A Second Try

I came back to this one last night and obliterated the horizontal lines in the foreground (for the most part). Also did a bit of work on the skyline below the big cloud.

A Farm At Dusk, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

I Struggle With Greens

The ground, or foreground, I guess, will need at least one more session. I'm trying to make the right side warmer and the left side cooler, plus dab in some highlights and shadows on the crops. I'm not at all satisfied with it yet. The dark lines are not working.

A Farm At Dusk, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Something Old

Having been inspired by the movie "Roma", I've decided to resurrect a series that I'd put on the back burner for a while. They remind me of the street scenes in the movie, in which there is a lot of everyday living and detail to look at. Looking at this one anew, I realize it lacks contrast, so I'm trying to bump that up, starting on the left side.

4th Street, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

More Green Tiles

This is a terrible photo of the painting; it looks much better in person. There's glare coming from the window on the left, and the wet spots look much darker than they should. But I do feel like I'm starting to get a handle on the tiles.

Waiting At Le Diplomate, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

 Meanwhile: I am resurrecting some old work.  

4th Street, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Is This Going Too Dark?

It's meant to be sort of dark... but until I get a few more areas painted, I won' know if I need to go back and lighten up some spots. Enjoying the wavy paint strokes, though.

Coming Of Age In The Year 2018, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Tuesday on Tuesday

I didn't get to put as much paint on the panel as I'd wanted to, because there are some straight lines involved. They need to be taped off, and I can't tape over wet paint. Nevertheless, I'm happy with this morning's work.

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

Some Pencil Work

Last one for the day! I look forward to filling in the blank areas. The columnar area on the right is going to be a little surprising.

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

I Wish I Could Paint Fast

This afternoon: Details, here and there across the picture plane. Much more to do.

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

Roma, and Another Hour On The Wigs

The Academy Awards were on TV last night, and this past year is one of the rare ones in which we've actually seen more than one of the nominations. In the last few hours before the show, we downloaded "Roma," which has been getting a lot of good press. Good Lord.

From the start, it was impressive; it's the kind of movie made by people who truly love to craft movies. The sweeping backgrounds behind the principle players caught my attention, and two scenes in particular blew me away. One follows Cleo as she moves hurriedly from right to left on a crowded street, looking for her young charges, and another in which the family's children, having just been told of their parents' breakup, lick their ice cream cones dejectedly under a threatening giant fake crustacean while a newly married couple is photographed in the distance.

I can't stop thinking about the artistry involved, and am drawing some inspiration from those scenes. Is there a way I can do something similar in a 2-dimensional environment? I already have done a few related things; "Chef," "Whole Foods," for example; and I can resuscitate the series in which people stand on street corners waiting for the light to change.

Meanwhile: I put in another hour +on this one this morning. I need to finish it so I can get more involved with my own ideas.

Wigs And Shades, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Back To The Wigs Again

After about an hour of getting the colors right on the blue wig— note the yellow light bouncing off the yellow wig onto the side of the blue wig, for example; I realized I have yet another session to go on the blue hair alone. here are white-white highlights and shadows that need finessing.

Wigs And Shades, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Getting Back On Track

I haven't felt like painting for several weeks now, but have pushed myself to do it. Now the specter of Artomatic has scared me into trying to finish a few pieces. I want the strongest, most eye-catching work in the show, and those pieces are all weeks away from being done.

Here's one that needs a lot of attention—  I can't seem to mix the proper color for the lighter water areas, which are that heavenly shade of Caribbean blue in the reference photo. Otherwise, the watery parts are going well enough, though very slowly.

Coming Of Age In The Year 2018, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

And after leaning this one against the wall in the hall, I realized the shadow area on the right, just inside the box front, needed to be darker. It does have more dimension now, I think.

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

The Last Drop Of Glazing Medium

Several of the pieces I'm working on lately are in a stage that requires glazing, so I was extremely unhappy to discover last night that I was down to the last few drops of medium. I eked out the final bit this morning while working on the fire extinguisher painting, but then it was time for a trip to the art supply store.

Store #1 had a deeply empty space on the shelf where the medium was supposed to be. I got distracted by some glittery things in the craft section but then moved on to Store #2, where I was able to snag the last bottle. So the green tiles will have what they need next time I work on them.

This afternoon: the two mannequins on the right; created some depth using the glaze. The flatness on the coat has been bothering me.

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

The Fire Extinguisher Painting

Some success this morning! I repainted the lower areas of the panel, the ones I'd sanded back yesterday. The paint went on smoothly and though there were some problems with getting the correct color mixed, it looks pretty good.

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

Every. Single. Wall Tile.

So, now that I'm happy with the general color of the wall tiles, I'm going in and painting each separate tile.Some of them are picking up yellow-ochre reflections from the room; others have intrinsic light and dark spots, some have direct sunlight on them coming from the skylights. Then they're edged in a light color grout, and they also have darker edges.

Waiting At Le Diplomate, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Well, painting that took the entire morning, and then I was asked to provide business-related information for the tax man, and chasing all of that stuff down took most of the afternoon. It's amazing how complicated it can be to just simply try to download a file to print. Here's some of what went wrong:

Password did not work for bank website; needed to answer multiple security questions just to reset
Bank website generally confusing
End-of-year tax document unavailable
Wi-Fi suddenly not working with printer

It's extremely frustrating to spend hours working on this stuff and not creating art.

