Lazy Days

Lazy Days
11 x 14   Oils on canvas panel

I saw this photo as I was scrolling through websites using "Next Blog" button in the Blogger navigation bar. I had a memory lapse and didn't document the name of the blog. I will remove this post if whomever owns this photo wants it removed.


Of course I made some changes from the origianal photo and I DO want to "fix" (what's new?) some things. But, it's basically done.

Young lady with sunglasses

$100.00 plus shipping.

If interested, contact me at ken.barclay@yahoo.com

Young lady with sunglasses  12 x 16  Oils on canvas panel

I know, I know, I know! I said in the last post that I wasn't going to make more paintings with people's faces! yah yah yah.

 :-)

Well I had made this painting BEFORE I had made the painting of the DC-3 airplane painting.

I don't know if this is anybody in real life. If it is, I hope that they like it.  If they don't and they let me know then I'll remove this post.

I've been doing people wearing sunglasses for a while and I think that it's fun.  AND I don't have to paint their eyes! hooray! :-) Not really, though.

Lady in Yellow scarf 2

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If interested, contact me at ken.barclay@yahoo.com

Lady in Yellow scarf 2   9x12  Oils on masonite

I posted this once before (I thought) in February 2009. Now I can't find it!  It seems that some of my posts and pictures have been seen so often that they've worn out!  :-)  NOT!

This is the other attempt to make this painting. The other is posted separately.

Being a person of the male gender, I understand that the fabric on this lady's head is probably not called a "scarf", but . . . .  Scheeeesh!

Lady in Yellow scarf 1

$75.00 plus shipping

If interested, contact me at ken.barclay@yahoo.com

Lady in Yellow scarf 1   9x12  Oils on masonite

I posted this once before (I thought) in February 2009. Now I can't find it!  It seems that some of my posts and pictures have been seen so often that they've worn out!  :-)  NOT!

This is one of two attempts to make this painting. The other is posted separately.

Being a person of the male gender, I understand that the fabric on this lady's head is probably not called a "scarf", but . . . .  Scheeeesh!

The Invisible Diner

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If interested, contact me at ken.barclay@yahoo.com

The Invisible Diner  16x20  Oils on canvas panel

I don't know the story about this lady. But most of us choose not to "see" the homeless people and pass them by without looking at them or even acknowledging that they are there.

This lady has a lot of baggage  (physical and psychological) to carry with her. And don't we all?  I've heard that most Americans are one or two paychecks (if they're lucky enough to have a job!) away from living on the street or in their car.

Maybe we could spend less on fighting and more on feeding . . . . . ?  Who knows?

France - Menton - Creole Beauties - update

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 France - Menton - Creole Beauties - update

I initially posted this as a "work in progress" (sort of) with two other Creole dancers on August 20th.

The first painting is the "improved" version. I added the flowers to her head scarf. I also added some of her beads that are in her costume. I DO HAVE MORE WORK TO DO! :-(

I haven't captured the spirit and enthusiasm of this young woman. That's really elusive for me.  One small, tiny brush stroke can change an eye from happy to not happy.  (GREAT BIG SIGH!)  :-)

I hope that Jilly (Menton Daily Photo) will bear with me while I putz around.

The Prayer

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The Prayer  16x20  Oils on canvas panel

Why does anybody say prayers? They speak to their god hoping for good things.  

This young lady might be the wife of a husband in the armed forces who is in a dangerous place. Maybe her young child is terribly ill. Or, maybe she's just thankful that none of these are the reason.

She appears quiet, calm and collected in this her time of peaceful contemplation.

A little information about the artsy part of this. All of the darks are mixtures of red & green with (maybe) some Prussian Blue Or Van Dyke Brown added.  No black paint tree was harmed in the making of this painting.  :-)

Please excuse the glare - this is the best of many, many photos!

Serenity

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Serenity  8x12  Oils on canvas panel

This is another painting inspired by Jilly Bennet's blog Menton Daily Photo.  If you have not visited her blog click on the link and browse some really interesting photos and commentary!

I was impressed with the profile photo the calm, serene expression on this nun's face.  I think it would be a great gift to be able to know her.

The Rose

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The Rose  9x12  Oils on masonite panel

The Pro Flowers web site tells us: "White roses represent innocence and purity and are traditionally associated with marriages and new beginnings. The white rose is also a symbol of honor and reverence, and white rose arrangements are often used as an expression of remembrance. 

OK, so what does this white rose mean to the lady?  From her expression it might be one of an arrangement sent to her by her new found male "friend".  Or it might be that she's in her garden enjoying the scent of a fresh rose.

For me, this is a subdued painting - not a lot of color. I did put a red hair band in her hair just to ease my angst.

France - Menton - Creole Beauties

Creole Beauty 1
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France - Menton - Creole Beauties  9x12  Oils on masonite panel

Sorry about the photographs. :-(  

Thanks to Jell Bennett's blog Menton Daily Photo for taking such wonderful photographs and giving me permission to use the photos to make paintings.

I apologize that I can't find the posting in Jilly's blog of this young lady. Dang! 

 Part of the Creole Du Cap posts are here.

 The paint is still wet on these and I'll continue working on them when the paint dries.

Creole Beauty 2
 $75.00 plus shipping

Creole Beauty 3
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Flamenco in Menton France

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Flamenco in Menton, France  15x24  Oils on masonite panel

From a photo posted by Jill Bennett on her blog Mento Daily Photo. The lady in Jill's photo is Isabel Cortes who is leading a class in the annual Gorbio, Frnace, Flamenco Festival. I did NOT attempt to capture Mme Cortes' image, but used her form as a basis to begin.

My painting is not yet complete, but I am posting it anyway! :-)  Sorry for the glare in this photo my camera looks for these glare spots! :-(

The panel is half of a larger painting 24x30 that needed to be "downsized".  The luxury of using masonite panels is that I can make the size smaller by sawing off a section.

Market Flower Vendor

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Market Flower Vendor  11x14  Oils on masonite panel

Another "EH!" photo from my naughty camera. ANYWAYYYYY. . . . 

This is from a photo I had in my computer files. I've long forgotten where it came from or when I downloaded it.  I do know (I think) that this was photographed in Seattle's Pike Place Market. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!  :-)

The original photo had much more floral detail in the background which, in my humble opinion, took away from the lady graciously making an arrangement for her customer.

Flamenco Dancer In Red

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Flamenco Dancer In Red  14.5 x 24  Oils on panel

This is the best photo so far and I've taken MANY. Amazing, isn't it? :-)

I can't seem to get the focus in focus and the glare unglared in the same photo. This photo has been tweaked very much with Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 and it still isn't a good representation of the painting.  Enough whining, right?

I did some flamenco dancers a few months ago then this weekend I was browsing my photo files for an idea for a painting and came upon this figure who in the reference photo is one of several dancers on a stage. I think that the painting looks fine and I'll try to make a better photo from time to time. Until then I've started on one of two paintings of grain silos. Yup, grain silos. Go figure!  :-)

BTW, I make my "panels" using a Masonite panel on a wooden frame which is then covered with cotton canvas. This panel and one other were left over from cutting "standard" panel sizes from a sheet of masonite thus the wierd width of fourteen and a half inches.

Young Woman Smoking

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Young Woman Smoking  11x14  Oils on canvas panel

This was painting came from a photo in Jill Bennet's blog Menton Daily Photo.  I think that I will like this painting better after I make a few, small changes/modifications.

I'll continue trying to make a decent photo of this painting - until then . . . .  sigh.

The Cookout

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The Cookout  16x20  Oils on canvas panel

From a photograph from the blog of Jemal Kasradze

"Georgia - Between Caucasus and Black Sea" (http://jemalkasradze.blogspot.com/2010/06/witchcraft.html)  Mr. Kasradze makes really wonderful photos that are posted by Irina Rekhviashvili who (no surprise) is a very talented artist! See her work at http://irinapictures.blogspot.com/

I think that I'm happy with my painting but I'll probably "need" to fix something later! :-)

Menton France - Creole Mass #1

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Menton France - Creole Mass 1  12x16  Oils on canvas panel

Another painting inspired by Jilly's Menton Daily Photo blog pages!

Jilly has this knack for making photographs that are interesting, colorful and show Menton, Frnace in such a wonderful light.  The people and are so colorful that I could make paintings from her photos without end.

I'll call this painting done although I may return to it to "play" with those beads around her neck! :-)  Fiddling, fiddling - leave it alone, already!

Menton France - Creole Dancer 1

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Creole Dancer 1   12x16  Oil on canvas panel

Inspiration for this painting came from Jilly's Menton Daily Photo blog. Jilly's blog contains page after page after page of wonderful and colorful photographs. Beautifully done and with informative descriptions and interesting "smaller" photos.

I have a bit more to do with this Creole dancer then I'll put it in a frame and call it DONE!

 April 21, 2010 - Image update.


I wanted to put more shadow on the right side of the lady's face - I'm not sure that it worked.  dang!

Theme Day: Changes

Theme Day: Changes  12x16  Oils on canvas panel.

It's funny how "we" find wonderful photos to give us inspiration to make a painting. A blogger friend made a watercolor painting from a photo image on the blog built by "Jilly" where I found the photo for this painting. The website is Menton Daily Photo and contains beautiful images and descriptions of the subjects in and in the area of Menton, France.  The subject photograph blog post for this painting is Theme Day: Changes.

I could probably touch up this painting here & there, but NAH! I'm going to leave it alone, relax & enjoy Jilly's blog posts from Menton, France.  This is probably as close to being in France as I'll ever get!

Woman Outside in summer

Woman Outside In Summer  20x25  Oils on canvas panel

Image update 3/31/2010.

I have some work to do, but thought that I'd post the painting anyway!  I need to let the paint dry then I'll put in shadows and do some glazes.

Overall, though I'm not totally unhappy with what I've done so far.

3/31/2010 - Wednesday afternoon.  Although I had done all that I am going to do with this painting, I made a new photo just this afternoon for this update. 

4/7/2010 - couldn't help myself - I had to "fix" some things.  NOW it's finished!

I'm not sure that the title of this painting makes sense, even to me.  There she sits wearing a sweater, a blanket over the back of her chair and a jacket on the other chair.  Maybe it's early Spring?

An Artist In Venice Italy

An Artist In Venice Italy   16x20   Oil on canvas panel

I have a good start, I believe. This much was done in about four or five hours. I need to let the paint set up a bit then work on the arttist, building details and especially the water.

This is from a photo but for the life of me I don't know where it came from - aside from the internet.

 February 27th - Ready to call this "done". I'll put this painting aside then look at it in a few days. the figure to the far left bothers me.