quick poses watercolor #256

10 minutes on the computer today!!! that's my big event for the day and I drew a picture of my feet with my 2 year old grandson....

Turning Away watercolor sketch #255

This takes a lot more energy than I ever realized! I have been absent for a week do to a really nasty accident and 3 breaks in my leg, surgery, etc.I am not yet painting again, but am trying out 5 minutes at the computer so I have uploaded a sketch I did right before my accident. Maybe I will paint this afternoon or tomorrow, if I can have someone help me set it up where I can do it with an elevated foot. I suspect I will be doing watercolor for while due to easy clean-up. I really miss painting and exercising....

Resting Gaze oil 8"x8" #254

I enjoyed working on the gallery series this weekend after just doing watercolors for a week. When I was doing this, I realized that the stranger in the striped shirt was becoming the image of a very close friend. Frequently student artists will reveal a bit of a self portrait in painting models. I think we just gravitate to what is familiar. I see this person as someone who is resting for her friend's sake, but she is anxious to keep her attention on the art she loves so much. I think her friend wishes she had brought her ipod!

The feet painting is my submission to the Daily Paintworks challenge for Japan. If you go to http://dailypaintworks.com/Challenge/FC50B15D-5016-4E5E-87F2-87C3F79BA65B you can bid on this painting or many others by all kinds of artists and all proceeds will go to help Japan. The theme is "Home."
SOLD

Femme Fatale oil 5"x7" #253

This guy looks pretty intimidated by this cartoonish Amazonian "Femme Fatale looming over him.

Hand Blown watercolor 5"x7" #252

I did this for the Daily Painters challenge by Susan Abbott...a white object on a patterned material. I chose this hand blown white glass ball. Although it didn't reflect much of the pattern into the ball, it did have some interesting lights and darks from the irregularity of the glass.

The Archway watercolor 5"x7" #251

This photo looks fuzzy to me. I continue to experiment with water color, sometimes with success, sometimes not. Still trying to find myself in it. I ask myself "what am I doing?" This is a benign landscape..ho..hum....I painted it from a photo and the one thing I can say is that it is much more interesting than the photo. I am just trying to get a handle on watercolor.It has been over a week since I posted an oil painting. I had 2 failures, one oil and one acrylic. Humbling.

Resting watercolor #250

Wanting watercolor #249

This model was good at striking dramatic poses and holding them.

butterfly watercolor experiment #248

Windmill watercolor #247

When I get overloaded it becomes evident in how "together" my house and/or my studio look. My coffee table is covered in stuff right now and I have at least 3 days of newspapers I haven't even glanced at. I have found that working in watercolor is a bit of a pressure relief for me. It is so much more immediate and the clean-up is a snap. It dries quickly and I can just stack them up when I am done. I am not a water colorist so it is all experimentation and play...it is just about exploring and learning. I have chosen images from Daily Artist photo challenge. I am looking to get better.....

Party Time watercolor #246

It has been a really intense week for me. I had 2 show openings and was a key organizer for The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center annual fundraiser. All went well but I was pretty distracted. I worked some on watercolor this week, playing around with it and this little wine bottle and strawberries is one of the results.

Kate ink #245

This is a quick sketch of my friend and fellow artist Kate. I didn't like the pose the model was holding so I did her instead. She is making a funny, serious look with her mouth as she studies her work.

Practicing #243 #244

Yesterday I took paintings to two galleries where I will be the featured artist. The openings are both today (don't ask). It is also the day a group of us gets together with a model. Long story short, I didn't get much actual painting done. I squeezed in a few small watercolors and am posting this one from an Artist Daily challenge. I am trying to teach myself how to manage watercolors and this is a good opportunity. On the right is a 5 minute sketch and I really like the weighted pose.

