Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Unsuspecting
























I loved David Shevlino's workshop and everyone in it! David
is a very generous teacher and all-around nice guy and every
one in the group was so dedicated to improving their work.
My intention was to get looser and more interpretive but
learning to paint figures was a challenge in itself. So while my
looseness level hasn't progressed much, I learned a lot.

His workshop really bounced me out of an obsessive mindset—
I'd been feeling I didn't have a compelling subject and wasn't happy
with the way I "should" be handling paint. Trying to learn from an
artist I admire, all of those thoughts flew out the window and I just
concentrated on painting without judging. Maybe the looseness I
aspire to will just appear on its own?

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Waiting
























I think this is my fifth attempt at trying to paint from this reference
photo. I took a lot of shots of this model (my daughter) in this setting
and want to continue working from them. Painting the figure in a non-
traditional way is really challenging so I signed up for a David Shevlino
workshop hoping some of his looseness and magic will rub off on me!

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Sunday, August 21, 2016

The Artist
























This painting is one I managed to fit in early on in the animal-
painting marathon. I used a black and white reference photo of
the artist Francis Bacon. When I first saw his work in the late
60s, it intrigued me and also repulsed me in a way but I was drawn
to it for its intensity and originality. I've always wished I could be
that bold and push past what seems safe and acceptable. While that
wish doesn't seem to materialize, I enjoyed trying to infuse my
impressions of him onto a portrait.

Still photographing the animals and will post some at some point.
Thanks so much for viewing and for your very nice comments!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Rancho de Taos Church



















Can't believe I haven't posted since April! Time flies. This one
was done in May as an exploration of color, invented, exaggerated color.
I used a reference photo taken by a photographer friend, Peter Szarmach.
His work can be seen at www.composingbeauty.com 

I've been painting a lot—25 5 x 7 animal paintings for my daughter's
wedding. I feel like I've been painting them for months (because I have).

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Facing West
























I've done a lot of paintings recently but haven't wanted to post any
of them. Or show them to anyone. They just didn't look like me or
I didn't recognize anything of me in them. And then it seemed I should
just accept that this is me, this is the way I paint. So I did and slowly,
it dawned on me that it was the paint itself or lack of painterliness
that was bothering me. I was using more and more paint with a
little walnut oil but the paint still seemed brittle and flat when it dried,
not juicy. This is painted over a previous image as an attempt to just
putter. It was fun to drag dark colors into and over lights and not worry
about overshooting edges, just keeping everything soft, finding an edge
if the composition seemed to need it. Most fun I've had in awhile.