And Some Flowers

Did some background work on this one.

 

                                                Annuals, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)    

Darkest Darks

 The deep night sky is a wonderful foil for all of the other colors in this image. I hope the pigment I used, W&N's Blue Black, stays dark when it dries. Also sketched in the bare tree branches outside the window.

                                                Over Mojitos, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)

A Grueling Session

 it's hard to believe that I spent 90 minutes diligently stroking paint on with tiny brushes (29 of them!) to try to achieve an airbrushed look wherever light falls. I was going for very gradual transitions between shadows and spotlights, and yet it looks like i did nothing. A disappointing day so far in the studio.

                                                Starbucks (Homage To Hopper), work in progress, (click on image for larger view)    

Maybe the changes will be more apparent once it dries down. 

Onward

 A semi-productive day.

                                                 Dolcezza, work in progress (click on image for larger view)    

Dolcezza has a lot of detail in the central area, so I'm slowly working my way across the canvas.

                                                   Bowery Graffiti Wall (Revok + Pose), work in progress, (click on image for larger view) 

I mixed some more vivid paint for spots that needed some really striking color. 

And:

                                                 Stone Tower Winery, work in progress (click on image for larger view)   
 
 I'm determined to finish this one at the next sitting. That will complete the Virginia Vineyard series.

And, I forgot to add this one in from last night. I'm trying to learn how to paint the raindrops on the window.

                                                 A Rainy Night In Alexandria, work in progress (click on image for larger view)   
 

 

Two More

 It's raining today, actual real rain instead of a little fizzy wetness, so I don't have to do any yard work. Here's this afternoon's work, and with a little luck, I'll even get to another piece.

                                                 I Was There Once, Too, work in progress (click on image for larger view)   
 

                                                  Glen Echo Park, work in progress (click on image for larger view)   

Wet Paint

 I am having fun with the two new paintings. Of course, it's always this way at the beginning; later on, when the fine detail has to be painted with accuracy, it's not a bed of roses anymore. 

The first of these, the new painting of the bar scene, will be tighter than the restaurant table. What attracted me about the second piece was the misty atmosphere throughout, not just on the smoky dish or the kettle the waiter is bringing. So it will be a quick and easy job.

                                                 The Happy Hour, 2.0, work in progress (click on image for larger view)    

                                                  Dinner At Michael Mina, work in progress (click on image for larger view)   
 

And So It Begins

 I have a boatload of yard work to do today, but last night I did the prep work for this:

                                                 The Happy Hour, 2.0, work in progress (click on image for larger view)   

Unbleached Titanium and Ivory Black make...Green?

I was trying for a nice, neutral beige on the wall panel, but the mixture I used went greenish! Will try for something better suited to a museum wall next time around.

                                           I Was There Once, Too, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)    

A Big Change

 No matter how careful, how precise I tried to be, I could not get the face right on this piece. Rather than continuing to torture myself and the canvas, I decided to try a different model, and it's worked out much better. I'm not sure I've got the jawline right, the mouth looks a little sad, and the tip of the nose needs to be adjusted, but I like this version.

                                               Ivy Alcove, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)   
 

Completed! "The Happy Hour"

 At long last, done.

                                                 The Happy Hour, © 2023 (click on image for larger view)   

More Touch Up

 Worked mainly with bolder blues today.

                                                 Bowery Graffiti Wall (Revok + Pose), work in progress, (click on image for larger view)  

The Joy Of Starting A Painting

 I've been telling myself that I shouldn't start a new piece until I finish one more; today, that idea went out the window. I just couldn't keep my hands off starting this one. 

It will shape up quickly.

                                                Dinner At Michael Mina, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)   
 

                                                Dinner At Michael Mina, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)   
 

And I am astonished to see that this new piece mirrors the composition of the one below on my Blogger feed!

Two Days Of Small Steps

 I've spent the last two days working here and there on several pieces, just trying to move things forward bit by bit.

                                                A Rainy Night In Alexandria, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)   
 

On the painting above, I placed a parked car on the street across from the restaurant. I have a lot of trouble with cars, but this seems to be all right.

