FAST AND FUN!

I was tired of looking at my own face, so I decided to do something fast and fun today.  I saw a gentleman working on a book of puzzles yesterday.  I stamped "It's a Puzzlement" in gesso onto a large sheet of photo paper, then collaged some crossword puzzle sheets with diluted mat medium.  Drawing with my Pentel brush pen in permanent ink, I sketched him in, then painted with my Hydrus liquid watercolors.  I was disappointed and surprised that the lettering at the top doesn't show up more.   I labeled this in the computer with quotation marks and discovered that I couldn't upload the image if the quotation marks were part of the name.  When I removed them, no problem.  I guess I learn something every day!

STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS!

I only had a few hours to work on the painting today.  It's frustrating when all the other "stuff" of one's life gets in the way of painting all day.  I think if I painted all day, every day, I wouldn't enjoy it so much, but I was wanting to paint longer.  It will probably be Monday before I can get any serious painting in again.

DO OVER!

I appreciated all the positive comments on this piece but I had to follow what my own internal voice was telling me.  Interestingly, I was listening to a book on tape while I was painting this and it was a very dark, suspenseful story by Daphne Du Maurier called "Jamaica Inn".  I think something of the mood of that story invaded this painting!  I will be more thoughtful in my choice of listening material depending on what mood I want to inject.   Anyway, I decided to scrub off as much of the paint as possible and then collage torn tissue paper over the top.  After that layer dried, I attached a turquoise brush pen to a long stick and redrew the image.  By having the pen extended far out this way, I had less control over the drawing and it made for a looser, more interesting line.  I am hoping to paint it in the same, loose style instead of tight and controlled.  

Last night I had the pleasure of being the guest demonstrator for the Livermore and Pleasanton art societies.  There was a nice crowd and a few familiar faces.  Lots of energy and good questions while I worked.  I need to complete the painting, hopefully tomorrow, and then I will post the results.

BLEEDING HEART: FINAL VERSION COMPLETED!

I think this painting is finished.  At least I am finished messing with it.  I was surprised I was able to make some major changes, repositioning the eye on the left significantly.  Gesso is magic stuff!  I have posted the finished painting along with the previously published start to show the difference.  I struggled with the eyes on this one.  I don't think they are perfect but are close enough,  I was able to shorten the nose and change the mouth so that all the features seem to work together in a natural way. I also had to enlarge  the dangling hand and lengthen the finger on the supporting hand.  

I do like how the patterned paper comes through in different areas.  I attempted to have a looser feel to the painting by leaving some of the drips.  Overall, I like this painting.  I was ready to cover it up and totally start over, but the encouragement from many of the comments helped me to work through the problems.  I want the next one to be in a much looser style.  I have it planned in my mind's eye.  It will be fun to see how close I get to my intention.

UPDATES!

I spent the day getting framing supplies and putting together 4 paintings for an exhibition.  I worked on this painting yesterday plus finished my taxes !!!  It always feels so great to have that behind me. 

On another note, I will be doing a demonstration Monday night for the Livermore Art Association and the Pleasanton Art League at their joint meeting at the Almond Ave. School in Livermore.  The meeting starts at 7:30.  Come and join us if you are in the area.  

Now, back to the painting.  Some good things are happening.  I like the color and how the collage papers are working with the image.  I like painting with the watercolor sticks on top of the tissue paper.  The eyes are better than how I originally drew them.  Problems....lots!  Not a good likeness but that isn't that critical.  There is still something wrong with the eyes, the nose is too big.  The real problem is that I cannot draw spontaneously in this large scale with the kind of accuracy I personally require of myself if I am going to paint so realistically.  So, I need to draw the image  on tracing paper and transfer it after I have it correct...OR... I need to draw in a very loose style and paint it in a compatible manner.

I have a difficult time continuing to work on a painting that I don't like.  I will see if I can make some additional corrections.  If not, I will start over.  I think I need a very large roll of cheap paper to do lots of practice drawings on this large scale.  A fun challenge to master!

BLEEDING HEART!

I'm not sure how this one will turn out.  Right now it is a bit saccharine, but it is not nearly finished.  I really missed the correct placement of the eyes and the pen is permanent.  There seems to be a challenge at every turn.  Gesso and repainting should work. If not, then I can work with acrylic for stronger coverage. I have this idea to have the larger hearts bleeding.  I'm so impatient, trying it out in the upper left corner.   I may change my mind after I see how the rest of the painting develops.  

MEET JACOB!

This is the demo I did from the last workshop when we were working on children.  I chose Jacob because he is my cousin's new grandchild.  This beautiful child was adopted from Ethiopia.  I will be able to meet him in person in March.  In the meantime, this will be the baby gift for his parents.  Jacob looks like he is full of joy and personality.  I hope I did him justice.

In the meantime, I have taken all the thoughtful comments on my last post to heart.  I will set the painting aside for awhile.  I'm not sure what I will do with it.  I appreciate everyone sharing their perspective.  Ultimately, it is always the artist that must make the decisions.  It is helpful for me to know what others see in the image I have created.  I did work on creating some new collage papers today for the next painting.  I made some new stamps and a stencil then used them with gesso on white tissue paper.  Tomorrow I will collage them down and get started painting again.

In the middle of everything, I started working on my taxes.  I should have everything together by the end of the week.  Nothing will make me happier.  Then I don't have to think about it for another year!