Messing Things Up

I stepped away from this one for a short break, and when I came back I noticed that I'd smeared some of the whitish paint onto a red area. So I washed over it with a little Gamsol— but it turned out to be too much, and it ran down the panel. Wiping it just made it worse. Eventually I just gave up; when it dries I'll go back and repaint.

Meanwhile, I worked hard on the shadows at lower left.

In Case of Emergency, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Women's World Cup Soccer

The soccer games are a nice distraction from the dearth of good news. I used to play soccer, so I feel like I'm down on the field sometimes when I watch the action. Right now England is dominating Japan, but Japan has a great goalie.

So. I finally dealt with the subtle change in value at the top area of this one:

The Gauntlet, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

And also cleaned up some details here and there.

 

The surface of this one is great fun to work on, since it's kind of marble-y. I'm trying to get the color of the paper napkin right; it's somewhere between a grey and a brown.

 

Crème Brûlée, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

And, more darkening of the sky. It's hard to get the color right of the post-sunset sky at the horizon.

 

Variations On A Theme #5, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

 

Trying To Get Back In Gear

After taking the weekend off and then extending the break through Monday, I'm having a hard time getting motivated and buckling down to work. Again, the little dessert paintings feel more accessible than anything else, so I'm starting the week with three of them.

  Strawberry Shortcake, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

  Mocha Treat, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Now, the paper tablecloth on this next one has fine diagonal lines and some wrinkles. Its white surface reflects some of the ambient color in the restaurant. I had a ratty brush handy 9one I misused by allowing paint to dry in it) and it did a perfect job of creating the lined texture when dragged through the wet paint. Must remember to use that technique in the future.

Pot de Crème, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Last Dessert

That's it for today, I think. The background on this one is much darker right now than it will be when it's done, but I needed to establish the shadowy areas to work up from.

Pot de Crème, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

...And Some Good News

Two of my paintings have been accepted into the Maryland Federation of Art's "MFA @ Gallery B" show in Bethesda!

Dessert Day

I still have one more painting to work on, but am taking a break for a couple of hours. It's been a reasonably productive day, though sometimes it felt like a hit-or-miss kind of operation, with wild strokes and not too much attention paid to smoothing things out or being careful about edges.

Here are today's desserts:

Cherry Cobbler, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Strawberry Shortcake, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Chocolate Mousse, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

And Some More Glazing

With each progressive layer of glaze, the night sky color intensifies. I want to have a subtle glow of sunset color at the bottom; that's why there's that line of peachy pink. Eventually I'll marry it to the blue. Then the real fun will begin.

Variations On A Theme #5, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Trying To Keep All The Balls In The Air

There are several pieces that I've put aside for a while. I haven't worked on this painting for a couple of months now, but it's time to pick up on it again. So this morning I did a lot of brushwork on those tiny branches in the background. I'm trying to get as much warm light into the trees as possible, and also sharpen up some of the details on the porch.

L'Auberge Provençale, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Dissatisfaction Gets The Best Of Me

I'm determined to repaint parts of this painting that I've never felt happy with. This mostly includes the top third, the center back wall, and some of the reflections on the right. Today I darkened the upper left corner and added some misty glaze. Also worked the little poster image of the newsboy.

Selfies, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Sweating The Details

It's hard to believe that the work I just did on this little face took 25 minutes. But it looks better than it has in the past, and yes, I have been sweating while trying to get the very tiny details exactly right. Time for a break.

Tuesday, detail, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Tiny Type

Decided to face my fear of the little letters on the inspection label. So far, so good, though there will need to be a second session defining the edges of the letters painted this afternoon, and an extension of the label on the right side. And of course to finish the lettering not yet painted.

In Case of Emergency, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Morning Session: Red + Black

Not sure I didn't get carried away with the red this morning; let's see how it looks once it dries down.

The Gauntlet, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Layers of Darkness

The two of these needed to go darker in places; the Variations one might need a little more brushing out as it dries. 

They fit my mood right now, going darker.

Variations On A Theme #5, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Strawberry Shortcake, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)