Ma Cherie

I slapped some paint on this little 12" x 9" panel last night. It is all a slippery mess, but should make a good foundation for the painting.

Mortalitas II Day 6

The challenge at this point, besides trying to follow the laws of perspective with fluid paint and wiggly brushes, is to work at making sure the intricate rugs do not compete with the subject and steal the focus of the painting. They should play a supporting role here. To accomplish this I have had to edit out many of the lighter and brighter colors that are present in the rugs, and reduce the amount of detail and strong geometric patterns that can become distracting.

Mortalitas II Day 5

Can you see a difference? I've just put another layer on and adjusted the legs. I know, not very exciting.

Check this out, though:


I took these pictures yesterday. The sun was low, and there were dark clouds overhead (though it didn't rain like it was supposed to) and so the lighting was interesting. On the other side of the street, the trees are budding with green leaves. What gives?


This is my lone tulip. A few weeks ago, the weather was in the 80's, and then it dropped below freezing for a while. Now it's warm again, and the whole bunch of them are pretty confused, but this one decided to go ahead and bloom.

Mortalitas II Day 3-4

I had a couple non-painting days; Thursday and Friday are my weekends. Went out to lunch with my best girlie-friend, spent some time with my husband and the guys, good times all around. Last night I got back to work, mostly focusing on the far rug.

Mortalitas II: Day 2

I know I haven't been doing a lot of step-by-step posts lately, so I guess I will do it with this one. Since I didn't decide that until now, I neglected to take a picture of the charcoal cartoon. But know that it truly was a cartoon this time; no detailed sketches, no placement of fingers or facial features. It was simply an estimated outline for the composition, with an egg shape for the head and skull, for example. Then I just started massing in the dark values, next some middle values, and finally I put in some local color. Day two I did the same for the clothing.

Starting Mortalitas II

Same theme as Mortalitas. This is a 36" x 24" canvas, one evening's worth of blocking in. So far, so good.

Mortalitas

Mortalitas
oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

Show going up at LCT

Tomorrow morning I will drive out to Lawrence with a car full of paintings. I will set up my work at the Lawrence Community Theatre where it will remain for the month of April. I'll take my little camera with me in my purse, and hopefully have some pictures to share with you!

Also, don't forget to check out 'Cris' at the Overland Park Convention Center. I attended both Dean Mitchell's lecture and the grand opening of the show last week, and both were very well attended.

Meanwhile, the painting with the skull is coming along, I just don't think changes are dramatic enough to post right now. I pretty much nailed the overall look right away with that one, so I am just making adjustments and adding detail. A pretty pleasant job, it is.

New Painting Block-In

Here's my latest start; this is just the first coat of paint. 18" x 24" o/c

Juried Exhibition Opening Reception

Come along if you can!

Grand Opening of the 2007 Juried Art Exhibition
Friday, April 6, 2007
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Overland Park Convention Center
6000 College Blvd, Lower Level

Free admission ~ Wine and hors d'oeuvres served

Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil

Here they are finished; 3 12" x 12" gallery wrapped canvases painted in oil.