This morning's work, after a chaotic, cat-centric escapade which fortunately did not result in anyone having to go to the emergency room:
All of the painting was done in the upper right-hand corner. It's shaping up pretty much the way I want it to, so it was a good session after I calmed down.
I really want these to be finished by the end of the year:
This is the latest work on this single-moment-slice-of-life:
There are still some places that need refinement. I'm trying to get to each of them but the surface has to be dry or else I smear paint all over. Still, this is coming along nicely.
I have a great deal of trouble with values— going dark is hard for me to do; I always end up with something that I thought was the right shade but ends up being two tones lighter. So I really pushed myself today on this one.
Worked from approximately 10 am to 4 pm, with a short break for a meal. Filling in the white space goes painfully slow. I want to see progress!
Here is a new entry in my quest to become known as The Toulouse-Lautrec of Le Diplomate...LOL
Another from the little (6" x 6") New York City series. I want to try my hand at hyperrealism, but this one has a long way to go...
The beginning of a painting is always the most exciting time. So many possibilities! Of course, there's some tedium as well; this canvas is too large for me to do a standard trace-and-transfer method, so I'm having to measure everything carefully, and even then I make mistakes.
What I love about genre painting— the sort of everyday, slice-of-life work— is the fact that there's so much more there than meets the eye on first glance. This little interior features (or, will feature) three couples with their heads close together. The image of a geisha on the back wall is going to be mirrored in the window glass on the far left; and she wears a similar hairstyle to the cashier. On the far right will be another cashier, in ghostly blue from the computer screen.
I've had to include the easel on this brand new 18" x 40" piece.
Things are taking a long time to dry, but that's okay because I have plenty of work to keep me busy. After a week of letting this one sit, I've gotten back to it this morning.
I'm very excited about the new work but wanted to tape off and clean up a few areas on this one this morning, mostly door and wall trim.
I Dreamed That I Could Fly, work in progress (click on image for larger view)
Today I wanted to work in that long-neglected upper right-hand corner. The color wavers between a mysterious blend of deep blue-green and yellow ochre.
I want the labels to be as three-dimensional looking as they are in the original painting, but so far that's been a bit of a challenge.
This morning I'm trying to get as much paint on this panel as possible. I'll have to do a lot of taping to keep the lines clean around the windows, but first I have to get more paint in place and let it dry.
Last night's work:
Since everything I want to work on is drying, I'm turning to the little paintings I normally do at night.
Word (New York Short Stories), work in progress (click on image for larger view)
I like the way the flat color looks against the black edges on this one; maybe I'll try something new using that combination.
Recent work on two more from the America series. Both still need more polishing, especially around the eyes:
Some of the ivy in the nook on the left is in bright sunlight. Most of the rest needs to be darker, in both nooks.
I don't think there's any more that I can do with this. So: done!
Though there are one or two places that still need adjustment, this is much closer to where I want it to be.
Lots of subtle gradation on the chalkboard, but much more to do. It's not easy trying to go around those letterforms.
It doesn't look like much in this photo— my work always looks streaky in the photos I take with my iPhone— but I spent a lot of time this morning working on the wall and door gradations.
I Dreamed That I Could Fly, work in progress (click on image for larger view)
Straight lines are not my forté, but they abound in this little piece.
It's been quite a while since I worked on this painting, but everything else is wet. And I've been feeling guilty about neglecting it.
