Darkening

 When I was in this restaurant, I was struck by the contrast between light and dark. I tried to bring a sense of that to the painting this afternoon.

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

Next Iteration

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

Painting To A New Deadline

 So, a friend of mine talked me into joining NOAPS over the weekend; NOAPS is the acronym for National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, and they are putting on a show at the Principle Gallery in August. Principle is local to me, so if I have a painting accepted, I won't have to pay a shipping fee, and it is a very well respected gallery. 

As a result, I've had to scramble — again— to get a piece finished in time for the show deadline, which turns out to be nine days from now. I put all of my work time today (and tonight) into this painting:

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

And it is actually even further along right now than in the image above, which I photographed this afternoon. Wish me luck.

Messing Around

 I should have just painted in the entire blue sky area at the top— but then I was worried that painting the leaves and branches over the blue would take too many coats of paint. Instead I've got a messy foliage area, though some of that is caused by the texture of the canvas. Anyway, I will plug along and get it to make sense eventually.

Oh, and I changed to skin color over the weekend. Not sure it's working, but the redraw on the profile is a bit better. I think I have to move that left shoulder back.

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

Much Better

 Covering the unpainted canvas with color is really important in establishing the basic idea of the work. I want to create a dramatic mood here, and the next sessions will make this painting more refined. Right now it's kind of raw. But I love the playoff of the warm and cool colors.

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

Subtle Changes

 It takes a long time and a small brush to make gradual changes on an area, like the door in the photos below. This is what the casual observer doesn't see or understand; mine is a very slow process, not like other flashier, quick styles. I don't put out that many paintings in a year, but I am happy with the ones I create.

A door, about to be painted:

Some time later:

This morning's work:

                               Starbucks (Homage to Hopper), work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

More Paint

 After taking a break, I wanted to put the statue in place—

Looks like I got carried away with that red, though; will have to tone it down.

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

And Last Night

 Can't keep away from this one for long; this is what I did last night.

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

Moving Along

Taking out some of that white space:

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

Working Around The Edges

Mostly brick work today; a little on the window framing, and I made the figure behind the counter larger.

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

Coming Down To The Wire

This needs one, maybe two more sessions to finish. I say two because I'm bound to screw up on something and I'll need to give it time to dry before I can fix it; but right now all it needs is a little work on the Washington Monument, some attention to the deeper blues in the water, and repainting the edges of the trees on the left side. I'll be very happy when it's done.

                                          Tidal Basin at Dawn, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      

 

Into The Darkness

 The background area, especially on the right side, is such a deep, intense black that I'm not sure how to paint it.  Meanwhile, I'm coloring some of the glasses and the reflections on the glass shelves.

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

Redrawing And Color Adjustment

 There's still so much to be done on this. I had to redraw the support structures on the left; the distance between them was off, and next time around I've got to correct the line edges. The color generally needs to be a little less intense. I still have to make the foreground parking lot more textured.

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