This Little Piggy

This Little Piggy   oil/canvas   12 x 16 x .5

Small children and baby animals are sure-fire subjects for a painting.  Who does't love 'em?  One of the hazards, in my view, is the overly-saccharine quality that can spoil the serious thoughtfulness of a work.  Another, in the case of a pig, is its overall round and fairly uninteresting shape.  I recall here, my first few paintings that included pumpkins and the difficulties I had in the rendering of such large, round shapes.  For me, for my own sense of "correctness", that shape must be broken up in some way.  The outside-in::inside-out principle  must be put to use here.....for me....so that I can feel satisfied upon completion.....the pig likeness and the overall design of the picture plane are both important to me.

Rachel

Rachel   oil/canvas   16 x 12 x .5

is a budding artist in my evening oil class.  Our challenge was to pose for the camera in winter gear....the point was "to look cold".  At that point in February,  we really didn't have to try that hard, I might add.  I printed the photos (in gray scale) at home, laid them face-down on the table, where each artist selected another's portrait to paint. 

I have taken a liking to toning my canvas well ahead of time in a color that complements and supplements the overall palette.  My toned canvas was a turquoise-y blue.  This cool tone was selected in order to counter the warmer flesh tones which would lie on top.  This blue can be seen on the hat, on the face, in the hair and on the shoulder areas.  For me, it adds a bit of excitement, a bit of chaos, to what might become a too-tightly-rendered portrait.  It seems that we all have a more difficult time with "looseness" in a portrait situation, especially when likeness is a goal. 

I hope that Rachel is pleased.....because I am!

Les Pieds

Les Pieds     pastel/mixed   28 x 21

is a work completed as a result of our Tuesday evening sessions of live modeling featuring the young ballet dancers of Ballet Excel Ohio.  I use these sessions as experimentation....as a springboard to hatch new ideas...new forms of visual expression.  The model typically performs a series of limited-time poses before settling into a pose for the rest of the evening.  I used two of these quick poses along with the longer one on one sheet of paper using pastel.

At home, I worked on these three drawings to attempt to create a unified whole...washes of water were added to create softer edges where needed.  Then, using a combination of linoleum blocks, one uncut and one a pre-cut design, to print on top using relief ink.  I used cut pieces of tracing paper on top of the shapes I wished to retain in order to block the printing.  The final pass was spent in trying to merge both the drawing and the printing processes...searching for a bit of balance.

By enunciating the feet and diminishing the facial features, the attention was shifted to the feet.  (hopefully).  I am satisfied.  In fact, I am pleased.