portrait update

I have been working on this portrait all day and will continue until it is done. I am having a lot of fun with it and really want to finish it this week. It is 97 degrees here today and it caught me off guard a bit since I have not checked the weather for days so I had no clue that I wasn't sweating for another reason (don't ask). It seemed very summer-like when I was shepherding the little kids at art group on the playground last night (they had no interest in art or craft and only wanted to climb the chain link fence).

morning garden study - 9x12"

A view of my garden through the side yard.........the yellow irises are blooming and the clematis is at its peak. I figured I had better get painting them or I would be too late.

blue chairs - 9x12"

Plein air group at Donovan Studio this morning and the weather was awesome. Rather than painting the marsh, I was drawn to these chairs. I did manage to do a color study as well so I am pleased that I was able move that quickly and didn't have to wipe anything down.

bus stop - 9" square

Two of my neighbors waiting for the city bus at the corner of Mt. Hope and Bay St. They have no idea that I have painted them!

lettuce - 10" square

The only way to paint lettuce is to leave it in the ground - I have tried with beautiful bunches that I have brought home from farmer's markets but it's nearly impossible. This lettuce happens to be in my window box (the only place the groundhogs don't get it) and was conveniently at eye level. I liked the puzzle piece/abstract quality of the scene.

wash drawing for portrait commission - 18x14"

This is the beginning of a portrait commission which I started yesterday - I will let the drawing dry for a few days before I begin to apply color. This is the second start for this piece. I discarded one I did several months ago because I just wasn't excited about the poses of the kids; too stiff. The client sent me some much better reference material and I am happier with the more natural quality of this one. I will make any changes after this foundation is dry but I am happy with the overall mood and likenesses of the children.

king phillip lunch - 14x11"

I just love this place - I don't think I would actually eat there (very dark and dingy looking inside) but, visually, I find it fascinating. The siding is a vertical grooved metal that I have never seen on an actual building before and can probably be explained by the fact that they share the first floor with an aluminum company that repairs screen doors and the like.

carolyn's house - 11x14"

I know I said I wasn't going to post much this week but this came out pretty well so I thought I would - the Monday plein air group met here this morning. I did get a lot of work done in the garden and it is looking good! I, unfortunately, feel crummy - my back aches and I was so completely stung by nettle that my skin is sore. The damn stuff was stinging through my leather gloves; I have such respect for that plant. I am still concentrating on the garden (it isn't there yet) because if it doesn't get done in May it doesn't get done at all but it is going faster than I thought it would.

king phillip lunch - 14x11 (rough in)

I have just begun this one and will probably not be posting much for the next week. I have decided not to move (long story) so I must deal with the garden during this next week - I suppose the word "staycation" applies here. I will be digging up tons of stinging nettle and wild morning glory, yeah! See you in a week.

city kids - step 2 (12x16)

I am building layers with this one at the moment. One of the biggest challenges is to mix normally warm colors (such as yellow) in cool, distant shades that recede properly and read as real.

lilacs - practice

Just another practice session here - I am hoping for improvement soon!

monday plein air group has begun

Our Monday morning plein air group has begun - it was absolutely freezing and windy this morning! I am still struggling a bit with the outdoors (as you can see) but am beginning to be more comfortable. By the end of last year I never wanted to come inside. I wasn't going to post this but then decided to "go for it."

city kids at dusk - 1st step - 12x16"

I confess to slacking off a bit the last two days - I absolutely had to work in the garden on Friday (very overgrown) and then went out to eat TWICE for Mother's day yesterday! My son took me out to lunch and then the entire family went out for dinner last night. After working in restaurants for much of my young life I never go out to eat on the actual M-day - as waitresses we dreaded this day due to the crowds. So, today, I just painted.

digging - 8" square

It is almost beach time!

kris' marsh - 10x8 - study

This is the first plein air study I have done this year that I have felt like posting. I met my friend Kris at her wonderful studio on the marsh and did two that I didn't wipe off. The place is full of bird life - ospreys, swans and various shore birds - just awesome!

sign of the times - 14x11

The title of this post refers to the abandonment and decay of this typical local business section of my local community. As alway when I post, I see things that need correcting but this is, for the most part, completed.

north tiverton - 14x11 (progress)

I have been doing studies outside but am thinking of them more as practice rather than as completed work. I use the comparison (in my head) of practicing a musical instrument. I am much more interested in composing a scene that might not actually occur in nature but conveys a message about how I see the world. This part of North Tiverton is a strip of blighted buildings - assorted businesses like a tattoo shop, liquor store and convenience stores and many places for sale or for rent. The scent of poverty and disrepair hang over this neighborhood and that is partially what I am trying to convey in this scene - as well as its honesty and beauty. Way too verbal today!