More on the Landscape

This is so painful! I am really not liking this painting yet, ... not unusual but I'm always hopeful that I will have that totally painless painting experience some day. LOL!  Anyway this is all I got done in class and the next one is tomorrow so will work on it more then.
  This is on 22X30 140lb cold pressed Arches watercolor paper.

Landscape

It's been a while since I've attempted a landscape in Watercolor.  I've been working mostly with figures and portraits other than the experimental abstracts that I've really had fun with lately.
  This is a painting I started as a demonstration for the
watercolor students at the Art Center.  I will mostly be working on it in class and then will post the results as it progresses.
  This is looking off to the Mesa, sky and clouds in the distance with the rocks and brush and red dirt in the foreground.  I have used watercolor and also acrylic as watercolor in this so far.

Keeping busy

I ran out of my favorite Strathmore 4 ply 500 series Bristol Plate paper so while I am waiting for my order I decided to try out two of the "yes" canvases I bought for watercolor.  My friend Liz Hill really likes working on these canvases and I have to agree that the surface is pretty nice.  These paintings are still in progress.

  The top painting is not on "yes" canvas and is 11X14.  The lower two are 30X24 "yes" canvas with 1 1/4" gallery wrapped sides.









So far I think I like the bottom one best.

                                         

Still unfinished!

I was hoping to finish this painting of our wonderful model George, but I could only stay an hour and a half before I went to my critique group so I will have to finish from my photo on my monitor.  Almost like being there.  Much better than just a printed photo anyway.

Saturday Model session

This is a pose that I transferred to an 8"X 8"  panel (mounted on wood frame)from a sketch I did in Saturday's model session.  I had planned to finish it out as an oil painting but I took it to my critique group yesterday and everyone there thought I should just leave it as is.  This is just what I intended to be the underpainting.  I was so looking forward to painting on it!  I will live with it a bit and see if I can resist. 

Mondays efforts

It's been fun getting back to oils in the Monday paint group. We had a wonderful model who will be sitting for 3 Mondays in a row so that we can do a finished painting completely from life.  I missed the first session and started this in the second session and will try to finish it next week in the last session.  I had a good start with my charcoal drawing and then laid in my value patterns with a thinned dark and all was well. Then as usual I got in a hurry as time was running short and rushed my colors trying to get everything blocked in.  When I got home I scraped everything off with my pallet knife to have a fresh smooth surface to start again next week.  This is what was underneath.  I chose to crop his head to divide my negative shapes and make them more interesting. This is something I picked up from studying with Polly Hammett.

Last attended Monday Model session

 I wish I were more of a technogeek!  I can publish my posts but haven't quite figured out how

to reply to comments!  I have had a few nice comments and love to read them and visit the sender's site.  I also like to see what blogs other's follow regularly (something else I haven't gotten to yet) and have found some wonderful other blogs to look at.  So Many creative people out there!  Thanks to those who have commented!

  

   Here is my latest version of the last model we had in Monday paint group.  Cara is a college student and marathon bike rider.  She posed for us with her bike gear and bike  and then a sitting pose.  I could still change a few things like the light on her neck, but I like it for now.

More Jasper

Here is the latest version of the Jasper project.

Monday paint group

We had an interesting model in paint group yesterday. She wore a pentagram and had a similar tatoo (neither of which I included in my paint study). I may finish it up later and see if I can't soften her up a bit. I haven't worked in oil in so long. It was fun.

Jasper

Update on Jasper. I did another one since I started this one.

Update on Jasper's portrait

Here is an update on the portrait as promised. Going a little slow. I am trying to keep the colors clean and bright. This is a little boy about a year and a half old standing in the shade but with bright sunlight streaming over his left side. Isn't he cute? His name is Jasper.

Starting new portrait

Here is a new portrait I am starting on I drew it out and applied some masking fluid. This is the first layer of washes to block in the colors. This is actually pretty big for a watercolor portrait...22x23. I have a really bad cold so am going a little slow this week.

Here is the second update on the Parkinsons painting,

This is a portrait in progress depicting three different views of a child to show how children have varying personality traits. This is a popular portrait style for me.

This is the painting in progress for the Houston Area Parkinson Society fund Raiser. The symbol they have adopted is the Red Tulip.

What I did today

My little Aspen. Bad to the bone....but really sweet. She is half Chihuahua after all! I liked the photo so much that I decided to go back to my roots and do a painting from the photo. Painting in progress and the final version...maybe,...sometimes it's hard to finish. We'll see.

Actually I still have to remove the miskit from the dots and add color...now that I look at it...maybe her eyes could be bigger...

while recovering from Ike...

I did this odd little painting that came to mind from one of my Wednesday model studies. You can scroll back and see which one if you're interested. It's done on a 13 & 3/4 inch square gallery wrapped canvas primed with gold gesso which peeks through the paint. It is definately different but I'm really liking it in it's oddness. It's sort of mysterious. It seems like a good cross betweem my abstracts and my figures. let me know your thoughts on it.

...Demon's at the door

The background Details didn't lift on this paper like I expected them to. Possibly because I'm working on the back side of it. I will put it away for a few days to see how I feel about it. I may start another one in transparent watercolor on cold press and finish it much lighter just to see

the difference. This looks like it should be called

'great life except for the demon's at the door'.

I'm starting my drawing class on Tuesday so probably won't begin anything large this week. I like to just focus on the students and getting the class off to a good start. Cheers, for now.

update on painting #1

I think I will have to wipe it all down to get that washed out look again...at least on parts. Her shirt was yellow, I changed it to red...hmmm,...we'll see.

Finally back to the first painting!

Okay, finally back to the first painting! It was hard to work on it as I really liked the washed out version. I'm committed though, to my original vision. She is an older woman with wonderful dreadlocks that I met at the Renaissance Fest last year. I hope I can do her justice. I decided to make her headwrap a different color as it was almost exactly the color of her skin. There is a black part in the back of the blue wrap on her head that has some detail that I haven't put in yet. I want the background to be dark but it was so interesting with all the wind chimes. I will have to really focus and not be distracted by the shiny objects...as Dawn says. Let me know what you think. I'm sure I can use the help. Cheers for now