Almost Done

As much as I'd like to declare this painting finished and add it to the list of works completed in 2018, it's now at the point where I need to just put it on a wall and assess it for a few days. it needs something done to the sheeps' coats— not sure what— maybe the one looking at the viewer should have a black face— probably I should put some spikier grass in the foreground— maybe that light patch on the right side needs to be darkened— that sort of thing. But here is today's work:

Sheep In The Meadow, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

New Year, Clean Brushes

I want to start the new year right, and have cleaned all of my brushes. They are such workhorses, and I've heard it said that you're only as good as your tools... Anyway, I'll probably get back to the easel a little later today, but I did want to post an image of the farm painting, which I worked on last night. And my brushes.

Farm At Dusk, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

I have yet to capture the feeling of the sun close to the horizon, bathing everything in a hazy yellow light, especially on the right side of the canvas.

 

I know they don't look it, but they are clean.

 

I Love Painting

Today I got a lot of minor housework tasks out of the way and then settled down to paint. The Hunger Games movies are on TV so I listened to the first two while working, and it just felt so good to concentrate on the paint strokes and mixing of colors without feeling like I'm on a deadline.

The wigs painting: worked on the hot-pink-haired mannequin. I need to find a tube of paint that will let me match that absurdly vivid hair color. Did a lot on the nose and sunglasses.

Wigs And Shades, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Also worked on the country inn. Paid special attention to the windows and the roof lines. I look forward to filling in the trees and bushes in the background where they silhouette against the blazing sky, and detailing the stone walls of the inn.

 

L'Auberge Provencale, February, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

This is the latest work on the Variations painting. I'm putting in some earth tones on the stones so they're not a monotonous grey.

 

Variations On A Theme #5, © 2018 (click on image for larger view)

 

All in all, a good afternoon of restful painting.

 

 

Slow Progress

You might be able to see the grid marks in the upper left corner; I did them in pastel pencil as an aid in placing the clouds. The clouds are coming along pretty well, though there will be some adjustment as to color. I deepened the foreground, too.

Farm At Dusk, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

I wasn't sure I'd get to work on anything else today, but since the greens/blues/ochres were on my palette from the farm painting, I thought I'd do the foreground:

L'Auberge Provencale, February, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

The In-Between Week

Much to do, as always, but here is today's work, so far:

The Promise Of Evening, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Wigs And Shades, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

 

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

Whatever you celebrate at this time of year, I wish you the best!

Noodled around with the sheep a little before dinner; I think they look better.

Sheep In The Meadow, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Finding A Little Spare Time

There's something that bothers me about this painting; I think maybe the break between light and shadow areas on the sheep is too harsh? Otherwise, I'm happy with it, and it might be done by the end of the year! There's not that much left to do.

Sheep In The Meadow, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Closing Out The Week

Last one for today. I'm letting some of the shiny aluminum background show through, like highlights and sparkles on the water. And I'm rolling down the protective covering a bit more.

Coming Of Age In The Year 2018, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

And In Other News:

Length of Day

9 h 25 m

Tomorrow will be 0 minutes 0 seconds longer

Visitors!

Company coming for dinner tomorrow, so lots of housecleaning going on. But I did manage some work on the left side of this painting today.

The Gauntlet, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Last One For the Night

Happy to finally be making progress on this.

Variations On A Theme #5, © 2018 (click on image for larger view)

Quilting

Started to create the shadowy areas on the quilted pillow on the window seat:

The Promise Of Evening, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Another Landscape

Made some progress on the farm painting late today:

Farm At Dusk, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Looks like I'm going to need to tone down those pinks and yellows. They should be more subtle.

Pleasure And Pain

Working on the sheep painting is just a pleasure; I love mixing the ground colors right on the canvas, I love painting the sheep. The wigs painting, on the other hand— well, I'm just experiencing fatigue. I knew the feather boas and the careful modeling of the very odd skin tones would present a challenge, but what's serious painting without a challenge? I will plod on nonetheless.

