From Life

3 hour life painting pose today. It was really fun to work on this portrait. because I had a little longer time to work on the pose I wanted to include her torso and not just the face. I used calipers to measure the head and body dimensions. This was such a huge help in getting the layout drawn correctly. I had a smaller canvas than  would have liked because I forgot the larger canvas on my easel at home. Her shirt had lost of design on it but I wanted to simplify and make her look a little more rustic.

 

I drew out my next painting this evening. It may be hard to see but I am very excited about this one. It is rather large at 30"x30". My daughter is drawn at full scale. Cant wait to get to work on this tomorrow.

 

Confessions and Pope Francis Portrait

 

After being knocked out of painting for a week with a bad cold I finally got back to the Pope yesterday and finished him up. I am so excited to give him to my Parish. I think having someone waiting to get a painting makes the process even more exciting. I love to hear that my work is appreciated. Some days after posting a new Blog I keep on checking my stats over and over just to check if anyone is looking at it or, best of all, left a comment!

 photocopies taped to canvas

 

pencil layout for painting

 

I have started laying out a new painting which will be for my cousin. She makes wonderful needle felted animals and figures and has agreed to barter a nativity set for a painting.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheMermaidsMuse
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mermaids-Muse/

And this is where the confessions come it.

I am not very good at drawing, I never am satisfied with the way that I draw, especially people and especially from life. When I paint people I almost always use pictures and either grid the drawings to enlarge to scale, or like I am doing for this painting, I blow up the images on my printer  cover the back with charcoal and then trace the image onto the canvas. I think this must be a major disgrace in the painting community. I do it because I want to paint realistically and get so frustrated if things are not in the right proportions.  I am trying to get better at drawing, but until I improve a lot or get the chance to paint from life I am going to keep on using the tools I have available. I would love to get the chance to paint from life but with kids that is currently fairly impossible.

I have started a daily sketch project, I am trying to sketch from life everyday. Some of my sketches have been of the kids which is a real challenge because they will not stay still. I am working with a pen because I want all of my marks to be purposeful and I have not worked with pen much in the past.

 

Today I went to the art store and picked up two more whites to add to my pallet. I am learning a lot about how to use different whites in painting skin tones. It can make a big difference which white you use. I bought Gamblin Titanium Zinc White and Winton Soft Mixing White, I will need to do some experimentation to see how they work. I also bought a new brush because it felt so wonderful in my hands. It is a Catalyst by Princeton with polytip bristles. I hope it feels even better with paint on the tip.