I much prefer the less finished pieces. Somehow the more worked over paintings become overworked. When to stop is always a battle...some portion of the piece seems inaccurate or clumsy or just plain wrong...and the next thing I know the painting has lost it's life. We only learn when to stop by repeatedly going on too long.

Posting again

Life is hard. Medical treatments have diminished my energies and I have had to choose what to neglect.....and posting to this blog was something to let go. However, my strength is returning so I have a backlog. My fascination with painting people persists.

Studio vs plien air landscapes

The first 2 are plien air... the 3rd and 4th are studio landscapes. I like painting outdoors and trying to organize a painting surrounded by the great outdoors is a great exercise. Painting in the studio means painting more than you see in the reference photo rather than less. Both are valuable.

Trials of Figure Painting

Painting the figure remains a frustrating obsession. The results so often falls short of the concept.

However as I persevere I see progress. That, and the sheer joy of the process keeps me painting the figure.

Headhunters

I continue to feel fairly competent at painting the human head and I love to do it. However I try to avoid always doing a head as we all need to go where we are uncomfortable in order to develop. Those who cannot resist are sometimes called headhunters!

Catch up time

I have been ill and one of the things I decided to let go was this blog. As a result...no posts for 3 months. Also no paintings varnished or photographed. I am feeling stronger so here's to catching up. These are all done in class with Susan Sarback. Still lifes are not really my thing but I love the change up and I am learning a lot.

Color Still Life Studies

These are color studies done in classes taught by Susan Sarback. She is teaching me to turn masses with color rather than value. After years of using mostly value it seems almost magical to watch a mass become three dimensional using color alone. She set up these studies. It is always fun to be told what to paint and I am learning a lot from Susan. She has taught for many years out of her School of Light and Color.