Squarely underway

I have begun two paintings for an upcoming show at the Vienna Arts Center. The show requires the use of 10x10 canvases, and will be hung on February 3rd. I thought it would be an interesting challenge to paint something small and specifically for a show.

I have only worked on the background of this one and need to let it dry before I can proceed to the boy.

I painted over most of this canvas already but will have multiple layers to get it to its final state.

I picked both of these to showcase my figural work depicting children. And they are both so sweet.

 

I also worked on the layout for two other new paintings today and updated my website some more. It has been a busy day.

 

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Tidepool

 

In art class today I worked on "Hogan on Guitar", "Suzanne at the beach" and started "Tide pool"
This is my first painting on linen, so far I have not noticed any differences. I scrubbed a neutral ground of burnt sienna and then used a paper towel to remove some of the color from the highlight area. I also started laying in some shadows.

I contacted the Pastor of my church to see if he would like me to do a painting of Pope Francis for the church. He looked at the blog and said that he liked my work and would be interested! I am excited by the prospect that my art will be hung up at church for thousands to see. And by donating it I can use some of my talents for God. Tithe can be Money, Time and Talents.
I have a meeting on Friday to discuss size and any other desires he has for the painting.
I already received permission from a photographer to use his images of the pope.

Getting back on Track

I am working on finally getting back on track after a busy month of house rearranging, Christmas preparations and many wonderful guests. I now have a studio room from which to work and some attempt is made to keep kids from invading that space with limited success. I guess I should be flattered that my children always want to be in whatever room I am in, but it would be nice if they could play on their own sometimes. Everyday I look forward to nap time when I have a chance to pull out paints and get to work.

"Babes on the Beach" went to its new home with grandma as a Christmas present.

 I have been working on some color boards to have some color mixing recipes. Yesterday I completed cobalt blue and Grumbacher red.

"Shades" is apparently a controversial painting in the family.  I love the painting because it shows so much attitude and character but it is generally considered unflattering by the family, So I have begun another painting of my Mother-in-law that will hopefully show how beautiful she really is and be a better representation of her personality.

I need to make a canvas run soon so that I can begin several other paintings I have in mind.  My dear husband gave me a gift card to support my hobby and I am looking forward to using it soon.

Babes in progress

 I continued to work on "Babes in a Tide Pool" this evening. It is quite a challenge to paint fabric with flowers and plaid on it but it is working some and will need more development to come.

The back ground was fun to paint and very loose. I was grooving to classic rock on Pandora and my paint brush was going to town. I was amazed at how much paint it took to cover the whole thing. I put more paint out about 4 times each time thinking that that should be enough. I love having so much wet paint on the canvas right now. It just feels so great to add paint when everything is still wet and blends so beautifully and fluidly. This is exactly the feeling that made me love oil paints in the first place. It is nice to be able to look at the pictures of the work because it helps me get a perspective of what really is starting to work from a distance. I think that his clothes and her pants are looking very nice and also the shadows in the tide pool. Still work to do on her face and all skin and hair. Also with blending edges and all of the reflected light.

I have oil paints purchased when I was about eight years old that I am still using, and brushes that were bought well before I was born. Both my mother and my grandmother dabbled in some painting so those supplies were passed down to me. It is so amazing how long supplies can last.

I love the connection that I have to my grandmother when I use her brushes. I was in my early teens when she died after years of Alzheimer's. She never seemed to connect with me probably because I was so young when she was still herself. She was more strict than my other grandmother and we had conflicts over food. I was rather picky and it would become a big deal. There was a certain jello and fruit cocktail salad that she would serve on a bed of prickly lettuce, that I could not stand and it made an appearance at seemingly every dinner.

I like to think that my grandmother would be proud of me now and we would connect over the brushes we have both used and the art we have made with them.