Ballerina #33

Ballerina #33 / oil on canvas panel / 30 x15

Ballerina #33 in all her glory. This is the largest figurative piece I have done yet at 30 by 15 inches. I have done larger equine paintings but this is my first human of this size. And all that flesh was daunting! I have a new found respect for Lucien Freud since painting her. Small photos of larger paintings tend to diminish showing the vigor of brushwork and texture of the paint so I decided to add a few close ups for your scrutiny.

Ballerina #33 / close up 1

Ballerina #33 / close up 2

Study for Ballerina #33 / oil on paper / 25 x 15

And a quick study on brown paper done as a warm up before attempting her.

Back to the Drawing Board

Daryann / ebony graphite and white conte on grey paper / 24x18

After having a rather rough week of painting, I decided to leave the oils at home and take only drawing materials to the Wednesday portrait session. It might be that I am low on motivation. I have been painting up a storm recently but now I think that a break may be in order to refuel and refresh my creative energies. Perhaps returning to a medium that I have not tried in a while might be just the thing. To be honest, I did enjoy myself immensely and felt freer with the pencil than I have lately felt with my brushes. The model had a lovely tilt to her chin and her face was washed perfectly by the light. I am happy with the top drawing - it was the first time I tried out Strathmore gray toned paper and liked it very much. The paper has a nice tooth and it accepted white highlighting with Conte in a subtle and pleasing way.

I am less pleased with the second drawing, which was done after the model had been posing for over 2 hours - perhaps by then she did begin to look tired and not quite as happy with posing for us after all!

Daryann in Profile / 17 x 14 / graphite on white paper

This is one partially completed figure from a piece I began earlier this week and ended up wiping off - it is one of many canvases that ended up in the recycle pile. Oh well, as so truthfully stated one fine day by Picasso "“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun”.  And so, keeping those words in mind, I am off to my easel to try again!

Yo Ho! A Pirates Life for Me!

Sam the Pirate / oil on canvas / 16x12

I must say Sam is the nicest Pirate I have ever met! He arrived ready for action with his wonderful hat and multiple props including a saber and musket, but relaxed into this wonderful pose for us. As he modeled, Sam told us that several years ago he was involved in an auto accident that resulted in an inability to open his left eye. He had to wear an eye patch for a while and apparently had to field a lot of questions about whether or not he was a real pirate. So he decided to become one! Sam belongs to several historical clubs that research pirate lore and facts and he is very well versed in the subject. He loves doing pirate reenactments and playing the pirate for children's functions!He was a serious and authentic model and he was a joy to paint!

More Progress and a New Life Session!

I am taking my time on this big figurative piece. Generally, I am a fairly rapid painter preferring to complete a painting in one or two sessions. This one is demanding a slower approach and I still have a long way to go.

Happily, I found an on going life drawing studio at Nevada Fine Arts sponsored by the Reno Portrait Society! I am very excited and will attend as often as possible. The group meets mostly every Wednesday morning with a live model for portraiture in any medium desired. I went yesterday to check it out and found it was well attended with 7 or 8 other artists and a very interesting model. Roger, who works at the Reno Food Co-op posed for us but I have a suspicion that he is really Genghis Khan pretending in these modern times to be Roger! Any way, here are my two graphite sketches on newsprint. Each one is a little larger than life size - about 17 x 14.

Workshop Efforts

You may have wondered why there are 3 separate pieces of one painting - I wanted to post the life figure painting I did today in my evening class but did not want to put the nudity warning on my blog as I rarely post nude paintings. I was pleased with this one and wanted to post it - I wonder if it was worthwhile editing it like this - lol! The painting took about 3 hours and is 18 x 24 linen board. The instructor, Alison Harris, had to assure me that the model really was green in the shadow areas and once I allowed myself to see that, I did okay. The pose was difficult as she faced me fairly directly but I do believe that I caught the way her weight was balanced on her left hand and arm - if you could see the whole painting you might agree with me! The other pieces are pencil drawings of our previous model Ron - each one about 25 minutes. I am thoroughly enjoying this workshop and am sorry that it will be over next week - it zipped by so quickly.