It's been too long!

I am preparing for a two week holiday on Maui, and plan to do a lot of drawing while there! Lately I have been spending my 20 minutes a day working on my penmanship and journaling, so I did not want to post my private stuff here. But here is a sample of both my writing AND my love of all things kitchen... my English toffee recipe. Others have told me it's like crack so try it and see!

It was a dark day today...

October 3 in Alaska

I love how the colors change daily this time of year!

More Fall Colors

I am having fun just looking at the colors of each day and expressing them through non-objective watercolors. A bit overcast today, see? And I love the purple tree across the street!

Happy Inktober, Everyone!

Niagara Mariott Fallsview from my window

I did this one last week from Niagara Falls. Wow, what a view!

My daughter Aly is my inspiration!

My last post was too long ago...but October is upon us and, like last year, I want to encourage all of you to spend 20 minutes a day creating WHATEVER! After I started this blog last year, I learned of the INKTOBER movement. Look it up! And be inspired! But please, don't be afraid. I will attempt to post here every day in October, no matter how ugly. Ready...set...GO!

I sold some art!

Linda from Terra Bella bought this cute little illustration I rendered of her bistro. I used my plume de becasse and drawing ink and water color. Still my favorite medium(s) right now, but I am trying to push myself right now with oils.

Figure painting with David Pettibone

I decided to take a three hour figure painting class with a wonderful local artist, David Pettibone. The top photo is my painting at the end of the three hour live model class.

We spent one of the three hours mixing the paint, which was a great exercise to see what could be done with only three colors: he requested we mix blue black, white and translucent red oxide.

The next photo is my palette. I did not have blue black so I used Paynes gray and I did not have translucent red oxide, so I used transparent earth orange with a teeny bit of alizarin crimson.

The bottom photo is his palette. Amazing.

I will try to make it to the next two classes in this series in April. And I will keep you all posted!

I completely remixed the paint, changing my palette, and repainted the skin tones. And gave myself a smirk in the process accidentally. Too much highlight on the upper lip...I will change that! I used, on the advise of David Gray's blog, a combination of raw umber and yellow ochre. And I used warm white and venetian red as an alternate to his recommendation of terra rosa, which I could not find. Then I fearlessly laid down some highlights and shadows to see if I like the combinations and used a more painterly effect with more brush strokes and less blending. The light is still not right, but I like the improvement in the flesh tones. As I do this exercise I am being reminded of the Shakespearean quote my mom would tell me...TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE...so while being inspired by other artists, we must remember to be ourselves when we create. There is only one you, after all! Now, go and PAINT SOMETHING!  :  )

I goofed up the skin tones and the contouring, but I added jowls for more realism and a slight smile, as my friends and family aren't used to seeing me so serious...I have to come back to this to fix what I digressed on. The nice thing is, since this project is so experimental for me, I am learning a lot from it. And I have no fear of painting over areas to improve (or NOT) because, after all, it is only PAINT!

I felt like before I proceed, I need to figure out what is going on with my mix for the skin tones, so I did a quick color study. Warm white, aliz crimson, and burnt sienna adds more warmth than burnt umber I think. I need more warmth.

I had only 15 minutes today, but did a bit of oiling in and a bit of hair detail. Gotta go! Have a great day!

Moving right along...more than my 20 minutes a day, but I am trying to make up for my funk the last few months. My 20 minutes a day experiment lasted a full 3 months, and I found my drawing skills were greatly improved by it. Lots yet to do on this portrait, but it is coming along. I decided to leave my face alone today and work on my hat and the background. I've sure got a death grip on my paintbrush, huh? I like how I have given myself a facelift here and taken of a few pounds, too!

Here I am about three hours into my painting. I only get about 30 minutes at a time to paint, and then other things call me away. I am trying to work out the skin tones...each time it gets better, so I won't stop until I am satisfied. The lit areas are getting better, but the shadows are muddy and so I need to warm them up.

Day 1 Oil Self Portrait

I decided to doing something more serious, so I did the under painting of a new portrait. I will keep you posted!

I'm Still Here!

I have a lot of catching up to do! I was a bit down in the dumps during January...I am starting to pull out of it and with the help and encouragement of my friend Amanda, I will begin producing art again soon!  Well, I did a pretty solid 3 months of 20 minutes a day from October through December. That was a huge accomplishment for me! I have been baking and cooking for the last month, and perfecting my merengue recipe...YUMMY!