Two Drawings: Girl in Toboggan & Lib's Eyes

                                                  Lib's Eyes    Pencil on Paper     14" X 11"

                                           Girl in Toboggan    Pencil on Paper     14" X 11"

I mentioned in the previous post that I was doing a lot of drawing lately. Here are a couple of drawings from an Open Life Portrait Group I belong to. We have a new model every week who sits for about 2  1/2 hours and people draw and paint in many different media. I especially like these sessions because we are in a small room (usually not a benefit), so some of us have to sit up front. I'm happy with these conditions which enable me to study the shapes and angles of flesh, bone and features up close.

Holiday Pepper

                                        Holiday Pepper       Oil on Linen Canvas     9" X 7"

                                        Happy Holidays to you!! And a Happy New Year

It's that time of year when maybe you are making resolutions. One of mine is to dig deeper to find the time for that daily painting.  Lately I've been doing a lot of drawing. I go to several Open Life Drawing sessions a week and I've lately become part of a weekly figure painting group. I'll post my first painting done in that group when (if) I finish it. I'm even collaborating with my eight-year old grandson on a painting featuring him in the lead role. He has posed for me AND he has assisted me with the drawing and painting of the work too. He will be visiting for Christmas and perhaps we will have something close to our finished product to share with you soon.

Ashley

                                           Ashley        oil on linen canvas       16" X 16"

I painted this portrait in my figure painting group.  This month,  it has been juried into the All Media Show in The Art League Gallery at the Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, Virginia.  The show ends on January 2, 2012.
Later in the month, you can see images of all the works in the show using this link: http://www.theartleague.org/content/2011_dec_allmedia

Toaster Challenge

                                        Toaster Challenge      Oil on Linen Canvas     6" X 6"

I did this painting for the Daily Paintworks Challenge to "Paint Your Toaster."  When I was setting the toaster up, it tipped over and the toast fell out.  So, I just painted it that way. It's not shiny, so I tried to make the most of the light patterns and the texture of the toast.

My Wall At LabourLove Gallery

This is my wall space at the LabourLove Gallery. I just put up a lot of my recent Daily Paintings because this weekend is the local Art Walk which happens twice a year. The paintings are actually lit much better than my photo indicates.  We all have spaces about this size ( 8' X 42'') right next to each other and there is a lot of variation in styles and approaches. It's a particularly lively place on Third Fridays when many of the artists gather to talk with visitors and the gallery presents a jazz concert after hours.

You can learn more about LabourLove Gallery by clicking on the Link.

Camelia Sasanqua Cleopatra

                                        Camelia Sasanqua Cleopatra       oil on canvas      7" X 5"

Despite its imposing name, this flower is soft and delicate. I picked it yesterday and painted it. Just in time too, for last night it went down to 21 degrees and none of the other flowers survived the sudden freeze.

Clustered Tomatoes

                                        Clustered Tomatoes        oil on canvas       8" X 10"

This painting is taken from another painting which was 11" X 14" and included another tomato off to the side. There were a couple of obvious things wrong with the previous painting - the values were all too close together and there was too much empty space around the tomatoes.  The paint application was too even. Probably other things were wrong with it to. I like going back to old paintings that never satisfied me and seeing if I can rework them for a better result.  This one, happily, did not end up in the trash.

Strawberry Folk Dance

 

                                          Strawberry Folk Dance       0il on Linen Canvas      6" X6"

Today is the one month anniversary of the beginning of my Blog.  I'm posting a second painting today to celebrate. I've posted 18 paintings in 31 days which is fewer than I'd hoped for, but not bad for someone whose normal output has been more like one or two paintings a month. Working smaller has enabled me to complete paintings more quickly, but the real benefit has come from the necessity of simplifying my efforts whether it be shapes, colors, values, composition, or edges. I have been experimenting with  different approaches too, focusing on experimentation and discovery.  And I've been doing a lot of drawing too which has positively impacted my ability to lay in a composition quickly.

Thanks to those of you following my progress. Your encouragement is a great motivator.

My Addictions

                                        My Addictions      Oil on Canvas     8" X 8"

I submitted this painting in this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge to paint your shoes. This is how my shoes look after about six months of wearing them.  I get a new pair about every six monhs. I've been wearing this brand of shoe almost every day since 1992. I am definitely addicted to them.

I tried to focus on the gestures of the shoelaces and the worn down shoes themselves. For
the shoes, I focused on shapes. For the shoelaces, I indulged in some calligraphy.

