Portrait Swap

pastel on kitty wallis paper

12 in. x 16 in.

This was the painting I did for Karin Jurick's year end challenge on her different strokes from different strokes blog. The participants have about three weeks to paint a portrait from a photo of another artist. This year 180 artists participated. It was fun doing the painting and then seeing all the other paintings on her blog. I have enjoyed following her blog and participating in the challenges when I have time.

Owl Moon Series

Owl Moon Series I
pastel

Owl Moon Series II
pastel

Wild Birds Unlimited, a store selling bird feeders, bird seed, etc. had a showing of a few owls. Among the three were a Great Horned Owl, a Barred Owl, and a Screech Owl. I took many photos but only a few were good enough to use for reference. I hope to do a few more paintings in addition to the two displayed here. What interesting animals they are!

Another portrait commission completed

Karen and Ava

oil

Father and Son commission completed

After another week of drying, this portrait will be ready for a final coat of varnish.

Portrait commission almost completed

Father and Son portrait commission
oil

This is a portrait in oil that I am very near completing. Some of my thoughts on what still needs to be accomplished are as follows; I need to soften some of the lines and edges in the faces. The blue shirts still need some more definition in the folds and the NY emblems need to be "cleaned up" along the edges. The background probably will not change much. I will also work a bit more on the father's beard and mustache. I am fairly happy with the skin tones at this point. I will post the completed portrait.

Three subissions, click on image for larger view

Poppy Trio
oil

Sherri
pastel

Tuesday's Model
pastel

These are three submissions I have entered for the Atlanta Artists Center's National Show. Notice of accepted artwork will be in July.

A Companion of Diana

This is the result of taking part in Karin Jurik's blog Different Strokes by Different Folks. This weeks challenge was a photo of the sculpture "A Companion of Diana" by Jean Louis Lemoyne. It is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. It has been a while since I have done a drawing with just charcoal and white pastel. I enjoyed doing it.

Family portrait completed

Family portrait

completed

The painting has not changed very much since I last posted. I gave the smaller dog a leg or two and softened some hard edges. I also lightened the shadow areas on the faces. It will now have to dry and then a coat of varnish will be applied.

Close to completion

Family Portrait, wip
Phase 6

So, the time is winding down, not too much more to go. Among the final things to do are to give the small dog some evidence of a leg or two. Make some adjustments to the leaves and background, and possibly soften some edges on the figures. The next post will probably be the completed painting.

Family portrait update

Family portrait, wip
phase 5

At this stage I have worked on all three faces and the bigger dogs face. I also am in the process of doing more with the background. I will be putting more leaves in front of the big tree and also breaking up the left side with more leaves. However, I have to wait now for the paint to dry. I am thinking this is about 80% complete.

Family Portrait update

Family Portrait, wip
Phase 4

At this point I have worked on all three faces. I am fairly pleased with Ronnie (the mother) and the father Jeff. I have reworked Trevor's face a couple times and I still am not pleased with the results...start over again??hmmm. I also have a different reference photo for the bigger dog so his face has changed, however it is not yet complete. I am happy with how the little dog looks, maybe just a couple "tweeks" on him and he will be complete. Slowly but surely...getting there. One thing that always seems to be a problem is photographing oil paintings and not having the "glare". The best results come when taking the picture outside on an overcast day with no strong shadows. This was not an option as it was night when I was ready to take the picture. You can click on the photo to get the bigger image.

Family Portrait update and another painting challenge

Different strokes from different folks
painting challenge
oil

Family Portrait
phase 3

I was able to put in a few hours on the portrait wip and also had some fun with a painting challenge put on by Karin Jurick, an artist here in Atlanta. She posts a photo every two weeks and those that want to create a painting/drawing from it have two weeks to finish and send her the image. As for the family portrait, I have yet to get back to the faces, I spent most of my painting time on the clothes and dogs which still are not 100% complete. This is how a wip goes...a little at a time, things start to get more and more refined.

