My Husband Told Me to Paint Today

Having breakfast with my mom at a fabulous little cafe and then having my husband tell me to go home and paint the rest of the day makes for a pretty good day!   I finally braved painting another sailing photo of my husband.  This time it's a picture of him up on the mast.  The original photo and painting, he is riveting but I had trouble with his hands again so I converted him to holding onto a loose halyard. The more I work a painting, the less vibrance I have.  Part of this is overworking my ala prima (wet on wet) style of painting.  I love ala prima but I have to stop overworking.   But it was nice to be able to sit and paint today...

8x10

 Here is my beginning palette for this painting...

 For the portraits, I tend to feel more comfortable tracing the basic shape onto the canvas.

 This is what I had done when I decided to check my work in a photo.  I noticed that part of the sky had been missed with a layer of blue so I started to work the painting more and ended up completely changing it to below...

 I messed up his hand and then reworked several aspects of the painting.  He turned out much less vibrant. 

Here is the palette when I finished.  

"Up The Mast"- 8x10 Panel

Here it is with the other painting of him, it was one of my first oil paintings...
I think I'll do him at the wheel for a third one...

Pet Portraits

I have painted several pet portraits this last year.  It was fun to be able to bring the personality out in the paintings of their adorable pets.  I am in love with painting pets.

I painted Olive as a tribute for my friend who had lost her.  8x10

I did this painting also as a tribute to a friend who lost her dog.  8x8

 

This is Martha.  She is a dog of my friend's that commissioned me to paint her. 6x12

 

This is a 6x6 of a dog that I was commissioned to paint.

 This is a dog that I painted for a friend that asked him to be painted- A tribute for her son. 8x8

 A 6x6 painting of a rabbit, Honey Bunny, that I was commissioned to paint.

I painted Teddy upon request of a friend to match the other painting I did of her dogs. 8x8

Painting Again

I have found time here and there to get in some painting time.  As always, it is good for my soul...

Frustrated

I've spent hours on paintings but they just aren't turning out...

Day 7 - Donkey

Day 7-30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge "Donkey"

I've gone a relaxed route with brushstrokes for painting today on this little cutie.  He's inspired by my friend's donkey (Thanks, Ramona!).

"Donkey"
6x6
Oil

Contact me at my email at the bottom of the page if you are interested in purchasing him.

DAY 4 and 5 - Worked and Reworked My Grandmother Painting

DAY 4 and 5- 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

I have been painting every day for hours but it's been to work and rework and rework and rework the painting I did of my grandmother.  After hours of knit picking, I wiped her face on Wednesday night and started over yesterday on her face.  I think I liked the first one better but my mom insists that this one is just like her too...

I did learn a lot while painting her.

 1.  Use two jars of gamsol to keep brush/paint cleaner
 2.  Pin down the brushes that work  don't work more quickly than trying to keep working the painting with the wrong brushes....
 3.  Mix enough flesh tones, they definitely come out different with every mix!

What I need to learn:

1.  color tones for values (light to dark of flesh tone) without using black/white
2.  eyes
3.  teeth
4.  less strokes, less mud

I decided to put her away and move on to other paintings starting tonight. 

DAY 3- 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge Jan 2017 "GRANDMA JOAN"

Day 3-30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge January 2017

We lost my grandmother last night...  She lived with Lewy Body Dementia for many years....  Even through the strokes, lost speech and memory problems, she always remembered who we were and was so happy when she saw any of us.  I am glad she is at peace but I will miss her so much.... 

I had to paint her as I thought of her heavily today.  It's still a work in progress.  I don't feel like I can capture her eyes...  I knew it would be challenging to take this on with still learning how to paint in oil but I felt like it was all I wanted to do right now....  My grandma also painted before her arthritis prevented her from holding a brush.  I hope she is happy with the painting....

"Grandma Joan"
8x10
Oil

DAY 2 - 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge "Undiscovered"

DAY 2- 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge January 2017 (#2)

I have been working on this painting for awhile.  It's very much out of my comfort zone and out of my head.  It's been fun to add all the little stories in the painting.  It still has work to do, I am not sure I'll ever be happy enough with it as it is out of my head rather than trying to duplicate a photograph.

