself.... "Where did that bald spot on the back of my head come from?"

Sometimes I get discouraged and need to sit back from a painting. That's just the time my director of studio morale /wife always manages to plant a kiss in that spot.