Wigs And Shades, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Sheep In The Meadow, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

No Painting Today

Dentist and art supply store. And the gym.

Tomorrow!

Adding Clouds To The Sky

Sure enough, I had holiday-related errands to run all afternoon, so this is all that got done today:

Sheep In The Meadow, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Roof Repair

Did some refinement on the lines of the roof; also worked over the front of the inn and the columns. The color's tricky— the grey stone facade is picking up all of the yellow/orange/magenta light that's bouncing around from the sunset, as well as the atmospheric blue of the evening sky.

L'Auberge Provencale, February, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Hello, Monday

This is the run-up-to-Christmas week, so it's going to be very busy. I shouldn't even be painting now; I should be cleaning the house and writing Christmas cards. Its going to be a challenge to get any real work done, for sure, but here's this morning's work. Mostly I painted that elusively colored mannequin at upper right.

Wigs And Shades, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

That Deep Blue Sky

After working on 16 separate paintings last week, I had planned to take the weekend off and actually leave the house to go to a local park, and, oh I don't know; breathe air that doesn't contain a whiff of mineral spirits, talk to other human beings, etc. But it's raining, and the rain's not supposed to let up until Monday. The shopping mall is likely to be extremely crowded in the Christmas shopping rush, so that doesn't really appeal, either. And despite the fact that Hollywood is releasing its contenders for the Oscars, there aren't any comedies in the bunch and that's what we all need right now. No apocalyptic stuff, please.

So, when I discovered that the paint on this one was dry enough for me to work, I got to it and added some purples, yellows, and deepened the post-sunset sky:

Farm At Dusk, © 2018 (click on image for larger view)

Everything else is either too wet to work or unappealing (example: In Case Of Emergency). Maybe I'll go to the public library.

Sheep!

I'm excited to see the sheep pop into view on this one. Today is very grey here, so the sunny hillside brings a note of cheer.

Sheep In The Meadow, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Tiled Out

It's Friday, so I'm trying to wrap things up for the week. I've been working on the tiles off and on for the last three hours, and it's time to go on to something else. But the wall looks much more coherent to me today.

Waiting At Le Diplomate, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Work On Wigs

Mostly I deepened the background colors on this one yesterday; things got busy in the afternoon and I forgot to post it.

Wigs And Shades, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

I Know I'm Bad

I should finish something, anything, before starting another new painting. But this one is a personal piece that I need to hang alongside the others in the series. There's a blank spot on my wall where it needs to go. And there's no rush to finish it; I can just pick it up when everything else is too wet to work on.

Variations On A Theme #5, © 2018 (click on image for larger view)

Too Wet To Work

I get excited about the beginnings of paintings and want to put as much information on the canvas as possible early on. But yesterday's washes are still either wet or sticky, so I'll just have to wait. This image has a magnificent sky, and the yellows created by the setting sun warm up the clouds and the landscape. If I can pull it off, it'll be a beautiful painting.

Farm At Dusk, © 2018 (click on image for larger view)

Shirt Tales

Most of this afternoon's work has been on the blouse, especially the left side sleeve. I've always marveled at the way the old masters painted such precise and beautiful folds in garments; a couple of years ago, I visited a show of work by students and contemporaries of Michelangelo, and it was a surprise to find out that the masters dipped the clothing in some sort of stiffener to preserve the folds for painting. I can't do that, but photography provides a useful means for doing the same thing. Now the trick is to very carefully observe the way light helps to model the fabric.

The Promise Of Evening, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Something New

I sincerely hope that this one will go more quickly than the usual one year plus on most of my paintings.

Farm At Dusk, © 2018 (click on image for larger view)

Daniel

Establishing the shadow areas and working a bit on the facial planes this morning:

Daniel, America Series, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Late Afternoon Painting

Cheyenne, America Series, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

And one more:

Grace, America Series, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Swimming

Had to take some time off this afternoon to run a few errands, but I got some paint on this aluminum panel.