It's 16x20
Oil
"Undiscovered"

DAY 1 -30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge January 2017

DAY 1- 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

"Martha"
6x12
Oil

30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge #2

 TODAY IS DAY 1 of my second 30 IN 30 DAILY PAINTING CHALLENGE!

I have decided to have a theme this time for my challenge: 

PORTRAITS

Pet portraits, house portraits, people portraits and other fun portrait ideas. 

 I am starting off the challenge with my friend's custom order of her Bloodhound, Martha. Charlie and Jeannie along with their dog, Martha, befriended us while we were in Florida on our sailboat. Martha helped Brett overcome his fear of dogs (he was bit when he was young). Martha always has a special place in our hearts and it will be so fun to paint her as my day 1 challenge!  I have decided to paint her on a fun 6" x 12" size.  Stay tuned for a photo of the finished oil painting, coming later!

15x30 SeaLion Painting "Sleeping Giants"

I finished the painting after some morning touch ups yesterday.  I am happy with them and it feels so fulfilling to finally get a painting done that I'd been wanting to do for awhile.

"Sleeping Giants"
15x30
Oil

15x30 Sealion Process- Adding more color and texture and detail

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...
It's getting there...

15x30 SeaLion process - Starting to get shapes and shadow built

This is the hardest step of the process for me.  I've painted enough onto the canvas to lose the sketch yet there is no definition.  It just looks like a bunch of sloppy brushstrokes to me.  I have to continually tell myself that this process works in layers and will get better.  This is my peak doubt moment of a painting.  I hope I get used to this part of it because I always feel like tossing it at this stage even though I know it's just the beginning.

Time for a break to go feed the hungry bunnies, drink a cup of hot coffee and refresh my eyes for the next steps...

15x30 Sealion Painting Process- Underpainting and sketch out on canvas

 After doing a grid sketch study, I moved to the canvas and painted my underpainting.  It started out green but I changed it to a bluish purple grey.  (hard to photograph). 

After a few days, I was able to finally set up my lighting better and started on my paint outlines.  I laid the grid out on the painted canvas with white pencil and then sketched out each block with burnt sienna.  My brain still sketches the subject rather than by block but the grid lines helped me refocus often.  This was the scariest part for me.  I am ready to start blocking in.


(as I was sketching the grid lines, I had somehow picked up some pink paint onto the ruler and of course planted itself smack into the canvas but it will be covered)

First Grid Sketch For Large Painting

I have been wanting to paint sealions for a very long time  The CAM Biennual is coming up which motivated me although I don't think I'll get it done before then.

I found this photograph that I took of them and decided to paint it since it would fit the long canvas I want to paint it on.  I sat down late last night and tried my first grid sketch study.  After the second or third box, I was mostly following the photo but I kept feeling myself start to go bigger and then the grid lines would stop me and pull me back.  It was very interesting.   I have always struggled with layered and multiple objects and the grid sketching definitely helped break down the objects into shapes and value so my brain couldn't only see a pile of sleeping sealions.

I have my huge canvas mounted on the easel and a cup of coffee in hand and am fighting the fear of starting such a large canvas.  I am trying to just think about my steps to take just like the smalls.  Just do the underpainting and then sketch it out with burnt sienna and then go for it... (oh, and remember to just have fun!)

Facing Fears

My "Marcela in Dia de los Muertos" portrait will be at the Springfield Mayor's Art show starting October 8th.   I am scared to DEATH, I am just starting with oil painting and there is such amazing art entered. The day of the entries was very hectic and crazy and this painting was the only thing I had ready to go.  I am so scared to show my oil painting so soon but I am hoping so much that people will enjoy it, my friend's niece in El Salvador so beautifully showcases her participation in Dia de los Muertos and I hope that I can relay that in the painting.  I also convinced my mom to submit one of her fabulous pieces as well!! We're planning on going to the open reception Friday at 7! I am so excited to look at all of the amazing artwork! 

COLLAGE OF MY 30 DAYS OF PAINTING

Here is a collage of the artwork I did for the daily challenge.  I missed two days and did a needle felt on one day.