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.