Coming Of Age In The Year 2018, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Two People

When I take the photos of the models for the America series, I never ask anyone to smile. I've been a little surprised to note that so many of them automatically do smile. Anyway, here's the work for today (so far).

Katie, America Series, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Craig, America Series, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Blue Hair And Sheep

More work on the wigs; this time on the blue and purple haired mannequins. It does take multiple layers of paint to get the hair to look like hair.

Wigs And Shades, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

And the start of a little R&R piece: a perfectly pleasant pastoral painting to include sheep. And puffy clouds on the horizon.

 

Sheep In The Meadow, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Not Liking The Skirt Pattern

Late last night I decided to put in some time on The Gauntlet, and I worked on the floral pattern on the skirt near the center of the painting. It's the same pattern as on the dress at right, but when I stood back and looked at it, the white spots really jumped out at me. I think they distract from the head of the striding young woman. I might paint them out.

Anyway, I did some more work on it just before breaking for breakfast.

The Gauntlet, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Better

The words "No Entry" have been cleaned up, and I think they look more consistent and a little less like they've been drawn by hand. The lower case "e's" need a little more refinement, but I'm happy with the result so far.

InSecurity, oil on linen

Sunset Colors

I always struggle with the bright colors of a sunset sky, and wonder if I should tone them down, but then the whole reason I get excited about doing a painting is because of the color.

L'Auberge Provencale, February, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Somewhere West Of Denver

If you ever get the opportunity to take Amtrak's California Zephyr out of Chicago, do it! The scenery is so spectacular it can't adequately be described. Taking it (twice!) was one of the high points of my life, and I hope to get the chance to do it again sometime.

This is from one of those trips. I added some earth color in the gently sloping hills and some brushy plants in the foreground. It looks finished now.

Somewhere West Of Denver, © 2018 (click on image for larger view)

If I Were An Impressionist, This Would Be Finished By Now

But I'm not. As much as I admire the loose, juicy style of the impressionist painters, classic and contemporary, I still adhere to this precise placement of things that really slows down my work. Recently I bought a palette knife; I think I'll try doing a painting using it instead of brushes.

 

Blue Vase With Irises, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

The Tedium Of The Tiles

Time to move on to something else this afternoon; I'm burned out on these darn tiles. There's a lot of subtle blending involved as each one has  different shades of green, and their shiny glaze picks up and reflects light and images from all over the room.

Waiting At Le Diplomate, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Working In The Shadows

Most of what I did on this one today was to pin down some of the darker areas, especially where they create form, like on the contours of the faces and the shoulders. There's an odd, long triangular area on the yellow-haired mannequin's neck caused by some sort of reflection on the window glass that changes the colors slightly.

Wigs And Shades, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Touch-up

I was pleased to hear that this painting has been accepted into a show titled, "Signs Of The Times." I did it some time ago and have never been happy with the way the type looks— it's quite amateurish and uneven. So I'll fix the words before delivering it to the show.

InSecurity, oil on linen

Meanwhile, I got some work done on these two:

Katie, America Series, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

 

Cheyenne, America Series, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Both of these young women have absolutely beautiful skin tones and they're a pleasure to paint. I'm intrigued by Cheyenne's story— she says she is part Cheyenne Indian, I think she said one quarter, and that is why her mother gave her that name.

 

Adding Some Contrast

This painting sorely needed some darker areas, and the leaves outside the window help to anchor that space so it doesn't just float away into nothingness. Also, I darkened the whole quilt area at the bottom. It's a little like vignetting, and I think it keeps the focus on the figure.

The Promise Of Evening, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

This Watercolor Needs A Name

The little watercolor might be finished; at the least, it's very close to being finished. I don't want to overwork it but maybe it needs a little more contrast? And I need to go back to my reference materials to pin down where it actually is located.

Untitled watercolor, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

In any case, it's been a learning piece. Hopefully the next watercolor will be more successful.

Moving on: Did some work on the hands and the quilt this afternoon.

The Promise Of Evening, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

And the perennially troublesome sky in this one:

L'Auberge Provencale, February, © 2018, work in progress (click on image for larger view)