Family portrait commission
phase 2

This stage of the painting is after about 6 to 8 hours of painting. I decided to work on the background which is getting close to completion. The big tree will have to be simplified more and I am trying to find the right colors for the lights and darks. I plan to put some of the big leaves in front of the tree like what is seen in the photo. I think in doing so it will break up the strong heavy shape of the tree. After the background is complete I plan to work on the dogs. Then will come the reworking of the faces, upon which most of my painting hours will be spent. Also, I guess it's important to note that in this digital image the colors are not exact. No matter how many shots I take at different settings getting the true color is pretty much impossible. If you click on the picture you should be able to see a larger version, then click to return.

Family portrait commission
reference photo

Family portrait commission
phase 1
alkyd oil paint on canvas
24 x 30 inches

For the past couple weeks I have been working on a family portrait commission. It will be taking up most of my painting time, so I thought to post it as a work in progress. I regret that I did not take a photo of the drawing on the canvas. I felt I did a fairly good job capturing the likeness of all three. However, it happens quite often that once you start putting paint to the drawing you can sometimes lose the likeness and have to work at getting it back. I imagine I will be reworking the faces quite a few times. I do know I am not alone in this process in making more than one attempt to "get it right". There will be many changes made to this painting in the weeks to come. I originally had the big tree behind in the background but it looked so obtrusive, so I wiped it out. Because this photo was taken on the family's property the tree is probably important to have in the painting so the big tree will be going back in.

bi - weekly challenge

Victorian Cats
Oil
8 x 10 inches

I happened upon an artist's blog that has a bi-weekly challenge. The artist is Karin Jurick and the challenge is called Different Strokes For Different Folks. This week's challenge was a photograph of a Victorian House. I painted fairly close to what the photo looked like, but added the two cats. I normally do not care to paint houses and buildings so this was definitely a challenge for me.

Tuesdays at the Atlanta Artist's Center

Micki, close-up
WIP (work in progress)

Micki
WIP
pastel and charcoal

As I stated in my last post, every Tuesday I go to the Atlanta Artist's Center to paint from a model. Today we had Micki. I took a few photographs at the end of the session which I will use to complete the painting. I have several unfinished paintings of many models...maybe one day I'll return to them. Micki is one that I hope to complete soon and maybe enter into a show.

One Hour

One Gala Affair
daily painting
pastel, 10 x 7 in.

I managed to put in one hour of painting time Saturday night and this is the result. Tuesday mornings are always fun for me as I get to go to the sketch group at the Atlanta Artist's Center. We have a model from 10:00 to 1:30, I cherish this time being able to draw from life. All those that attend pay 8.00 for the model, you can't beat that.

No Excuses

Two Roses, daily painting

pastel

11 x 7 in.

I did this painting last night. I almost abandoned doing it. I started coming up with excuses such as; I'll have to get out my pastels, I'm tired after a busy day cleaning teeth, (I am a Dental Hygienist), it's already 9:00 p.m., I still have to take the dog for a walk. Well, I took the dog for a walk which rejuvenated me a bit and then spent an hour creating this painting. I am tempted to go back and work more on it because I don't feel it looks finished, but then it wouldn't be a daily painting, would it? So I will leave it as is.

Making more time for art

Shana
pastel
14 x 17 in.

Shell Seekers
pastel
20 x 10 in.

I am in hopes that starting this blog will help me to make more time for art. I have started following some blogs of artists whose work I admire. These artists are good at creating art on what seems to be a daily basis, which I would like to do. If not every day than maybe at least 5 days out of 7. I try to enter some paintings in the shows we have at the Atlanta Artists Center once a month. I have been fortunate to have had several paintings accepted into the shows over the past few years. Just recently I had two accepted into the "Winner's Circle" Show that runs through the month of January. One received Honorable Mention. So my first paintings I will post will be the two that were accepted. The portrait of Shana received the honorable mention.