R. Love - Portrait Painting

R. Love   watercolor on Khadi   13 x 9.5

Portrait painting is an incredibly satisfying experience....or not...depending on the delicate balance of oh-so-many factors.

The quest for likeness provides, of course, the drive.  But, for me, especially for me, when likeness takes over, the work can become too finished, too slick, too plastic-y.  
Because expressive stroke-making is so important to me, I have to be willing to forego small details and to be satisfied with a broader description.  Where to stop?  That is the difficult part!

And, because I am searching for something honest rather than perfect, I feel that I must shoot my own very spontaneous reference photos.  

Another factor is the color palette.  I prefer a quite limited palette....a warm brown and an accompanying cool, along with the resultant neutrals when these two are combined.  Value tells the tale.  Rainbowy local colors are too sweet and leave me cold....they also distract from the rawness that I prefer.

In this case, I used Khadi paper.  It is very unforgiving and highly textured.  It holds water easily. Using it required me to move more slowly and carefully.

The hardest thing of all is to paint someone you love.  It can never be perfect enough.

And so, as you can see, this undertaking was a bit of a quest for me.  And it was accomplished by going more slowly and working more deliberately....dividing the work sessions into smaller bits.

I am happy to say that in this case, the result matches my vision.  I am happy....and I love her.

At The Hip

At The Hip   Watercolor   25.5 x 16

 Oh Yes!...a scene that I am very familiar with...dressing up young boys for a formal event...in this case, a wedding.  These young lads...cousins...are ready to attend the wedding of their uncle.  Baseball caps and ties askew are part of the look.

I began with what is a darling photograph, and tried to give it a bit of my own flavor with capitalizing on their joint gesture.  The faces have been underplayed.  The horizontal line of the arms and waistbands of the trousers have been given dominance.  These boys are besties!  Color is kept to a minimum.

I like this work...and it represents much of which I hope to achieve in future paintings.

Establishing a Rhythm

Majorette   oil/canvas   24 x 8 x .5

When I was a young girl, a little girl, I was in awe of Jan, a teenage girl who lived across the street in our little neighborhood of post-war brick cape cod homes in Akron, Ohio.  Jan was a twirler, a majorette, who practiced in her yard....her baton catching the light as it spun around, sometimes high into the sky.  She caught it deftly and continued her routine.  On game days, she emerged from her home in total regalia.  My memory of her costume has faded, but those heavy white leather boots with giant tassels are embedded in my mind. 

My own experience with baton twirling was short-lived.  I guess I just didn't "have it".  It may have been limited coordination, or, perhaps, interest.

This work of a drum majorette was inspired by a vintage photo of my husband's aunt....probably taken in the late 40's. 

Figurative work is my favorite.  For me, it has evolved into a sublimation of the facial features along with the placement of several focal points, established by choice, to lead the eye around the entire figure and its posture.  The regimentation of the twirler is reflected in her posed stance.  Discipline.

And the....there are those boots.

Some time ago, another astute artist picked up on my method at a local critique.  He was quick to point out the use of the multiple focal points.  We seem to love and to need a focal area in the work....why not several?  They actually create their own rhythm.

Heartland ll

Heartland II - Winter Cows (A Sense of Calm Given the Situation)   oil on canvas   16 x 20

This painting represents a long journey and much endurance, much like these local bovines, although robust, must face daily in our severe northeast Ohio winter.  Everything seemed to be an issue....the treeline, too much then too little; the placement of the cows and their relationship, one to the other; and, most importantly, the atmosphere of the snowy field, which I felt would be comprised by using local color.  Each problem was eventually solved to my satisfaction.

The one huge thrill in all of the labor:  the introduction of Gamblin's Cold Was Medium, that was mixed into paint in both the back- and fore-ground.  It produced an impasto effect that was much lighter than using gobs of paint, and even more effective, I think.  Used in a 1/3:2/3 ratio with paint) My first use....terrific!

Ah.....if I had only labored over a sketch.  That would have been time well spent.

Plein Air Painting is not for Sissies

Allium   oil/canvas   14 x 11 x .5

I enjoy my creature comforts.  Painting outdoors requires lots of lugging, much time setting up and taking down, as well as repeated interruptions.  The interruptions are well-intended and kind (why, I couldn't draw a stick figure!  X 12 times/day), but interruptions nonetheless. Staying hydrated is a problem due to lack of restroom facilities, which would require a packing up all over again.   And all of that green....green....green...I am happiest when I can pair organic shapes with geometric, so I often try to include a bit of the man-made along with the wide varieties of plantings.  This is, after all, an event that is in cooperation with the home and garden tour.  Most of the attendees have vast knowledge of plants.  My focus in this work is the planting of allium which are large airy spherical violet blooms from a plant related to chives and onions.  This was my first painting of the event and, perhaps, the one I am most satisfied with.  It was worked with a limited palette and contains both kinds of shapes.

Allium can be seen at Hudson Fine Art and Framing.

Back to the studio....no bugs....few interruptions....and a glass of water whenever I choose.  O.K., then.  Call me a sissy....I can live with that.