                                                Over Mojitos, work in progress, (click on image for larger view) 

More detail and color correction.

Next: enlarged the male figure so it fit into its space more believably.

                                                Starbucks (Homage To Hopper), work in progress, (click on image for larger view)    

                                                Persephone, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)  

More work on the hair, and darkened the blue sky in upper left.

                                           Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)   

Window frame and brick wall in distance on right side.

                                                Bowery Graffiti Wall (Revok + Pose), work in progress, (click on image for larger view)   

After doing some research, I discovered the two artists who designed and painted this wall (with help from volunteers) are known as REVOK  and POSE. Apparently this iteration of the graffitit wall was up for a short time back in 2013.

 

 

   

The Dessert Series Is Finished!

At last.

                                                 Molten Chocolate With Gelato, last of the Stress Eating Series, (click on image for larger view)   

One Small Area Left

 That would be the bottles stacked on the right side just next to the bartender. One of them will be recognizable as "Cointreau," the others will be shadowy shapes. And then it will be done.

The new Gessobord panel has arrived, so soon I will be repainting this scene on it; I know I'll be happier when I can get my edges painted the way I want.

 

                                                 The Happy Hour, nearly finished, (click on image for larger view)   

Dust. Fork. Tabletop.

 That's all that's left to do; in act, the chocolate dust (which had obvious stencil edges, and which I've now fixed) is done. Despite all the sturm und drang of the last couple of months of battling with it, I now like this piece. I've just got to get that fork to work and give the dark base a once-over to unify it.

                                           Molten Chocolate With Gelato, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)     

The Plate Rim

 I wanted to even out the rim of the plate and give it a little depth as well, so first I painted it in a mid-tone blue, then went over it from the inside of the plate with pale, almost white blue, leaving a millimeter or so of the darker blue intact.

                                           Molten Chocolate With Gelato, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)     

 

Small Corrections

 There are now only small areas left to refine here; today I worked on the gestural hand, some of the shelving, a few of the bottles, a chair leg. So this one's coming down to the wire.

                                                 The Happy Hour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)   

A Place Setting

 So I bit the bullet and worked on the limited but complex space on the table. Glad I did, it looks better.

                                                Plat Du Jour, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)   
 

Yesterday's Work

 I feel sort of burned out today, so I might not get much done. But here's what I worked on yesterday, tarting with the right side brick wall on:

                                                Dolcezza, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)    

Moving on, I felt like I needed a little rest and recreation, and painting roses seemed like a good idea. This painting has been hanging around the studio for a long time, and I need to rework the entire background. I forgot what I was calling it.

                                                   Work in progress, (click on image for larger view)   

And I had some greens and pinks on the palette along with a range of warm browns, so:

                                                Persephone, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      
  
 

The Next Iteration

 Added more color in spots here and there. Waiting on an art supply shipment for some Simmons size 0s for the line work.

                                                             Graffiti Wall, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)    

Mojitos

Coming along nicely. 

                                           Over Mojitos, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)    
 

Closer And Closer

 While I'd like to pronounce this one done, I need to go over the background to take out some stray spots and maybe do a little cleanup on the dish edge. 

 

                                           Molten Chocolate With Gelato, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)     

The Face

It's been months since I worked on this, but since I already had the skin tone palette in hand from working on Persephone (see below), I figured it was time to try for a better likeness. It worked out pretty well! It looks more like her, though the left eye doesn't quite match up with the right one, and the line of the mouth, while close, is not perfect. 

Mostly I've been avoiding working on this because painting the buildings is SO BORING.

                                                Straight Ahead, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      
 

And here's Persephone. Maybe needs more contrast? I don't know. I'll spend the next few days mulling it over. At least I got the skin covered.

                                                Persephone, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)      
 

Going Down The Checklist

I made a list of all the paintings I want to work on this week, and so far, so good... I've covered most of them.The only ones that don't excite me are Dolcezza and Plat Du Jour;  Graffiti and Mojitos need another day to dry before I can get back to them.

Did only minor work on this today, mostly on the neon signage. Again, it needs more drying time before I can take care of some of the architectural areas. 

                                                Glen Echo, work in progress, (click on image for larger view)