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!

Don't Give Up the Ship Painting

Rachel   oil/canvas   20 x 10 x .5

It is very difficult when to quit a painting. I really do believe in carrying a painting as far as it will take you. I consider that to be a commitment to the work. The result has swung both ways for me. "Rachel" started with promise but was a rocky road to travel. I started with a failed painting that had been covered over with lots of paint and texture. The speed bump that jarred me initially was the placement on the canvas....I worked and reworked the idea. Such a simple beautiful figure that I had done so many times before, and more successfully! I finally reached the point where the drawing was secure and I could be creative with the paint, which is what I live for. Small painting.....hours and hours of work. My New Year's resolution this year is to turn out fewer paintings, but to let none be released that I am not completely satisfied with, at least momentarily. I believe that my work on Rachel was rewarded.