Subway Readers 8"x8" oil #243

I have been wanting to do this painting for a while. I tried to get the effect of light bouncing all around the subway car from the reflected stainless steal surfaces, the florescent light and the weird light that comes in through the windows. That light tends to wash out colors and give everything kind of a green cast. This photo is more yellow than the painting actually is. The man up front is so interesting looking to me. I may paint a portrait of him later. I would love to know his story.
SOLD

Family Tradegy 8"x8" oil #242

This family was really drawn in by this large painting. Unfortunately I forgot to get the details of the painting. It is a compelling painting which I believe tells the story of a dead child. I think it is Italian but you can never be sure without the historical details because artists seemed to frequently draw imagery from other cultures. There is a strong circular design to the composition and as a family, I can see how they would feel the emotion of the story. I researched it on the Met's site, but couldn't find it.

Lincoln In Color 8x10" oil #241

This is the second part of Raymond Logan's challenge, doing Lincoln in color. It created different problems and questions in choosing colors and keeping the values. I struggled with this exercise and it shows in how tight everything is. Lisa Daria's rendition of Lincoln is true to her style...very loose and expressive. You can see hers and the rest at:http://dailypaintworks.com/Challenge/A478B026-D8AE-4D2A-83A3-FA3BBE810231

Lincoln 8x10 acrylic #240

This was a Michael Naples challenge on Daily Paintworks. The idea was to do a gray value portrait from his famous photo using just ultramarine blue, burnt umber and titanium white. It is a really good exercise, but the second part was particularly difficult. After doing this, he suggested doing it in color from the black and white photo. I will post my results tomorrow. I used acrylic and canvas board for this. I used to always paint with acrylics but since I have been using oil, the fast drying factor of acrylics really bugs me!

fast sketch water marker #239

15 minute pose II oil 8x10" #238

This is another quick pose. I see there is a glare on the photo. I don't usually paint on canvas board which is what this is. I, like so many other daily painters, like gesso board or a similar slick surface. There is something to be said about trying different effects, surfaces, colors, brushes, etc. I also painted these with a very thin purple underpainting instead of the usual black or red that I use. Yesterday I took a new lift to the terrain park when I was skiing. The lift is the oldest three person lift in the state and is pretty jerky. It doesn't take much to throw me off, and although I did fine, my nerves were on edge the whole time. This is what it is like for me when my "usual" conditions are challenged in painting.

15 Minute Pose oil 8"x10" #237

Belinda del Pesco posted this today: "Painter Gerald Brommer says you have to paint a minimum of three days a week just to keep from getting worse." That is motivation! I am a newer skier and although I am approaching 60 and not a big athlete, I know that I have to get out a couple of hours almost every day to keep my rhythm and courage, especially when I have half the year when I can't do it. Next year when I go out again it will take me a couple of weeks before I start to feel comfortable on the slopes. That is the way it is with drawing and painting. It is a bit like riding a bike in that you don't forget, but it takes practice to keep the rhythm and there will still be failures, but they will be wrapped in a lot of successes. I have really busy Thursdays so I don't get to paint until the evening when I meet with other artists and a model. It is mostly short poses and a lot of drawing, but I try to do a couple of really quick oil sketches so that I can get better at them. Even though they don't take much time, they take a lot of effort, quick thinking and fast movement. Sometimes I get something exciting and sometimes it is just a hot mess!

Carnival Kiss 5x7" oil #236

This is another Carol Marine challenge. The idea is to do each stroke a different color. That means you have to mix each time before putting the brush on the canvas. The main thing it did for me is make me really think about my strokes and make them count which keeps it fresh looking and loose. It is a carnival squash, an onion, and a garlic.
SOLD

Orchids for a Cloudy Day oil 5"x7" #235

I realized I have been photographing my work on the wrong setting lately and they are kind of blurry. This painting makes me happy because these flowers are so beautiful and painting them was challenging but gave me the chance to look hard at them and really appreciate them. I struggled with "how much detail?"...an on-going battle with me.

New Car oil 6"x6" #234

This is from another Carol Marine challenge on Daily Paintworks.