Works in Progress

Here is Portrait of Sophia 16" x 20" oil on canvas
Not quite finished but almost. It needs a couple of tweaks here and there, but over all I'm happy with it. I really like experimenting with the pattern and will do that again. In the mean time here is Andrea & Gina - about 10 minutes into the start. Rick called from where ever he is right now - Baltimore maybe? and that was just enough of a distraction to make me stop and play on the computer and take photos and putter around a bit. So back to work for me. This is a commissioned portrait for my sister-in-law who is in Ohio, it's a gift for her husband for fathers day. I thought I would attempt to keep a running progress report on this portrait so my S.I.L. could watch it progress if she wants to. Back to work for me....

What I did on my Zelda vacation...

Gone Adventuring with Zelda

I am taking a break - not so much because I want to - but because I HAVE to! I got a Nintendo DS as a gift along with several games, one of which is Zelda and the Phantom Hourglass. I have a thing for Zelda - a HUGE thing. No, an ENORMOUS thing. An ENORMOUSLY HUGE GIGANTIC out of control thing. I get completely obsessed with this game. It is difficult for me to eat or sleep or do anything until I solve the puzzles and complete this game. So I am giving into my compulsion and taking some time out until I get this game over and out of my system - because there is absolutely no point in doing anything else. Be back in a few days! I am going on vacation - with Zelda! YAY!

Natalie Progress Report

Okay - I pretty much am hating this - but here it is anyway. This is as far as I got in class so IF I decide to finish it now it will have to be from the photo. However - all is not lost, I do feel like I finally "got" the glazing bit and the part about not doing an impasto painting OVER the under painting. Yes, I believe learning has occurred. Vanessa has only been repeating this and talking about it showing me for about 2 or 3 years now...DUH. What was the title of my last post? So true, so true. I am also posting a couple of new journal pages today. I will try to get links up later - or just use the same ones from yesterday.

Geesh - whata dummy!

On April 4th I mentioned that I spent 6 hours photographing and posting the pages from the journals I've been working in. And DUH! - I didn't even give the links for you to go look at them if you wanted to. These are artist/visual journals - sort of like sketch books combined with journaling and altered books - sort of. Any way -if you'd like to see pages from this project - I believe there are 8 of us involved in this , from the US, Canada and UK. They are on Picasa, go here to see Seren's Journal (click on the picture)



and here to see Suess's Cat journal

Journal Swap: Suess's Cat Journal

Here are some pages - a sample of what you will see...

Progress Report: Linda Portrait

I haven't worked on this portrait - mostly because it scares me to death. I have quite a ways to go - but at least I have gotten it back out and on the easel. I had the nicest day hanging out with Vanessa and painting at her studio with her. The time just flew by! I found myself mixing paint and shuffling it around on my palette from one spot to another, and then when I did start to paint - I painted like I was painting with nitroglycerin or something. I barely touched the paint - barely touched the surface - barely painted! I was paintin' scairt -- and yet I am not entirely unhappy with what I have done, really. I chose this photo to work from because I think Linda is an awesome person, and I thought it really captured a part of her....and I loved her hands extending toward the viewer, and yet closed. Oh - those hands! One of the things I loved about the photo and one of the challenges I wanted to try - but now I am tip toeing around them like they might blow up in my face. What a coward I've become! OK - I have to go dig out my copy of Art and Fear now - and maybe even paint a little tiny something or other. (See Jan 30 post for photo and the start of this portrait)

Underpainting for Natalie

Natalie 18" x 24" Oil on Canvas Not much to say about today or today's painting. It's the under painting for next week. I hope to make something more interesting of it than just another head, anther routine, mundane portrait. What that might be I have no idea - time will tell I guess, we'll have to wait and see...Here is a photo of Natalie - I am not painting from the photo - I am painting from life -

Tiny Shondra

Shondra 2.5" x 3.5" Oil on Masonite

I took this photo about 10 times. Every time I put it on my screen I thought what is the matter here? - why is it so blurry? Then I'd re-shoot it and the same thing - blurry! What is wrong with me? What is wrong with my camera? So I went and actually taped the tiny painting ON my screen - next to what I thought was the best image I had...and darned if they didn't look identical, except for a little color adjustment. At this point I think I say - "Hey, it's supposed to look like that!" Actually it sort of is...I was trying to avoid detail, and go for the big shapes - (well, as big as a 2.5" x 3.5" shape can get) and even at that I over worked it - this will be getting fixed.

Swan Lake?

OK - here is an amazing sight! Sort of like Cirque du Soleil goes uptown and gets formal. Wow - prepare to be amazed...but Oh My Gosh - I love those frogs!!

So - What is art anyway?

This is just cute!

Shondra Portrait in Red

Shondra 8" x 10" Oil on canvas
Remember the under-paintings I did and posted on Friday, March 28th? Well, this is what one of them turned into and is my painting contribution for today. I have to say, I might like the photo a bit better than the actual painting! I have a heck of a time photographing these things - especially when the paint is still wet. The light lavender looking lights in her hair is actually very dark - but it is wet and reflecting light. I actually think I might like it light! This was a disaster! In fact in class, after working on it for 2 hours and it kept getting worse and worse I took a paper towel to it and wiped it back to the beginning stage. Funny thing is, both people on each side of me did the same thing and I think there was at least one more student that scraped hers back too. It was April Fools day - and everyone seemed to be having a tough time.
Other things in the works - we bought a portable table saw so I could cut Masonite to paint on. I now have a bunch of ATC sized (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") pieces to play with. I have been gessoing them and getting ready for a binge of teeny tiny paintings. Also, I spent 6 hours today photographing the Journals I have been working in from the Journal Swap, and setting them up on Flickr. Some of the participants want to enter their pages in some kind of event - for a book I think, so every one's pages need to be online somewhere so they can grab them and enter them. So that is done, learned a few things, but mostly felt like more avoidance behavior. I have been thinking a lot about my Bio and Artist Statement. I know I have my old ones around here somewhere - which would help with the Bio part - but the artists statement would probably have no relevance to me now, or what I am doing. I am a totally different person. I knew then what I was doing and trying to accomplish - now, who knows?
Geesh - and I have to do my taxes too! I was so determined to keep up with them for this year and I haven't done a thing! So I have all of last year and this year to catch up on. Even more avoidance behavior - on so many levels.....

Hmmmm...now that I've looked at this for a bit online, it seems that the shoulder and dress strap is a little too distracting, I may have to go tone that down...