I gave up on the idea of painting in every single grapevine row in the background— at least for now. I brushed in some yellow green and blue on the distant hills, and will add the dark shadow lines sometime in the future. Also added some atmospheric blue to the trees on the horizon.
This piece, also, should be finished as soon as possible. I keep dragging my feet on it. Worked on the figure on the right today.
I need to finish the dessert series and the vineyard series. There are only two paintings left in each of them, but I'm having trouble forcing myself to do them; it's a shame because I can probably show them somewhere once they're done.
Today I worked on the plate for the fortieth time. Next time I'll add crumbs, highlights, and work on the fork shadow.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I decided that the hot pink color of the sweater was too bold. I tried to relate the sweater to the color of the brick wall, but that looked too forced, so I got out my trusty Pantone swatch kit and experimented with other ideas... But nothing worked; I wanted to keep the reflected warmth visible on the jaw line, so today I tried some corals and roses and ended up with what you see below. I think this will be okay.
This is one of those paintings where I feel I can use a freer hand. The detail doesn't matter so much. Worked mostly the left side and the pergola today.
This first one will have two women seated in the window, chatting. I like the soft colors but it's maddening to have to work against the nubbly canvas; this is why I prefer to work on panels. Of course, the larger you go, the more difficult it is to handle a large panel; they get quite heavy. And expensive! So I do a lot of canvas (linen) stretching on my own for the bigger pieces.
'S Nice, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)
And I'm taking my time with this one, too. After viewing a painting video by an artist I admire, I think that the tiny blending strokes work better than trying to get it with a quick dash.
I stopped working on this one so late I didn't get to take a picture of it in natural light. That blue sky color still looks a little intense to me, but we'll see how it looks against the foliage.
Once an artist friend asked if I ever lost my place while painting one of the Atlantic ocean series; I just laughed. It's impossible for me to stay accurate with the details on something like that, or the one below, even though I carefully mark the grid and try to match the components with the grid on screen.
Anyway, I've been getting bored with the foliage and have stated placement of the figure. I also re-stretched the corner of the canvas that was wobbly, up in the right hand corner, and will have to do the lower corner next.
Got to the studio late; trying to make up for lost time. Added a lot of paint to the left side.
The word "quandary" always amuses me; when I was a kid I discovered the humorous writings of Robert Benchley, one of whose books was called "My Ten Years In A Quandary."
But I digress.
The area adjacent to the face in this painting is just not working. Previously, it was a flat grey, and it was hard to see where the nose was because the values were so similar. So I tried light colored leaves, thinking they'd be separate enough, but they're not. I'll have to try a different approach.
This one is fairly uncomplicated, though there's some detail in the cloud bank to work on, and the water's going to involve a lot of brushwork. I expect it to be finished in a few weeks.
I'm still in my pajamas, having come directly to the studio after finishing morning coffee; I guess it's time to get dressed. Here's what I worked on, though: the jeans, coat and scarf on the walking guy; the face and shoulders of the man in the window; plotting points for the eventual painting in of the tree on the right side; and lots of ivy.
So, my thinking was that the sweater needed to be a warmer color to be in harmony with the brick wall seen through the window, but now it's just too obvious. I'll have to find something else.
I brightened up the color of the waer with a quick wash, but then got bogged down with detailing the waves, using both deep and light blue. Time to take a break.
I am wondering if the dress is too bright, too forward. Will have to set it aside and think about it while the paint dries. But the skin is looking better.
Today I worked on four pieces, and after tomorrow everything's going to be wet. Friday and the weekend will be dry down time.
First:
Firmed up some details on the left side, including the bust on the entry desk.
Second:
Some quick washes of dark brown to indicate the interior space.
Next:
A lot of work on the sky and trees.
And finally:
Settled down some of the greens in the foreground. Unfortunately, rubbed out those tiny vine lines up on the hill, that took me half an hour to painstakingly place during the last session. Added some more clouds.
...but it's going to be remarkable when it's finished. At least, that's what I hope. I'm trying to place the design elements according to where they fall on the grid that covers the image, but it's way harder than you would think— especially once you cover up a section with paint. Nevertheless, here's today's corner work.
Skin tones continue to elude me, but I keep working on the problem.
I really put a lot of work into this one today, carefully straightening edges, trying to create atmosphere with subtle blends, etc. I can't wait to get the upper right corner finished so I can start to put the tree branch in.
This one has a really subdued palette. I worked on some of the spotlights on the wall and the floor tiles today.
Starbucks (Homage To Hopper), work in progress, (click on image for larger view)
The ocean in this painting is kind of green, with highlights of pale blue and a darker green in the depths. I started out with a green wash, and am trying out the idea of painting the darker areas first in black, then maybe giving them a glaze of green.
Girl In Water, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)
Once in a while, I'm working on a piece and I suddenly recognize what some element in the painting is really all about. In this case, I had been going along on Annuals and wondering why there was a faint cast shadow on the ground; suddenly I realized the pergola was not completely open to the sky, but had a scrim attached to part of it to block out the direct sunlight. And that was what was causing the shadow on the ground.
Annuals, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)
So I adjusted the sky color to reflect that.
Next, I put in a very short amount of time on the sky below; no matter how much I'd done on it in the past, it still wasn't right. Let's see how it looks when it dries down.
The Pond In The Woods, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)
This piece was desperate for a thin wash of Sap Green over the insistently bright woodwork in the background, so I toned it down. The toning down was a success, but now I'm worried that it's a little too subdued. So next session, I'll have to brighten it up a bit.
I created a gradual shift from light to dark blue on the sky, below; it's one of the things I lve best about this particular image.
I've added some quick strokes of the colors that were on my palette from 'S Nice; they're compatible, and even if I don't end up with them permanently at least they form a good base for what comes next.
This little painting will probably be finished before anything else I'm currently working on.
This is the start of a 24' square piece that I've had in mind for a while now. I drew in a grid in the upper left hand corner, planning to fastidiously transfer in all of the (very complex) visual information a square inch at a time. But as usual, I've gotten some squares confused and have already (see streaks) had to wipe out some of what I've carefully but mistakenly plotted in. The paln was to only work on a 4" square region every session, but that seems to have quickly gone to 5, and I think I'm going to have to use tracing paper in any case, to avoid mistakes.
Whoever said painting was not a physical endeavor? I've just spent the better part of the last two hours either standing and creating a brushless blend of grey at the top of this piece, or hunched over in a chair working out details in a brick wall and the sidewalk. Time to take a break. I wish it looked like I had gotten more done; some days, the work is just a series of baby steps.
I need to smooth out the brushstrokes on the grey area before they start to set up, but so far, so good on this one today.
I like things that are a little off the beaten path, so to speak; The reference photo for this one was a grab shot— I had one second to capture the image— and as a result, the horizon line was slightly askew. When I went to draw it in on the canvas today, I carefully measured it to be straight, but then realized I could amplify the message by leaving it slightly canted.
Because both the sky and the water are wet, I can't get a clean horizon line— it would get mushy where the two elements meet. So I'll put that off to the next session.
Girl In Water, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)
So I didn't get back to this until mid-afternoon, but here's today's work:
