Street Scene - Market Day

NOT FOR SALE

Street Scene - Market Day  17x24  Oils on masonite panel

I'm betwixt and between with this one. It's probably very obvious, but I have forgotten where I was going with it! :-)  It made sense to me when I began but I haven't worked on it for several days and . . . . .

Maybe you have a "helpful" suggestion? 

I have almost decided to just paint over it and move on with something else. 

Friends Relaxing in a sidewalk cafe

Friends Relaxing In a Sidewalk Cafe  18x24  Oils on canvas panel

Work in progress - April 7, 2010

This painting came about after looking at many of Jilly's posts in her Menton Daily Photo blog.  This painting is  combination of several of Jilly's photos - four, if you're counting.

This is a first "rough draft"; I have more work to do with the people. The restaurant seems OK now I think.  But the people . . . . .   ?

 Work in progress - April 8, 2010

I made a "few" changes to just about everything; the people, the mirror the doors to  the restaurant blah, blah, blah and blah.  The waiter (wait person?) still seems to be more of a mannequin than a person, though. I am beginning to be pleased with this painting.

I need to have the lady in the red sweater resting her elbow on SOMETHING instead of just hanging in the air!  Dang! 

Another few hours and I'll stop putzing around with this painting.  Enough, already! 


FINISHED - April 11, 2010

Cherry Blossoms - beginning - 36x36 A work in progress

Cherry Blossoms - beginning - 36x36  Oils on canvas

 WORK IN PROGRESS - Day 1 -  3/31/2010

 I've roughed in the areas of sky or leafy background behind the upper part of the cherry tree.  I've also begun the little creek or lake at the bottom.

It's going faster than I thought that it would. I've only done one painting as large as this. I finally remembered that I would do better (maybe) with bigger brushes than the ones I was using.  DUH!


Tomorrow I'll continue making the cherry tree limbs. 


WORK IN PROGRESS - Day 2 - 4/05/2010

Well, it today wasn't "tommorow" as I said it would be. I built fifteen (15) picture frames during the days in between the fist post and this post .  (Cut, glued, nailed, sanded and painted those frames.)

TODAY I "grew" more limbs, branches, blossoms and etc.  I ahve also been fiddling with the area beyond the shore line of the lake and am feeling better about that part.

The blossoms seem to be going well. Sure is a LOT of pinnnnnnnkkkkkkk!  :-)

The grass at the very bottom needs some fertilizer - or something! Maybe some varying grasses heights and colors?

Almost done, though!

Happy WARM Tuesday

Today we had temps in the low 70s F and almost all of the snow is gone!  Hoorah! I was busy making a 36"x36" canvas for my daughter's painting.  I cut up a 2x4 piece of lumber to make the stretchers. The idea is that I'll take the canvas off of the stretchers for mailing when the painting is finished, dry, varnished and etc. Sounds like a good idea - we'll see.

The last of the snow! That's the rain barrel that jumped out and kicked me in the leg for no reason! The barrell with 60 gallons of water frozen solid and it JUMPED and hit me! Amazing!  :-)

Me in the sizzling heat of 73 F making the 36x36 canvas. :-) 

73 is hot when the temperature 2 days ago was freezing and 5+ inches of snow! 

Good grief!  More photos in my Art Studio Blog.  

(I was smiling - the photo just doesn't show it)  Really!

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.

Young Artist - Finished

Young Artist   18x24   Oil on canvas board

I'm trying to have the figure back lighted (back lit?) and it's proving difficult for me.  The photo picks up brush strokes more than I'd like, but . . . 

I still have some work to do - obviously. I thought that I would post this "work in progress" since I hadn't posted anything in quite a while.

After some adjustments. :-)  Feb 20, 2010

Her eye and arm need some work.  duh

After some adjustments. :-)  Feb 24, 2010

I'm calling this one DONE!

Taking A Break - a work in progress

Taking A Break  18x24  Oil on Masonite

A WORK IN (not much) PROGRESS!

I started this a week or two ago then did a "manly thing" and hurt my leg so I couldn't get around for a while.  I'm making this from a photo I took at the Bentonville, AR Public Library Cafe. The lady in the photo is Melissa (my wife) and I'm the chunky blob on the right side.  I'm not EVEN TRYING to make a likeness, just  a reasonable-looking couple relaxing with an espressso.

I've putzed around with this for a couple of days now and it's beginning to shape up, but . . . .

If I were a carpenter I'd use a bigger hammer. Maybe I should use a bigger brush!   :-)  

At The Flea Market

At The Flea Market  18x24  Oil on Masonite

I did a smaller version a few months ago but I wasn't very happy with it.  The jury is still out whether I entirely like this version.  

The "backpack" lady's hand needs some work, I see and those guys on the right aren't quite right.

Gripe gripe gripe!

Silver pot with bowl of fruit

Silver pot with bowl of fruit  12x16  Oil on cavas panel

I originally did this painting in 1994 and I didn't like it much then and I liked it even less in the last few days! :-)   Sooooo, I did a "do-over" and am liking it more now.  I'm not completely satisfied - yet - but . . . .

I'm pretty sure that I'm not done with this one. 

Still Life - work in progress January 6, 2010 UPDATE

The photo of the still life subject on our kitchen table

My sketch on masonite with tinted gesso

WORK IN PROGRESS - 1/2/10 Afternoon.  I have some darks and lights blocked in and I'm beginning to put in color to remind me where things are supposed to be.  The bottom left hasn't been painted - yet. Thats the gesso.

The @#$%^ camera refused to focus for me. I suppose that Mars should be in alignment with some star.

WORK IN PROGRESS - 1/3/10 Morning: I worked on the table cloth and touched up the back ground a bit. Haven't worked on the fruit or the copper pot - yet. The fruit and the copper pot are my afternoon tasks. It snowed last night and is still coming down a little bit. Really dry stuff - can't make a decent snowball so no snowman. Take a look at my studio blog for a couple of photos.

WORK IN PROGRESS - 1/3/10 Afternoon. Almost done? I need to (want to?) "tweak" this a bit.  I think that: a) the bowl needs shading on the left side b) the copper pot needs more "copper" c) the bowl lip (shape) looks goofy and d) the top-most red apple (nearest the pot) has a goofy shape as well. I'm going to leave it alone the rest of today

WORK IN PROGRESS - 1/4/10 Morning. I (think) that I made the copper pot more "coppery", smoothed out the edge of the upper red apple. made the lip of the bowl less "goofy" and touched up here & there. I want to shade the white bowl with a glaze, but I need to let the paint dry another day or two. I tried a glaze this morning & it just "shmeared" everything.  I'm going to call this one "done" after I put some glazing here & there. Time to start on something else.

 WORK IN PROGRESS - 1/6/10 Mid-day..I tried to make the copper pot reflections "stonger" or more pronounced. (Thanks Carolina!)  The highlights are not as bright in this photo as I think that they are in the painting.  I also put a light gray glaze on the left side of the bowl and touched up the highlights on the fruit. I am working on two other paintings, by the way.  I did "move on", sort of. :-)

A Bowl of Fruit with Copper Pot - a still life "work in progress".  The support is 1/8 inch Masonite with tinted gesso.  I'm not sure what the tint color is, I put some left over acrylic paints into the gesso and stirred it up.  Sort of a dirty, dusty rose?

I'm going to try to remember to take photos as I progress with the painting.  I don't do many still life paintings but decided that what I have been doing was getting boring. So, a new year and a new painting outlook.

I seem to have a problem with the blog posting editor - I arrange the photos and text in the "compose" mode but the published post looks different. Go figure.