Painters Block

I took a week and a half off from painting for a trip to visit family and celebrate a Mobile style Mardi Gras.

My kiddos loved the kids parade and throwing beads.

The cousins in matching Mardi Gras outfits.

 

 

We also celebrated my oldest's  fifth birthday.

 

Tonight's painting session did not go well. I don't know if it was the time off or something else but I am having a very hard time progressing any paintings. I worked on three separate paintings tonight and was frustrated with all of them.

 

I am trying to paint this image of St Francis De Sales from an old etching. My church requested the painting because the priests are the Oblate's of St Francis De Sales. It is very hard to paint someone long dead from very limited resources.

I have been working on this painting off and on for well over a year. the background has been painted and repainted many times. Most of my time tonight was spent working on it. I changed the background at least three different ways just tonight.  

 

I only made minor changes to the painting of Grandma and Goose. Added a stack of books on the left side, other than that I did not want to carry on any of the bad energy from the other paintings into this one so I quit while I was still OK with what I had done.

I received a letter in the Mail today informing me that two pieces have been accepted into the Art at the Mill Spring show. "On the Fence" will be in the show/sale and "Antiquing in Vienna" will be on their reserve list.

While in Alabama I said a sad farewell to "Shades" This painting has had mixed reviews. My mother in law does not like it. It does not come close to capturing her beauty and her loving personality.

 It was one of the first paintings I finished after I started painting again and was a breakthrough for me. I painted it without a preliminary sketch or transfer of a drawing.  I usually struggle when painting directly but was very pleased with my efforts on this painting. I also love the glasses and the texture of the hat. It does capture some of her personality because she is a very strong woman who can run her entire hospital. I was still learning and continue to learn how to capture form without such harsh shadows.  Making flattering portraits that the subjects like is truly a difficult task.

This painting also won my first painting award with an honorable mention at last years Vienna Art Society Spring Show.

I guess she wanted me to give it to her so that no one else would see it . Because I love the painting and focus on the breakthroughs and the painting process, it makes me very sad to give it away to someone who focuses of the flaws of the painting. But I love my Mother in Law and if she wants the painting and if it will make her feel better to control who sees it I am happy for her to have it. I just hope that seeing it more often will not make her more frustrated with me.

 

For more artwork or information on commissioning a painting please visit my website at www.debbybirdart.com

One for the burn pile

Wednesdays open painting session was, well interesting. I probably did not pick the best position to paint from and ended up with an awkward angle. Most of the session I painted with my glasses off as an experiment. I tried to capture the feel of the tutu and the form of her face but did not get a close likeness. When I came home I photographed my work and then wiped the canvas clean to use for something else.

I pulled out some cheap acrylic paints and some cardboard canvas panels for the kids to paint on. They all had a great time working on it. Next time I need to use some paints that are of a little bit better quality. Nathan painted the picture of himself hanging up laundry on the line. I always love seeing how they perceive things.

It is all in the details

This painting is going to take awhile. There are so many details  in the housecoat. I have never worked on a painting with this much going on before.

Memories

Beginning a new painting. My grandmother who is 99 years old with my one year old.
The has held so many babies in her years and I am trying to capture her as she reflects on each one and the years that have gone by.

Some Months are just slow!

Last month I finished 7 paintings and had another one well under way. This month all I have accomplished on my paintings has been to finish the one I had started and to refinish the background of  one I thought I had done.

I have also been working on plans for several upcoming religious themed projects. But mostly I have been at a painting standstill. I tried to readdress a painting that I started over a year ago but only managed to waste a day.

The past few days have been spent dealing with puking children. Amazingly one sick child quickly turns into more. I am so thankful that the older one knows how to aim for a bucket instead of a parents shirt.

My new Facebook critique Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/paintingcritique/ has helped me change a few small things and compete this painting. Now I just need to add my signature. This was a very large painting and the background was painted over at least 7 times. I think I finally got it right.

"First Day of Ballet" Oil on Canvas 30"x30" Available for purchase

 

 I added more grey-blue to the background on Baby Blues because when seen from a distance the old background was too distracting and pulled your eye away from her sweet face.

"Baby Blues" Oil on Canvas 12"x12" Private Collection

 

Doubts

 

So far the decision to be a professional artist has been followed by constant doubts. I will feel so excited when something goes well and think that everything will fall in line. Followed by setbacks like my computers dieing and loosing hours of work I have done on my business. Or just the slowness of sales that makes me wonder if there will ever be enough to contribute to the family financially.

I wonder if I have enough to say in my paintings? Do I paint things that anyone would be interested in owning? Starting out a new art business feels so precarious. I need to paint a lot so that I can develop my talents and so that people can get an idea of what I can do. I also need to figure out how to let people know about me. Marketing is such a huge endeavor. I feel like it is such a huge world that I do not yet understand, I am not even sure I speak the right language.

I do not know what I should focus my painting energy on. Should I be painting the paintings I am currently most inspired by or should I be working on paintings that might appeal to certain audiences? Should I be spending my time on visiting potential galleries, and entering shows or do I need to keep on painting an d improving before I am ready?

Will I ever actually be a professional artist?

First Day of Ballet

I think I am done with this painting except for the background. I think that the light blue pulls my eye away from her face. I ahve painted and repainted the background so many times. When will I have it right?