Self Portrait

Me, 18" x 24",  Pencil and Carcoal  (#9)

I am taking a drawing class and this is our first assignment
that I am sharing with you. 

It was very interesting and it was good to take a break

from painting and just having a pencil and an eraser.
I think overall it turned out pretty well. This was
my second try and this looks much more like me
than the first one.  I like the way the hair is, I am holding
up my medium long locks in the back.  I like the angle of the face,
and while I blended a lot, I think I did pretty well creating
a 3-dimensional portrait but room for improvement.
I also like the mouth and nose, I had a challenge lining them up.

My biggest challenge was representing the subtle value
 gradations.  On the cheek part, there were these light portions
but three different lights.A pink light, a grey light, a yellowish
light.  How to represent with just pencil?

Things I want to improve: The variety of my line work,
especially around the edges.  Also to losen up a bit. 

When drawing a portrait, I tend to get really tight and that is not

my intuitive style, so I am fighting the whole time between my style
and accuracy.  Finally, the quality of my hash marks. 

 I am a blender, and the artist that I tried to model

for this Ingres is not.  He creates and builds up dark values
with layering hatch marks.

It did not seem that he blended a lot.  It seemed that he took care
of the subtle variations by extending the hash marks and paid
attention to where the second layer should go etc. 

If you google Ingres >Drawings, you can see for yourself his style.
I also liked the way he would build up one part,
usually the face and keep other parts

usually the body and background just line work. 
He is pretty awesome and I believe you can tell he is a
master draftsman in his paintings.

I am going to give myself a challenge and believe me it will
be a challenge.  I am going to try to do another self portrait
without blending. 
You can join me if you want.  I will post the results
if it comes out halfway decent.

Thanks for reading.  Trish

Where's the Stack?

Here are three pictures in reverse order from my process of painting
Where's the Stack? 6 x 6 Oil on gessobord. (#8)
1)  Finished Oil painting.

2)  Acrylic underpainting.

3)  Ink sketch.



This was challenging for me because I like to paint curvy things

and there were many straight lines on this little binder clip. 

This is one of my mementos from Carol's workshop.   It helps hold

in the little 6 x 6 canvas panels in place. 

Sweet Muse

Copper , 6 x 6,  Oil on Gessobord (#7)

Again, values and shades.  I had fun with this one.

I think it really captures his sweet and sometimes naughty soul.


(I didn't mean to post until Wednesday, Oh well...)

Vase Sketch

Sketchy Vase 8 x 8, Watercolor Paper, Oil Wash and Charcoal (#6)

I love this round little vase. 

 I got this when I went to Gatlinburg, TN thinking I

would like drawing it and I do.

This was a quick sketch with paint and charcoal.

All I have time for today ;)

For my friends who keep saying my paintings look like

watercolors, this is for you!

Copper Too

Copper Too, 6 x 6, Gessobord, Oil  (#5)

This is a close up of my cat Copper as he sits in

the kitchen on the cushioned seat.  Since we found

him, he has liked this location to relax. 

Curtain 2

Curtain2

11 x 14

3/4" canvas

Oil

Ok, another curtain.  This is a muslin off-white section of my curtains. 

I bought these from Country Curtains online and just love the long ruffles.

I was interested in the changes in value and shade. 

I tried to be patient when mixing my colors and just apply

what I saw.  I had an elated feeling about halfway through

that this technique was actually producing the curtain!

Keeping at it,  (#4)

Trish

(see detail below)

Moo...

This is a cow from my photograph!  We (Scott and I) stopped on the side of the road in

Union Star Kentucky to take this photo.

It is a bit monochromatic and was done in the spirit of a "study".  

The one below is full color.

I am a little surprised how it turned out. 

Both are 6 x 6, gessobord, oil.

That is 2 so far for January....yes I am keeping track.  I need a goal!!

later, Trish

Copper

This is a pastel on Wallis paper (8.5 x 11) nfs.

I am taking care of my cat Copper upon his return after being gone a few weeks.
He is doing well so far.  Eating, meowing, lightly purring and sleeping. 
He has lost some weight but his spirits are high.
I did this of him over the Summer.

Two Vases

Just a little 5 x 5 oil painting on ampersand gessoboard to start my day.
I have been mixing colors with a palette knife the past two days. 
This is half palette half brush.
Hope everyone is recovering from the sugar rush of Christmas cookies.
I still have some to work through, have even froze some.  Mom has been giving
couple care packages the last few Christmases filled with lots of goodies. 
This time she went to the new Trader Joe's in Louisville.

Carol Marine workshop

At the beginning of the workshop, we went around the room stating our name and our history with art.
We also began musing about what we wanted to get out of the workshop.

I said that I wanted to paint more consistently and I wanted to know more about the layers that go into a painting.  So here is the plan.  Get 20 good paintings done.  This will help with both.  I will be checking in from time to time with my progress.  Happy painting!  Trish

The image above is a monochromatic value study from the workshop that I thought turned out well.  Burnt umber is cool...actually it's a little warm but that's another topic.