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.

Kim English Workshop

These are small sketches done in oils at the Kim English Workshop at the Arizona Artist's School.

Kim had two models interacting together in public spaces for the entire week. They would hold a

position for 5 to 20 minutes while talking, interacting, and generally pretending not to pose. We each painted about 70 paintings over the five days. It was a great challenge getting organized and painting quickly. One had to decide on the pose and capture it as the models moved thru it.

Wow.... what a workout!!!

Headhunting

Painting heads is an addiction to me. It is what I enjoy the most and it is the work I am happiest with. I think that some much of our thinking power is dedicated to face recognition and analysis that heads are endlessly interesting.