Poolside (in progress)

I am going to be applying to get in a show in November. I would like to show this piece if I get in and can get this finished in time. So this painting has become my top priority in the studio. I am very pleased with today's work on the umbrella. I love how the umbrella is made with such simple strokes, yet the whole shape is understood. The paint feels "light". I don't really know a better word to describe it. Sometimes the paint can feel (look) thick and heavy, but I usually don't want it to. The umbrella is just perfect- not heavy, not muddy, but crisp and light. Now, I just have to get the rest of the painting to match.

Amy (in progress)

The face will continue to look creepy until the final layers, until all the colors mix and all the features are finished. But despite the eerie look of the eye, I am pleased with the progress. It is a little slow and tedious sometimes. Just that side of the face took hours. I am happy with it though. I do need to work on getting more color variety in my shirt but I probably won't get to that until after I finish this layer of the face.

Amy (in progress)

You may have noticed that I have been working around the face in this painting as well as in the one of Mark. The face is the trickiest part. Progress will go a lot slower now, but I am excited. The face is really the most interesting and exciting aspect of the painting.

Windows (in progress)

I am getting very close to considering this piece a failure, something to learn from and move on. I am not happy with the way it is turning out and even with the way I intended it to go. I am not very satisfied with the composition of the piece, which I feel is a little boring. The painting is very flat. I think this will be a lesson to me to plan out my pieces more carefully in the future.

Windows (in progress)

My goal is to have this painting finished by the end of the week. As of right now, there is a long way to go before I am satisfied with it.

Amy (in progress)

Fountain II

Finished!

Fountain II - The Courtyard
14 x 18
Purchase

Amy (in progress)

As I mentioned previously, I was going to do a self-portrait to go along with the portrait of Mark I am working on. Well, I decided to start that this week. This is actually after the second day of working on it.

Mark (in progress)

Mark (in progress)

I finished the second layer of the background. This layer is, I think, the most important in terms of shape. The third layer will be mostly detail and depth.
I love watching the shapes emerge row by row.

Fountain II (in progress)

Almost done!

Fountain II (in progress)

I am getting close to finishing this painting. There are a few finishing details and touch-ups. But I should be done by the end of the week. The painting has been a challenge, but I am satisfied with how it is going to turn out.

Windows (in progress)

I changed tactics on the flower section of this painting. I am now working from left to right instead of color by color. The first two inches justified this change. They look so much better. There is depth and variety. I am much happier with this painting's future now.

Mark (in progress)

I finally finished the whole 1st layer. It looks like a censored image but will gradually become more clear as I add layers.

Mark (in progress)

I had just finished painting the bottom three rows of skin tones when I realized that somehow I had lost a row. My image I was working from had 17 rows but my painting only has 16. This would not have been a big issue if I hadn't been using the top and bottom as reference points to locate the correct squares. Fortunately there wasn't an issue with composition so I was able to just crop a row off the bottom of my image, but it did make me panic for a while. I had to repaint a few squares to make the adjustment, but now I have the same dimensions as my reference image. Other than that relatively foolish mishap, I am excited about the progress of this painting. I only have three more rows of the bottom layer, then on to round 2- when the shapes really begin to come out.

Mark (In progress)

I apologize for the picture appearing warped. The canvas is not stretched and so you are actually seeing the curves and warps of the surface. These should go away when I do stretch it.
I am really excited as the shapes are beginning to emerge.

Mark (in progress)

I am working on a portrait of Mark after the style of Chuck Close. I did a self-portrait patterned after his work a few years ago and really liked it. I've had a few failures in my attempts since then. This attempt I am actually trying in oil paints instead of paper or acrylics. So far the drying time has been a noticeable difference. But I feel more comfortable with the colors and techniques using oil. So hopefully this one works better than the other attempts.
I will need to be really patient. My self-portrait took 4 months. I rushed my other attempts and that was a real detriment to their success. So I am going to try to not rush this one.

Fountain II (In Progress)