Ready For The Sandwich

                                       Ready For The Sandwich     6" X 6"     oil on linen canvas

These juicy tomato slices stayed moist throughout the painting process. When I finished painting them, I ate them.  Yum.

Little Rose In Turquoise Pitcher

Little Rose In Turquoise Pitcher      7" X 5"      oil on canvas

In this painting, I juxtaposed the warm yellow and red with the cool blue and green, but I find the colors a bit overpowering.  Although I think all that bold color has a certain power,  I'll try this combination again and focus on finding a different, and perhaps better. balance of intensity and calm.

                                         Portrait Sketch of Tanisha      8" X 8"     Oil on Linen Panel

I painted  this sketch of Tanisha yesterday in a small figure painting group I belong to.  Tanisha was in a car accident a few days ago and had an injured eye, but she did a great job of holding her pose. I had a hard time with my drawing and the painting is far from finished, but Tanisha thinks it shows her positive spirit and I applaud her perseverance. This posting is for you, Tanisha!

Pepper Trio

                                       
   
                                        Pepper Trio     8" X 8"  Oil on LInen Panel


I've been working with reds and yellows for the past week. Hot colors are hard to control, so I used a greyed down, but still warm, orange as the "floor" and the blue, the only real cool and the complementary of orange, to set all the hot colors off. I think maybe it worked.

Goofy Pumpkin

                                        Goofy Pumpkin  8" X 8"  Oil on Linen on wood panel

I used a lot of wet paint on this painting to give it that natural splotchy feeling. Painting wet into wet is new to me. I'm accustomed to painting in layers allowing each layer to dry before applying another. Sometimes the paint just takes on a life of it's own. In this instance, that was a good thing.

Eggshell Committee Meeting

                                         Eggshells Committee Meeting


I painted these eggshells looking down on them. That made drawing them really difficult. Probably I need to review my rules of perspective. Once I got them all in place, though, it was fun to work on their interesting shapes and delicate colors.

The Coffeepot Stands Alone - sold

                                                    The Coffeepot Stands Alone


This beat up, old coffeepot is a family heirloom. The metal reflects what's around it and all the irregularities produce interesting shapes to paint.

Ten Minute Challenge

                                      Ten Minute Challenge


This series of paintings (on two 6" X 6" canvases) is my response to a challenge on the Daily Paintworks website (www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenges). Each painting had to be completed in ten minutes. After each painting, I could see what I missed - incorrect value contrast, shapeless shapes, wrong brush for the job - and the next time I tried to remedy the problem. I learned a lot and it was fun to do.

Little Yellow Teapot

                                        Little Yellow Teapot


This little yellow teapot is very smooth, round and uniform in color and the light just seemed to
curl around it.  I struggled with finding the shadow shapes that create the roundness of the form.  Still, the teapot in real life is perfect for one cup of tea.

Daisies In Glass Bottle

                                          Daisies In Glass Bottle


Simplifying a cluster of daisies in order to paint them quickly was difficult. I wanted to spend more time on each one, but following my time limits meant I had to mass them together. 

Cozy Cream And Sugar

                                         Cozy Cream And Sugar  

                                         Oil on Canvas       5" X 7"

These objects were part of a larger still life work. I have been doing "close ups" of parts of that work, rearranging the light or mixing up the relationships of the objects to experiment with

changes in scale and perspective.

Left Behind - sold

                                                      

                                                      Left Behind 
                                                      Oil on Canvas       7" X 5"

This little guy almost remained unnoticed in the garden.  I experimented with a worm's eye view - the wilting flower with the big sky behind it.

Dahlia Hiding

                                           Dahlia Hiding
                                           Oil on Canvas       8" X 8"                                 


The Jerusalem Artichokes completely took over this painting or you could say they are protecting the delicate Dahlia. I tried to capture the stiffness of their petals.

Sunflowers #3

                                        
                                         
                                          Sunflowers #3
                                          Oil on Canvas       8" X 8" 


My two sunflowers have gotten droopy, but they posed for one more portrait. 

Sunflowers #2

                                         Sunflowers #2
                                         Oil on Canvas       8" X 8"


Yesterday I brought my sunflower a companion. They were energized by being together, but I think they miss being out in the sun.

Sunflower #1

                                         Sunflower #1 
                                         Oil on Panel       6" X 6" 


This is my first blog post. It's the first painting in what I hope will be a regular schedule of daily paintings. My usual painting process involves many painting sessions, so completing a painting a day is going to be quite a challenge. And, this sunflower is the first live flower I have ever painted. It's a beauty, so I hope it lasts a few more days.