"Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul." Vincent Van Gogh

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Two Starts - Toulouse Lautrec and a Portrait

Sunday's effort - done using an old black and white photo as reference. It's a start and allowed me to tentatively feel my way around the canvas. I am still very unsure and am begining to realize that i will need to paint a lot in order to get back some of my lost confidence. My intent, at the end of October, will be to paint everyday - while working full time I have never been able to do that consistently and it is one of my goals. This weekend I made an effort to consciously paint shape, color and value - trying to keep those things foremost in my mind as I placed paint on the canvas. I plan to try and go back to refine and finish this after it sets up a bit.


Saturdays effort - started a portrait of my mother in law on her 95th birthday. I captured her likeness but was not happy with the progression and ended up wiping it off. It seems like I am going to be doing lots of starts!
 
Also, I am having serious trouble with my Blog - it all started after I undated my email address. It is acting very fickle and at times will no tlet me comment on other blogs or even update this one. I have been unable to find the problem but wil lkeep trying. I still stop by my favorite blog sites and find it so frustrating to be unable to leave a comment. I am trying to get some help with this issue and hope to have it fixed soon.

8 comments:

  1. Awesome color, love the edgework too

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  2. Des couleurs fascinantes... Je pense qu'il ne faut pas que votre liberté soit envahie par un tas de choses en ce qui concerne votre frustration de laisser ou non des commentaires.
    Prenez du temps pour vous, pour vous retrouver, aimer ce que vous faites... et tout viendra en temps voulu. (je ressens parfois un certain complexe de ne pas pouvoir avoir suffisamment le temps de laisser moi aussi des commentaires)
    Gros bisous

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  3. I don’t see any los of confidence in that painting of Lautrec Susan. It shimmers with life, and although it has a period taste to it I also feel we are there. At least I want to be there :)

    Dave

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  4. Thank you so much, David.
    I know you are right, MartinAlison - stress certainly does affect the creative spirit.
    Hi, Dave - so nice to see you here in the blogosphere and so glad you found me! Thanks for your very kind words!

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  5. Oh Susan you are way too hard on yourself! I think you hit the nail on the head when you said it has to do with a lack of confidence. Confidence maybe, but not talent! Relax. Take a deep breath and remind yourself that you can do this! It's like riding a bike. You haven't lost the skills you learned. As soon as you relax, they will all emerge.

    Paint everyday while working full time. Wow you amaze me.

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  6. Susan, your words mean a lot to me - many, many thanks. :)

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Your comments are welcome and brighten my day!