Red Walls And Greenish-White Trim

 Just another of numerous sessions working on the elusive color.

                                                        Messages, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Anonymous Color

 Since I had warmed up on the painting of the two women, I decided to plow ahead on another area that frightened me; the wainscoting that I'd previously made a neutral grey. The grey bothered me, as it seemed to call attention to itself. I needed something more in harmony with the rest of the surroundings.

But the problem comes with mixing enough of the color to cover the canvas from left to right, and since I mix color on a hard surface with a brush, it gets tricky. There's never enough paint, so I have to mix a new batch, and then another. Also: the brush marks in an area like this need to be invisible.

I think it's okay, though. And the color is right. It's not fighting for attention now. (The darkness on the right is just a cast shadow on the painting.)

                                                        Standing Room, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

The Scary Voile Blouse

 I've been avoiding the sheer blouse on the mom; while I can handle the volume of the fabric and the way gentle folds go in and out, adding in the tiny floral pattern was just too much for my brain to handle. But this morning I decided to face my fears. It looks fine, though I think a little more work on the pattern will do it.

                                                              The Visit, work in progress (click on image for larger view)
 

The Week Unfolds

 I'm hoping this will be a productive week.

                                                        Standing Room, work in progress (click on image for larger view)
 

Started with the above. I felt the coat on the woman on the right was too dark, so I lightened up the details, but now I can see I went too far. Some attempts at getting the color and shape of the floor shadows went better.

Moved on to:

                                                       Messages, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Mostly worked on the painting frame on the left. Those greyish areas really need to lighten up.

                                            A Quiet Moment At The Met, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

More woodwork and frame.

 
 

Coming Along

 I'm trying to knock back those dark edge lines on the floor. Some success today with that and the guard's face.

                                                       A Quiet Moment At The Met, work in progress (click on image for larger view)
 

Yet Another Layer

 This took a long time to smooth out today, but I think it still needs to go lighter overall. At least the spotlighting is working well.

                                                       He Was Curiously Drawn To It, work in progress (click on image for larger view)
 

Just Another Day

 Working from left to right, the next figure is wearing a black sweater, but it needed some definition. And then the woman with the brown hair needed the same, using a similar color palette. So I worked on them both. Now on to something else.

                                                        Standing Room, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

That Blue Shirt

 Sometimes...There's just something about a small area of a scene that excites me enough to work on a painting even though I don't feel like it. Such is the case with the blue shirt on the man on the left. I love the way the overhead light hits the shoulders; I love the deep blue-violet shadow areas. So I picked up on this one today even though it should have been off the easel and drying in a corner of the studio.

                                                       Standing Room, work in progress (click on image for larger view)
 

A Couple Of Big Ones

 It's Back To Work Monday, and I managed to talk myself into doing some real work, instead of lying around feeling unmotivated.

                                                       Messages, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

                                                       Standing Room, work in progress (click on image for larger view)
 
 

Framework

 I spent a little time yesterday on the frame of the large war painting. Next will be those pesky floor boards, and some subtle gradations on the face.

My art supply order just showed up, a day early!

                                           A Quiet Moment At The Met, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Lately

 As the seasons turn, I find myself having to spend time on indoor and outdoor tasks. Inevitably, it cuts into painting time. But I did manage to work on a few small areas here and there over the last few days.

                                                       Messages, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 
 I used a lot of glazing on the floor to try to beat back the attention-getting parquet strips. Unfortunately, I've run out of glazing medium and now must wait until Wednesday for my art supplies order to arrive. Very happy with the way this looks, though.

 

                                                              The Visit, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

I had serious doubts about how to pull off the tiny floral pattern on the mom figure, but, amazingly, IT WORKS. 

 

                                                              Annuals (click on image for larger view)
 
 Did I mention that this is finished??? Soon it will be on its way out of the studio.

Two Big Pieces

 I'm trying to concentrate on these two paintings lately, but when I work on the larger areas, like floors and walls, it takes a while for them to dry enough that I can continue.

                                                       Standing Room, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

I have to ruminate over the lower wall color on the above painting; it seemed too grey to me but maybe it's okay. It's made of the same pigments as in the wall color above it, just in different percentages, and perhaps it should lean a bit more towards the ochres in the floor boards. We'll see.

While I can't wait to repaint the walls of the one below, I need to work a bit longer on that crazy floor. In the photo reference, the floor strips are not so well defined, and I think that's a good thing. It's not too cluttered that way.

                                                       Messages, work in progress (click on image for larger view)
 
 

Patrons, and A Surprising Finish

 My unhappiness with the white shirt led me to a paint session in which I hoped to correct it. But I'm still not sure it's believable. Maybe once I get the purse and its strap painted it'll look more realistic.

                                                              The Visit, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Meanwhile... I thought I had a couple more sessions worth of work to go on this one, but now I think it's finished:

                                                              El Centro,  (click on image for larger view)