Just One More Session?

All that's left on this one is the breakers. I thought they'd be easy, but they're not; even when I remember the advice of my painting instructors ("Paint what you see, not what you think you see") the breaking waves don't look convincing to me. I'll keep at it. Maybe only one more session on this one....

Evening Clouds, Avon, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

And a Whole Foods Update

Mostly worked on the left side today.

Whole Foods, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

An AHA! Moment

I've written about the struggles involved in darkening (and greening) yellows. It's been a real problem for me, especially with the daffodils painting, whose main interest is the contrast between light and dark. Well, Holbein (the paint manufacturer) produces a small line of 20ml tubes of transparent paint, so I thought I'd give it a try. I mixed some Transparent Black with a little glazing medium, layered it over the areas I wanted darkened, and it did the trick!

An Embarrassment of Riches, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Another Productive Week

Finished two paintings this week, and brought another few closer to completion. I don't know how much longer I can get away with this; usually there are domestic tasks and family matters that pull me away from the studio, but I'll get as much done as possible.

Here are the last three panels from the apple series. They're not finished, but are well on the way. It's been fun, but I'd like to get this project completed.

The Arrow of Time, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

And there's been some progress on the foreground of this one:

Evening Clouds, Avon, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Finished! #2

At long last.

A Woman in a Red Hat, © 2016  (click on image for larger view)

Finished! (I think)

Atlantic Ocean #10! This is the second one in the Dawn Phase. I need to do two more in this color phase and then decide on the last color phase, which will consist of four more paintings in this 10" x 10 format. So there will be a total of 16 ocean paintings overall.

Atlantic Ocean #10, Dawn Phase, © 2016, (click on image for larger view)

Starting the Week

Pershing Square, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Mostly worked on the pedestrians on the left.

Fifteen Paintings

That's how many I was able to work on this week. I averaged three a day; I get tired of sitting on my hard little art school-type wooden stool after a while, and need to get up and walk around. Still, I usually get in four hours a day of painting. Sometimes I think about friends of mine who are across town or in the District, who are doing the exact same thing.

Anyway, today's work is:

Bartending, Mt. Washington, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Not sure if making that left side wall a deep green was a good idea; will have to live with it for a couple of days and see how I feel then.

Reception From 5 - 9, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view).

Visited the gallery today and realized why the lighting on the right side has been giving me trouble: there's a spot light on the ceiling. But those wine glasses! Aaaaarghhh!

Counterpoint, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Again, not sure about the wall color, though it looks alright here. 

Late Day Painting

I did get a chance to work on two more pieces late this afternoon, around 5:00, actually.

Whole Foods, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

and this one:

Stockton Street, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Mostly worked on the young woman with her hand held out to see if it's raining, and her grandmother next to her.


There's a show coming up with a late September final entry date. I'd like to have Whole Foods ready by then.

Attacking the Wall

Rita's. It continues to torture me. First the signage problem (described in an entry below) and now the darned wall. I may have to sand off most of what I did today and try again to achieve a believable gradation from light to dark. Also I think the color needs to be warmed up slightly.

Rita's, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

In other news, here's the latest on 4th Street:

4th Street, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view) 

Apples

I'd intended to fast track The Arrow of Time painting (actually 9 small panels) but having visitors here kinda put the kibosh on any and all painting. I got back to it today. It's necessary to work on three panels at the same time in order to keep them consistent. So here is today's work.

The Arrow of Time, Panels 5,6, and 7. © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Waterworks

Thousands of tiny strokes... I'd planned to work on the breakers in the foreground of Evening Clouds, Avon, but kept finding places that needed a little more definition, or a color change from blue to pink, or a spot where the texture produced by layers of paint was saying the wrong thing about the fluidity of the water. So I ended up working on everything but the breakers for an hour or two. Eventually I put a few dabs of paint on the breakers to signal what needs to be done when the paint dries, but all those tiny strokes had to be perfected first: thin to thick to thin again, slightly curved to show the direction of the flow. 

Evening Clouds, Avon, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

The palette for Evening Clouds is similar to the one for Atlantic Ocean #10, so I'm always happy to work on it at the same time. AO 10 is almost done!

Atlantic Ocean #10, Dawn Phase, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Now We're Getting Somewhere

I think the light is starting to work on this one. It's not enough for the yellows to go darker, the lightest lights needed to go whiter as well. So many petals— it's hard to see the distinction between their edges sometimes.

 

An Embarrassment of Riches, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

No Painting Today. :(

This is All I Was Able To Pull Off Today

Again, because, visitors. This first painting is one of the rare times I work in acrylic; seemed a good choice for a workday that could be interrupted at any time. And, so glad I discovered the slow dry medium.

Robert, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

This one is nearing completion!

 A Woman in a Red Hat, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Visitors

I've got family visiting this week, so painting time is somewhat curtailed. But I did get in an hour or so of work on Pershing Square this morning.

Pershing Square, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Most of the painting was done in the upper right-hand corner. I'm trying to get the feeling of worn and textured cement in the arches.

Biting the Bullet

I'm not ashamed of my mistakes. In fact, I don't think a painting's done until I finish correcting all of my mistakes. It's an experimental process, painting.

So I've been wrestling with the fact that Rita's had a huge error in it: the fact that the green banner portion of the sign contains the name "Rita's" was just too low on the circular part of the logo behind it. I tried to bring the green banner up a couple of millimeters, but it still looked bad. So I knew what I had to do. Repaint.

Well, there was an ensuing mess for a couple of days while I let some of the fix-it paint dry, and then today I sanded off some areas that were getting too thick, and tackled it again. There's lots more to do. For one thing, the yellow in the sign is a dirty yellow, so that brings me back to the same problem I've been having with the daffodils painting. The red stripes on the awning are a deeper red, as is the green. The circular shape that abuts the night sky has to be redrawn. Etc. But here's today's work:

Rita's, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Nearing the Finish Line

I'm starting to worry about overworking this one, and I think most of it really needs nothing more, except for the couple of places where the waves break.

Atlantic Ocean #10, Dawn Phase, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Ocean and Reception

This is all I was able to pull off today. We're having visitors this weekend and I spent all of yesterday and a few hours today doing housecleaning.

Evening Sky, Avon, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Reception From 5-9, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)