I finally planned to move on to the fire extinguisher painting, but when i put it on the easel and bumped it up to work on the lower half, the tiny granular bits of paint that I mentioned in an earlier posting were glaringly obvious. I sanded them off, but now I have to re-paint the whole darn bottom half. I should mention tht the brand I switched to, Gamblin, has been performing perfectly, and I've had no problems with bits of unmilled paint since I started using it. I will never go back to the other brand.

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

The Pendulum Slows

Used to be I would work on at least three paintings a day, but lately the wintry climate seems to have suppressed my energy level. It's been a struggle to get into the studio and pick up a brush. All of the partying last week didn't help, either; I spent a few days out of the house for one reason or another.

Anyway. Here's what I did today:

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

 

And: another futile attempt at Impressionism. I don't know why I try to do this periodically;  I do not understand how to do it and feel hopelessly lost when I brush or dab on the paint. 

A Farm At Dusk, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Curtains

The curtains on the right side are a curious blend of peachy orange, pale blue, and darker blue grey. The colors blend into each other around the shadowy edges of the folds. Next I've got to paint in the detail on the lacy liner curtains, and that's going to be tricky; my first attempts already have been full of mistakes— the motifs are too large and too dark.

The Promise Of Evening, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Monday Morning Blues

I added some more water detail to the left and lower left sides, but this is an extremely tedious piece to work on, and I want to enter it in a competition next month.

Coming Of Age In The Year 2018, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Wigs And Shades, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

And there's the usual frustration with this one, though the painting on the yellow feathers seems to have worked pretty well this morning. Break time now, hopefully on to some more fun stuff later today.

 

Reconsidering The Aluminum

I took off the rest of the plastic film, and now I'm wondering how much of the aluminum in the foreground I should keep unpainted. It looks like water with highlights on it.

Coming Of Age In The Year 2018, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Meanwhile, more work on the wigs painting. I continue to plod on, but it just doesn't look photorealistic to me.

Wigs And Shades, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

A Quick Trip To The Country

I'm planning to get back to painting in a little while; in the meantime here are two views of our trip out in the Virginia hills.

Tree branches frosted with ice, Appalachian Trail and Rt. 7 (click on image for larger view)

 

  Bucolic farm scene, State Rd 340 (click on image for larger view)

 

So Very Green

Added a glazing layer to the green tile wall; next time I'll differentiate between the lighter and darker hues and add some of the light that comes in through the skylights. Still bothered by the flatness of the facial planes.

Waiting At Le Diplomate, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Hands And Hair

While hands are by no means easy to work on, at least the ones in this painting didn't require quite the level of concentration as in the fire extinguisher one. And hair is always a pleasure to paint.

The proportions on the fingers was wrong, so I redrew them. They do look better to me now.

The Promise Of Evening, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

A Morning Of Work And Not Much To Show For It

There have been constant interruptions this morning, and we are currently waiting for the plumber to show up.

I realized the left side of the fire extinguisher was not correct; the top was further away from the side than the bottom, so I taped it all off and redrew it. Then I tried to get the contour shading right on the bottom label, but it's been a disaster. You can see how ragged the bottom of the label is— I'll have to wait for it to dry and then sharpen it up. This is not the sort of thing to be doing on a day when it's hard to focus. I'll pick up on something that doesn't need so much intense concentration.

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

Glazing The Wall

Glazing is fun, and the blue wash that I floated over the right side wall looks like it's doing its job, making it a bit darker and adding some atmosphere. Sorry for the glare in the upper right hand corner.

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

I also added some more tree branches in the background.

Red To Raspberry

The right side of this painting has been crying out for me to work on it for months, so today I squeezed out several red pigments onto the palette and gave it a go. The deep reds that I have tend to go purplish, as you can probably see here; not sure whether it's a good idea or not. I also brushed some transparent black up at the very top, should probably do more of that to create convincing shadows.

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

The clothes still look flat, will have to do something about that, especially the mannequin on the far right.

The Sunday Paintings

I forgot to post these last night! Plugging along on both of them, but much to catch up on with all the other paintings sitting around in the studio.

Worked mostly on the orange wig (it's nearly done now) and getting the skin color right on the mannequin at lower left.None of the mouths are quite full and pouty yet.

Wigs And Shades, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Painted a very thin, brushy foundation color on this. It will look awful for a while until I do the next layer.

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

Scuffing Up The Stones

The stones that were used to build the old inn are actually quite a warm beige color. But the colors that are bouncing around from the sunset reds, corals, and yellows, and the sky blue, are tinting them. I'm putting a lot of effort into the blank wall at right, but wonder if it's wasted energy; there will be a large tree covering most of it.

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

Bar Scene

This morning's work was on the little Tuesday painting. I did some refinement on the waitress's face and added some more background color. Some of my original window frames turned out to be in the wrong place, so I redrew them.

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

The Disappearing Plastic Film

I'm looking forward to getting that plastic film off the lower part of the panel. The panel itself is 16"h x 20" wide, and I've worked the film down to the last few inches. I'm not as worried as I was at the beginning about scratching the surface.

Coming Of Age In The Year 2018, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Grudgingly Back To Work

I just needed some time off, so I spent last week doing crafty things. There's enough accumulated art and craft stuff around here for me to open my own store, and I often feel guilty about not using it. So far I've crocheted a cowl, a shawl, and a dressy metallic-and-black scarf. I've been looking at the beading materials, the polymer clay, and the resin, and have been flirting with the idea of designing fabric. There are just not enough hours in the day.

Anyway— Here's today's work so far:

Wigs And Shades, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

The wigs painting is driving me mad. Every time I look at it, I see something else that needs to be refined.

The sheep painting is, however, done; I even signed it.

Sheep In The Meadow, © 2019, work in progress (click on image for larger view)