Finished Sketch

This is the finished charcoal sketch done on Strathmore toned gray paper. I decided to include the right hand and wrist after all and just a small part of the arm because her arm seemed to be distorted in the photo I had and the angle was awkward.

Sketch in Progress

Sketch I just started working on from a photo provided. Trying to decide if I want to include the hand and arm in the photo or try to fill in the part of the hair I can't see and leave it out.

Sketch on Toned Paper

Tried Strathmore tan toned sketching paper in life drawing today. Also got the gray toned which I will try soon. It does help you sketch faster, a good thing when drawing from life in a fairly short pose.

Headdress

This beautiful lady poses for a portrait painting/drawing group I attend and she wears the most wonderful head pieces and dresses. She also does fantastic hair arrangements. I'm hoping to do a series of paintings. I am able to get a good start from life, but since she usually holds one pose for about an hour, an hour and a half tops, I take a photo to finish up from. This one is 9 by 12, painted on board primed with gesso.

Fenced But Free

This 8 by 10 oil on linen was finished today and painted from a reference photo provided by photographer Lee A. Brown. Lee posts one of his beautiful photos monthly as a painting challenge and then posts the paintings that we email to him in a photo gallery on his website. Check them out at leeabrownphotography.com.

Happy Yellow Pears

Getting back to fruit, I did this mostly with a palette knife with a few touch ups with a brush. This was purely practice as I have almost no experience with a palette knife, but have loved the look in other people's paintings. It was fun, sort of a cross between finger painting and frosting a cake - yes, I used my fingers too sometimes. Since I knew I was going to do that, I avoided cadmium yellows and used non-cadmium versions. Permanent yellows light and deep from Holbein and radiant lemon from Gamblin. Also think I have permanent orange from Holbein in there. I do have some cadmium reds and yellow light as well as cobalt blue. No fingers then unless I use gloves which I get by the box from the beauty supply shop.

Stretching

Another ballerina. This is 6 by 12 oil on linen.

One of the paintings I did for the outdoor art fair. Dancers are fun to paint.

Red and Yellow Peppers

This is what I worked on today. Peppers from my daughter's garden. Might just do a few tweaks, but essentially its finished.

Ballerinas

Finished this up today.

Still Life with Lemons

I have finally caught up with myself, so here is the painting I did today. Got really ambitious and combined some flowers - daisies - one of my pewter pots - I have a small collection of them - and three lemons. This is a 9 by 12 oil on linen which I started yesterday and maybe finished today. So I actually will be able to use the lemons. I've taken down the set up and will let this painting sit for a day or so. Then I might still make some adjustments.

I"m hoping I can continue to post my paintings here on a more regular basis since I'm hoping I will continue to paint everyday. It's a great habit!

Three Peppers

Back to veggies, bought three peppers and when I set them up the shape of the stems and the way one of them leaned made them look like they were having a gossip convention. So I wanted to go light and bright.

Girl in Red Sweater

After looking at a small painting of a portrait model I had done some years ago, I decided it needed a re-do. So I oiled it out and just painted right on top of it. Much happier with the new version and caught a few drawing errors that I was able to correct.

Three Pears

Decided I'd get more ambitious and try several fruit. I have to admit this one lingered on so long the fruit started to rot. I had to finish the painting after I took down the set up and threw them away, but made a discovery. When I didn't have the set up to look at, or even a photo of it for reference, I was free to make any changes to the painting I wanted just for the sake of the painting itself. This opened a whole new way of working for me. Now when I get stuck, I ditch the set up or reference photo and just work from my gut.

New Paintings

In April of 2013 I had the good fortune to take a workshop in still life painting with Indiana artist C.W. Mundy. Since then I have finally gotten motivated to paint more, and since I am now preparing to participate in an outdoor art fair at the end of September, I am finally painting every day. I don't know if I am producing "a painting a day" as was my original goal when I started this blog, but I think I am coming close. I find that it doesn't fit my working style to complete a painting in one sitting. I can get more than half or even three quarters done, but then I need a break from that work. So I find I am starting at least two, sometimes three paintings in a day and finishing them up within a few days. So maybe I am averaging a painting a day. I'm finding I need to work this way partly because I get bored easily and lose my excitement about a work, and partly because I just need to put it aside and get a fresh look at it a day or so later. Then I can get to it with renewed interest and can see where I need to go, or make changes if need be. So now I can post the results of all this activity.

When I first got back from the workshop, I began painting fruit and still life objects. The first two were a pear and orange.