Figure Study #10

This is my latest open studio life drawing(painting) practice.  The model is returning this week to do the same pose. I may try and continue the painting or go to a different spot in the room and try another angle...I can't decide.

10" x 8", oil on gessoed paper

Graphite Portrait #2

My sister-in-law:

14" x 11", graphite on paper

Figure Study # 9

This is from a another 2 1/2 hour open studio session.  I think my drawing realistic practice is already starting to help.  This painting actually looked like the model. 

 

Oil on paper,  8" x 10"

I'm almost done with a second portrait drawing.  Being larger and so detailed they take me about a week to complete.  Hopefully in a day or two I can post it.

Going Back To Basics

I've been struggling with my painting lately and I think my troubles are coming from my rendering skills.  So I'm going back to the basics. I don't necessarily want to paint realistic portraits but I do want to capture my subjects likeness. I feel like I really need to practice seeing and then interpreting everything correctly to give myself a good strong foundation of skills to then apply to my paintings and hopefully see some improvement.  All that said, this is my first drawing with those intentions:

13" x 8 1/2", graphite on paper

 And this is a painting I did last week during an open life drawing session with a 2 1/2 hour pose:

8" x 10", oil on primed paper

Portrait Study- Bani

6" x 6", oil on primed mat board

Figure Studies

Figure Study #6

10" x 8",  oil on primed paper

This is from today's life drawing session, another  2 1/2 hour pose. It's very unfinished, but if I rush (as I have done in the past) it turns into a mess. I'm hoping with continual practice I'll be able to get further each time.  Painting from life is so different than from photos and for me, so much more satisfying, but a live model isn't always possible.  So, below is one did a few days ago using a photo reference. I timed it, pretending I was attending a life drawing session, for more practice, trying to be more decisive and efficient. Even though I finished it more (cheated a little, bit over three hours) I think the above one has more life.

Figure Study #4

10" x 8 ", oil on primed paper

Figure Study #5 : Model Reclining

8" x 10", watercolor & graphite on paper

This is from another open studio life drawing session---30 minute poses.  This particular session doesn't allow oil paints. I started  drawing the figure with just charcoal and pencil and then, for the last pose I pulled out my little watercolor set---that was a lot of fun. The next time I think I'll do them all with color.

Detour into figure studies

8" x 10",  oil on primed paper

This is from an open studio for life drawing (and painting) where the model does one long pose (about 2 1/2  hours). I came away really happy with how her shoulder and the portion of her arm resting on the couch turned out.

Rose Leaves in Glass

Now just the leaves....

5" x 5", oil on panel

The Back of the Rose

8 1/4" x 4 3/4", oil on panel

I have one of these roses on our dining room table. It has fully opened and it's six inches across! I can smell it from a room away. I wish I knew what kind it is.  It came from my mother-in-laws bush---thank you!

Front & Back Rose Study

6" x 6" oil on gessoed mat board

When I turned the rose around to see more of the stem I was really struck by the shapes of the leaves---that will be my next painting...

Lady Banks Roses

This is another Lady Banks study. I had prepared a larger canvas to do this idea on it and this was to be my quick study.  The blooms were wilting quick even though fresh cut and with water. You can really see the difference in my previous study, the flowers were much more perky.  I went outside for another branch and found they were all going. Sigh. So I took this study a little further and will wait for next spring.

3 1/2" x 11 3/4 ", oil on gessoed mat board (sold)

Lady Banks Rose Study

Our Lady Banks Rose bush is doing its once a year spectacular show.  The blooms come and go so fast---I'm hoping to do another painting but I might just have to wait until next year!

3 1/2 " x 11 3/4", oil on gessoed mat board

Mustard Bottle

7" x  5", Oil on cradled panel (sold)

Mustard Study

A study for my next painting: 

The left side I toned the background with burnt sienna, the right with ultramarine blue. I played with the yellows too. The left is predominately cadmium yellow deep and the right is lemon yellow.

6" x 6", oil on gessoed mat board



And some more portraits ---all sepia ink on paper:

Kari

Stan

Judy's sister

And... today when I was doing my mustard bottle study, my boys were drawing with me while I painted--- I'd have to say, one of my most favorite ways to spend time.
My oldest, 8, did this---A fly over grass. I love his red eye and curled proboscis.

Elmers

5" x 7 " Oil on cradled panel (sold)



This was my warm-up exercise. I do this sometimes before I paint my object if I'm feeling out of sorts.  I kind of like the way this one turned out.

