Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Back To The Dance Floor

Still have a lot more to do on this one. Worked on tiny details on some of the glasses and the salt and pepper shakers. I think the salt shaker is too much smaller than the pepper, even accounting for the fact that it's further back in the picture plane.

Everyone Is On The Dance Floor, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

And of course, the now daily work on Robert. Mostly concentrated on the hand on the right side today, but also some sketchy painting on the sweater.

Robert, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Color Correction

Not sure how I feel about the color changes I've made to the man on the right. But at least he's toned down enough not to visually compete witheverything else that's going on.

Counterpoint, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view


Of course, I couldn't keep from starting another 8" square.

Cole, © 2017, (America series) work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Monday, February 27, 2017

Two Guys, and Deadline Panic

Well, I'm registered for Artomatic 2017. Now I have to finish Robert!

Robert, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

I worked on the shadows on the left side and the hands. It shouldn't take too much longer to finish.
Also:


Dion, © 2017, (America series) work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Used four hues of brown and some glaze medium to define some of the mass of the chest and the wrinkles in the shirt. Also did some reasonably decent modeling on the skin. Next I need to integrate the shadows on the jeans (just under the clasped hands) with the lighter, adjacent blue areas.


Sunday, February 26, 2017

Back Wall and Sinks

Darkened a few of the wall tiles as well as the shadows on the sinks. Soon I need to make some decisions about the jacket on the figure.

Protective Coloration, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Friday, February 24, 2017

Details, Details

Worked on the left side window reflections and sharpened up the drawing on the individual sign letters.

Pershing Square, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Handy Work

The hands seem like a good way to continue on this one; they're smaller and more manageable than that vast sweater expanse. Still, I'm feeling a little less intimidated by the sweater. I can break it up into parts— the left arm, the right arm, the hem band, etc.

Robert, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)


Sorry about the glare from the room lighting.


Fun With Glazes

The little tubes of transparent paint from Holbein are working better for me than the standard blending and glazing medium, which tends to get streaky. I mixed Transparent Black, Vermilion, and Yellow to darken the t-shirt slightly. The shadowy folds of the shirt need to go much darker, but I'm considering keeping the shirt a lighter color than the one in the reference photo.










Dion, © 2017, (America series) work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Sweaters and Shirts

I spent the whole day working on not just Robert's sweater, but also the shirt on the guy in Counterpoint and two shirts on the guys in Pershing Square. It's now almost 4:30 and my back hurts; time to put the brushes down for the day.

Robert, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Worked on the hand on the left side, too.

Counterpoint, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Too dark? I am certain that making the shirt a solid color instead of plaid is a good idea; might want to go lighter on it, though. And I like the red color of the baseball cap, but don't want anyone to think it's a Trump hat. Maybe I'll make it white.

Last but not least:

Pershing Square, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

And tomorrow I get to work on Dion's t-shirt again. Time for another glaze.



The Problem With Robert's Sweater

Robert, which I'm hoping to show at Artomatic, is a 48" high, 36"wide canvas. I'm using acrylic instead of oil (it's a long story) so it's a real challenge to blend one area into another before the paint gets sticky and unmanageable. And that sweater is spread over a large area.

Robert, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

I've been using a Liquitex retardant medium, and that helps, but trying to mix enough paint and then cover a large area with it is very hard to do. Plus, I'm standing on a concrete floor and after a while it gets painful. Taking a break now but I need to work on this one daily until it's finished. Artomatic is coming up soon, and I want to show this one along with Tam and Eric.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Sneaking In Two More

Tomorrow I have to get back to my normal schedule (painting for two hours in the morning, and then whatever I can do after a noonish break), but I did carve out a little time this afternoon for these two.

Protective Coloration, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

While the taping off of the straight line areas has been relatively successful, I realized that some of the "white" tiles need to be darker as the ceiling light falls off. So there's more work to do that I hadn't planned on. Still, it's going pretty well.

I put a glaze of mixed earth colors on the t-shirt on this one. The actual shirt was brown, but with lovely warm undertones. The next few glazes will darken it somewhat, but I want those undertones to show through.

Dion, © 2017, (America series) work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Artomatic will be starting soon; I think I might show the three large black-and-white acrylics of Eric, Tam, and Robert. But this means I have to get back to finishing Robert. Quickly.


Saturday, February 18, 2017

Squeezing Out A Little Time For Landscapes

I got caught up on a whole lot of loose ends around the house and on my laptop today, and since the days are getting longer there was still enough light for me to work on the two little Contra Costa landscapes. I'm not sure how I feel about them, but they are moving forward.

Contra Costa Marshland, #2, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Contra Costa Marshland, #3, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Friday, February 17, 2017

Last of the Week

These are the two I worked on today.

Everyone Is On The Dance Floor, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Tightened up some of the detail in the upper left-hand corner. And yes, there's some glare from a nearby window up at the top.

And:

Coffee With Andi, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Mostly stuff on the right side, but I also worked on the two coffee cups and some of the table top. We'll see if I can squeeze out some time for work over the weekend or if chores take precedence. I've let a lot of the housework slide lately.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Two More

After a break for a late breakfast, I got back to the studio. The cat continued to complain— he thinks there's something wrong about me painting— but eventually he went off for a nap.

I continued to refine the hands and do some blending on the arm on the right side. The left side arm needs more contrast.

Coffee With Andi, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Later I used a very tiny brush to pick out the details on the figure in the striped shirt and the bicycles.

Pershing Square, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Also deepened the red color of the shop's front.


