Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Blue, and the Heartland Artist Exhibition


Am I the only one who enjoys all these little changes? I am having too much fun with this one.

Also, I wanted to mention that two paintings have been juried into the Heartland Artist Exhibition in Merriam. I will post an invitation to the opening reception later in February.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Blue, Continued


Continuing to work on this little 10" x 8" oval. It's quite pleasant to paint, my hope is that it will also be pleasant to look at.

Restricted

24" x 30" oil on oil primed linen

I'm calling this painting done! It's been an interesting journey with this painting... after some deviations from my original plans, this painting transformed into something more sensual, maybe erotic, than I expected.


Thursday, January 25, 2007

Corset Nearly Finished


Really, I didn't realize just how naughty this painting would become once I included the hint of the bare bottom! Regardless, this painting is nearly complete. Just a few more details, and some smoothing of a few transitions, then the signature will go on.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Blue Hush


I just started this one last night. 10" x 8" oil on an oval canvas. I am really, really fond of unnaturally colored hair. Wish I owned more wigs!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Big Background Change


I wasn't digging the other background. This is much nicer. Still plenty of work to be done; I've been so focused on finding the right background that I haven't gotten to focus on other areas as much as I want.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Mini-Fellowship Award

Last week, I found out that I will be the recipient of a Mini-Fellowship Award in Visual Arts from the Kansas Arts Commission for 2007. An awards ceremony will take place on March 7th in Topeka, KS.

Needless to say, I am ecstatic.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Background on Corset Painting


I finally painted all the way to the edges on this. There are still parts that I haven't gone over the first coat on, though, including the back between and under the corset, the hair, and a part on the right arm. So long as I remain pretty much satisfied with the background, I should now get to focus on those areas, and on details, which I plan to have a lot of in this painting. There will be details in the lace edging and brocade of the corset, there will be silver eyelets and the cord that laces the corset, and I really want to get into describing the surface of the skin and hair.

I seem to go in cycles where I want to loosen-up with my brushwork and forgo too much detail, and then the pendulum swings in the other direction and I want to go back to including more detail. Yet, no matter how much I feel I am pushing my boundaries, the work is always within a certain spectrum that is 'mine.' It makes me wonder how much of my work is of my deliberate choosing, and how much of it is just inherent to me and cannot be changed.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Starting the Corset


Well, I guess I've become a frequent blogger! Last night I realized that I'd accidentally moved the left shoulder, so I put it back in the correct place. I also started working on the corset itself.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

My Students


Here I would like to share some work done by some students of mine! I have been working with mom Amy, and brothers Parker and Spencer for over a year, giving a lesson two times per month, with breaks in the summer. We've covered mostly drawing concepts, this year starting on some color theory and beginning paint mixing. I still throw in drawing exercises regularly, as I feel this is the most important aspect in learning to see, and the last one in particular showed how much they've learned. They even seemed to really enjoy these exercises!

All of these are copies of Bargue plates, which were designed to train artists and are even used at the New York Academy of Art. The drawing way above is a copy by Amy, and you can see where she uses outside measurements (the box) to ensure she draws the copy at the correct size. The box also helps in seeing negative shapes.



The above two images are eye copies by Parker, age 10. Parker really seemed to enjoy drawing these eyes best, and even challenged himself to draw a single eye more than once, trying each time to improve over the previous attempt. I was really quite impressed with how diligently he worked on these!



The final two images here were done by Spencer, age 8. Again, you can see how effectively he used the box to copy the image of the ear at the correct size and shape, and how surprisingly well he was able to translate the shapes of the eye drawings onto his own paper. Working with the boys is refreshing as I am constantly able to review these fundamentals with myself, and I am often taken aback when they go so far beyond what I expect!

Corset Painting: More Flesh


I've done another pass on the back above the corset, and started making my way down the arms. By the time I got to the right arm and hand, I was a bit tired, so it remains more general. Soon I will begin adjusting the background and putting in details in the hair and corset. Fun!

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Corset Painting: Back


I've only worked on the back area pictured above, so I figured there was no sense in redundantly posting the whole painting again and just posted a crop. There are some transitions that are too harsh, and still so many shifts and such to put in, but I am on my way.

I had a second Christmas yesterday: a few thoughtful family members gave me gift certificates to Dick Blick, and, after much consideration, I put in my order over last weekend. It's always exciting when new materials come in. Among the goodies are some small panels and canvases for more still lives and a couple 'miniature' heads, larger canvases and a large panel, new paint brushes, Ugly Dog Brush Soap, and some new tubes of paint. I'll be set for a while now!
(Thanks Shannon, Mom and Mimi!)

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Figure with Corset: Beginning


This is the beginning of a new oil painting on a 24" x 30" oil primed linen canvas. I am trying to use some of what I learned in the dead color paintings here, and am filling in colors quickly with an approximate hue and value, before bogging myself down with details and subtle shifts. The approach is proving enjoyable, yet I can't wait to add in all those nuances!

You can see here, however, one of my main frustrations that result from my lack of a proper studio: I can't paint all the way to the edge of the canvas right away. I always need to leave a dry spot where I can grab the painting and relocate it nightly.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Summer Updated


I've been working right along on this drawing. It's been a bit difficult to photograph, but when it is finished I will see if I can do better with my scanner. Feeling I am mostly done with the figure, I will start to put in some background elements, though I don't feel that I will bring everything up to the same finish as the figure. I just don't have that kind of patience with a pencil.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Little Clementines For Sale

I went back and made a couple of changes to the clementines painting; just the background and shadows. Following is a close-up that shows the color of the clementines much more accurately. The painting is now up for sale, as are most paintings and drawings featured on this blog. Click here to purchase the painting for $100.


Monday, January 01, 2007

Summer


It's a little difficult to think of summer when it's smack in the middle of winter, but I really want to continue on with my series of the four seasons. In this series, I use classical, ideal proportions for the figures. This is to give them an other-worldly feel, because they are not real people, but representations of ideas.

To work out the proportions ahead of time, I create a detailed drawing which I then use as a reference for the painting. This is after day two of drawing, still much to do. The figure is 16" tall; 8 heads in height.

Happy New Year

To all my friends and family, and anyone else who happens by this blog; Have a joyful and prosperous New Year.