6" x 6" oil on gessoed Crescent Mat board

And some select portraits from my portrait a day project:

sepia ink on paper

sepia ink on paper

charcoal pencil on paper

sepia ink on paper

sepia ink on paper

Three in One

My first painting of the year-
The photo is a tad blurry. I would take another photo of it except... when I reached to remove my still life, the can, my foot bumped the easel leg and the painting tumbled off, did a full, impressive somersault  and ...yep...landed face down on the floor. Sigh.... sigh, sigh, sigh...
I once read that if something like this happens, whatever you do don't try and clean it off until it dries.

And yes, I've done this before, outside though. As hard as it was to do, I set it aside and will let it dry. I think it's salvageable. I'm glad I got a picture of it at least. 

5"x 7", oil on wood

(sold)


I've continued to do my portrait a day project. I've been trying new methods and most I don't like but here's a couple I do like:

Steve

Bethany

January

So far most of January has been devoted to a big house project: thoroughly cleaning and finishing our kitchen. That means scrubbing inside, outside, on top of, underneath everything and building the last two cabinets and putting in a tile backsplash.  Fun and rewarding but time consuming. All my creative energy has gone into that but I have been drawing everyday and stuck to my goal of a portrait a day. I'm not liking every one so I haven't been posting. Here are a few I do like:

great great grandfather

In addition to our kitchen, I've been going through and organizing ALL my photos---feels like I have thousands---which have been the inspiration for these portraits (with the exception of the last post).  Some of them are very old and faded with not much information, it's like I'm drawing ghosts. 

grandfather

grandfather

Granny Lita

Howard

William

Sarah

Kevin

I was flipping through a magazine and this image of the actress Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games) caught my eye. I like her expression.

Jennifer

2013

Nesting

My regular painting schedule has been put on hold for this busy holiday season but I did do a little fun painting...

...our family in nesting dolls. They were a gift for my husband's birthday this year which was a couple days before Christmas.  They elicited a great laugh from him especially when he noticed we were all dressed like the dolls, even him. Before he opened his present, I had asked that he wear his grey shirt and overalls.  Looking at me suspiciously, he went a long with it thinking I must have done a portrait of him since he knew I had been up to some secret painting (he told me this afterwards). Ha, Ha--- he wasn't expecting that kind of portrait. This little yellow one on the end is our dog Jack.

While You Were Out

8 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches, oil on wood

This is a new painting which is part of a project I'm doing with a couple of friends. We each picked three objects, painted them in our own style (sometimes adding more objects) and then passed them on to the next person.  For this one, the objects given to me were the phone, the pencil and the pink pad. It was a challenge to use these objects in my own setting. It took me a long time to figure out how I wanted to portray them and then I kept adding more and more to the scene.  I'm particularly fond of the little screw lying to the left of the cord.

Goblin and Cyclops

Here's a better close-up of the Goblin mask. It was made with cardboard, masking tape, house paints and  black netting for inside the mouth.  I like this photo, it looks like the cyclops just told the goblin a joke.

Halloween 2012

A sickness descended on our house and I haven't been able to paint much for a few weeks and then came Halloween....

My youngest son wanted to be a cyclops inspired by Ray Harryhausen's stop motion creature in the film The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad.  It took a few days to make for two hours of wearing---but it was all worth it. The whole problem-solving-inventing-sewing projects are my most favorite. While working on it,  my feet could be on fire and I wouldn't notice. And I like the challenge of using all scrap materials. The only items bought were the masking tape (used in the cardboard under frame) and the black netting for the face. So much fun.  My husband made our older son's mask (below). He's a Goblin.

Portrait Study #3

8 x 10, oil on canvas

One morning my son came out of the bathroom wearing the mustache (but not the glasses/nose) and said, "mom look, I'm in high school"---he's in second grade.  Whenever I'm feeling grumpy I think of him saying that and it gives me a good chuckle.

This painting I'm much happier with than the previous posting, which was also of my son. There's lots off on that first one, especially the eyes. I think this one, even with his real nose obscured, is more successful at capturing his likeness.

Portrait Study

8 inch x 10 inch, oil on canvas

I've been working on a couple of larger still lifes paintings that have lots of objects in them so they're taking a bit of time. In between drying I did this portrait.  It's from a photo I took. I wanted to do it alla prima (all at once) which I did but I didn't finish it. I can't decide yet if I want to go back and work on it.  I'm leaning toward no and instead trying to painting it again on a new surface.  ?

I'm eager to finish my current still lifes so I can take down my scenes and make space to have a new live sitter.