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.

I frequently go to Wheaton, Illinois to participate in figure drawing classes. The downtown has a lot of charm so I spent some time walking around with my camera on a very sunny summer day. Here is a painting I created from those photos of shoppers and outdoor diners . Oil on linen, 20 by 24.

This is a 9 x 12 painting, oil on linen,  of our little guy Roman. 

Two paintings of two dogs - one for mom and one for daughter. Not exactly the same of course, but close.

Portrait of Layla

                                Finished the finishing touches. Portrait of Layla, oil on linen, 9 by 12.

Oil sketches of Layla in preparation for a painting.

                                                    Layla with a taupe background.
                                  

 

Layla with a maroon background.

First Oil Wash of Max

This is my first oil wash of Maxie. Unfortunately Max passed away last year, but I'm going to do the best I can to create a nice memory. I remember him as a sweet playful dog despite his large size, and he definitely left us too soon.

Greetings From the Snow

Spending the holidays in the snow, and am actually getting more small paintings done here than at home. That's a good thing since I will soon be moving up here!

Head Study of Brian

My granddaughter wanted to give a small oil painting to a dear friend who lost her brother Brian several months ago. We searched through many photos posted on line on Facebook pages, and finally came up with this one of Brian in his football uniform on the field for a reference. I especially liked that he was bathed in sunlight, and tried to capture that in this little 6 x 8 oil. We later found out that this shot was a family favorite, so it was a good choice.