I Don't Think That Shirt Is Working

The plaid shirt is too distracting, I think. It would be better in a solid color— there's plenty going on already with the floor tiles and the art on the walls.

The red baseball cap is not a Trump hat; the reference photo for this painting was taken back in 2012. I might change the color of it as well, since there's no political statement intended in this painting.

Counterpoint, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)


Fun

Sometimes painting is fun. I really like working on this one----
Dion, © 2017, (America series) work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Coffee With Andi: Moving Forward

Nice to feel like I'm making progress on some of these paintings, especially the ones that have been in the works for a long time.

Coffee With Andi, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Worked on changing some of the skin tones that I've been thinking were still too light; wish I could continue but am being pulled away from the easel with other matters...

Whole Foods: Moving Forward

This one might be finished in the next few weeks!

Whole Foods, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Afternoon Work

Last night, probably as the result of some late afternoon coffee, I could not get to sleep. Among the things I turned over in my mind was what to do with the backgrounds in the America series, as I'm thinking of calling it. Should they all be identical? Should they be really simple, to focus the viewer's attention on the individual? Should there be some sort of message? Anyway, I got to sleep around 5 a.m. and slept until 10, so the only painting I worked on this morning was Dion. But here's this afternoon's work.

Everyone Is On The Dance Floor, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Coffee With Andi, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Dion: Moving Forward

Dion, © 2017, (America series) work in progress (click on image for larger view)

This is moving forward nicely. I can't wait to do the modeling on the t-shirt, which in the reference photo is a beautiful shade of bronze, so there's the excitement of trying to capture that color as well. The face is pretty close to where I want it to be, just needs a few touches.

I took a lot of photos over the weekend of possible new models for this series.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Whole Foods and Coffee

Back to some things that need to be finished.

Whole Foods, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Coffee With Andi, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Dion

I've been exposed to so much good art lately, really technically excellent work, and it's made me look more carefully at what I'm doing. As a result, I'm trying to make better decisions about everything: assessment of color, blending, drawing, choice of image size, background, etc.

I know I should be concentrating on the work that's supposed to go into upcoming shows, but yesterday I was thinking about this photo that I'd taken in 2012 at an Artomatic volunteer meeting. It's stuck in my head for years, and after looking at it last night I thought it might be the start of another series. This one will be of ordinary people in an 8" x 8" format.

Dion, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Hopefully the 8" square size will allow for a speedier finish. Now I just need to find other folks to pose for me.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Gradations on Walls

I'm not sure this morning's painting session was entirely productive, but here are the results. And: the enemy of a subtly graduated wall is DUST.

Counterpoint, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)
It looks better in person, actually.

Rita's, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Rita's

Somewhere in the studio I have a notation of the colors I used for the "white" wall in Rita's; but exactly where that thing is right now is a mystery. I'd intended to finish up the gradations on the wall, but without knowing what colors to use (Williamsburg's Brilliant Yellow Pale? Payne's Gray?) I'll just screw it up. So I worked on the figures instead. The image below represents an hour and a half of work time.

Rita's, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

More Tiny Figures

I thought I'd continue with the figure work in Pershing Square, but am not satisfied with what I did this morning. The people on the right need more refinement, and I think I need to increase the contrast on the guy with the grey shorts. The proportions are a little off in places, too. Am hoping to get back to Rita's this afternoon, but there are a couple of other things that need attention first.

Pershing Square, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Monday, February 6, 2017

At The Gallery

I had brought this one in to the gallery early last week, and when I stopped in before leaving for New York, it was on the entry wall. Forgot to post a picture, so here it is now.

The Illusion of Reality, © 2016  (click on image for larger view)

Painting Tiny People

Worked on the two central women and the nearby bicycles. Glad to have a cooperative brush for those tiny areas.


Pershing Square, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

And darkened the shadow areas on the man on the right, as well as cleaning up some tile edges where you see the green tape.

Counterpoint, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

I still want to lighten the wall color on the right side of the painting, where the window is, and make the cast shadows from the figures more visible.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Hard To Paint While Listening To The News

But I did, anyway. Mostly worked the blue part of the third panel, and the bike and rack beneath it.

Whole Foods, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Ice In A Glass

Worked on the dance floor painting this morning, tried to sharpen up that ice in the foreground glass. Ended up smearing paint around after a while so decided to quit; then laid down a layer of gesso on a newly stretched canvas and a 12"h x 18"w wood panel.

Everyone Is On The Dance Floor, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Saturday, February 4, 2017

A Quick Trip To New York, and More Taping Off

A good friend of mine had a reception for her show in New York City on Thursday night, and we wanted to show our support so off we went. The exhibition was of course wonderful, as she is very meticulous, and it's a pleasure to see realism done well.

We didn't realize how much we'd enjoy being back in the Big Apple. The one-day trip was far too short, but we did stroll around the Midtown/Times Square area, and I got a few shots of skaters at Rockefeller Center for the Winter Skaters series.

A view of Times Square from our hotel:


And one of the skating rink:


And one of the delightfully cheesy, seemingly Original-Star-Trek-set-inspired lobby of our hotel:

 Sadly, we were back on the road before noon yesterday. We'd hired a pet sitter, so we knew the cat would be fine, but we wanted to get home before the crush of traffic began on I-95.

So today I taped off some more tiles on Protective Coloration:


And here is the result:

I know it's hard to see any changes, but it's moving forward. Really.



Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Onward

Two more that I worked on today:

Whole Foods, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)


Coffee With Andi, © 2017, work in progress (click on image for larger view)