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Well I am still working on learning some new techniques so not getting a whole lot accomplished.   Seems I have to assimilate it for a while before I can put it onto canvas.  So now I am a little bit frustrated and just want to do something letting it fly without having to think much about it.   So I am going to work on a horse picture today that I have been wanting to do for a while and in my trusty pastels so hope to get something done that makes me feel worthwhile.   Me and Phil Collins are rocking out on Pandora. This little ACEO is another experiment.  I used markers and color pencil on Duralar, which is a synthetic paper, I use the matte finish which is slightly frosty, used a lot in the old days by draftsmen.  The unique thing about this paper is that you can use both sides to add the colors.  Because it is see-through you can put it on colored paper and it changes the color complexion of the painting.    I know people who do beautiful work with color pencil but wanted to

                                                              Waiting for the Dark                                                                        Pastel                                                                        9"x12" Well been in the studying mode so am working slowly on some other pictures while I try to figure "it" out, whatever that means.  So wanted to do something worthwhile so decided to try this beautiful cheetah from Gary Jones, a wonderful wildlife photographer at PMP.  Of course I had to pull out my trusty pastels.  I really like how he is sitting here at sunset as his body slowly turns from color into the darkness.  I am not sure if these guys are as active at night as they are during the day, will have to check that out.    At the Washington DC zoo they have the cheetahs right next to the zebras, would have thought one of them would have gone crazy by this time, but somehow they seem to coexist.  However they have worn a path p

                                                                                                                                                                          Angel                                                                Acrylic                                                                8"x10" Well this is kind of like golf, you practice and think you have it on the range, but when you take it out of the course all bets are off.  Here is my contemporary pic trying to incorporate the underpainting and glazing techniques I worked on with the Vermeers.   This terrific photo reference came from Viacheslav on PMP,  this is his son and all that curly hair was a nightmare.  Not sure that I really got his mouth and eyes quite right either.  May have to go in and try to see if I can correct that so he will sit on the board for a while.  Sometimes it better to just continue on and continue with more portraits hoping to see if I can get more of

Before After This week must be workplace organization because my friend Helen posted pictures of redoing her workspace.  Hers was a much more complete redo than mine, including painting and it turned out just lovely with plenty of space to produce and contemplate.  You can check it out at http://wordweaverart.blogspot.com.  Also take a moment to peruse her blog, her imagination and creativity will inspire you, I promise. I have space, but have a lot of stuff I have acquired over the years.  Currently I have stuffed bookcases, stuffed closet, junk on the floor, frames shelter skelter and it just needs some work.  I just haven't it done very well putting it together as I have used, for years, things we had rather than starting from scratch and building a good system.  I also am not the neatest and like my piles.   Piles are my idea of knowing what's going on in my life.  I know what's in the piles but eventually I have to stop everything, shovel it out and start

               Girl with a Pearl Earring           Girl with a Red Hat                     8"x10"                     Acrylic Well, I am thinking that she is done, she will sit on the easel here for a bit.  I also am thinking of getting a really wide frame for this one to give it more substance.   I can't wait until she is dry so I can varnish - varnish will really make that red pop.  I absolutely love this picture and as I said before it is my favorite at the National Gallery - will get to see her in real life again soon.  I always have to spend some quality time in the Dutch/Flemish gallery with the Old Masters.  Vermeer has been my favorite and after doing the Girl with a Pearl Earring I wanted to do another.  It just has taken a bit to build up my courage.  Of course the absolutely lush reds in this didn't sway me much!!  Adding the red to the hat was the very last thing I did and boy was it ever the icing on the cake - all that color and so vibran

            HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!!! Ok this probably confirms it, I have the attention span of a nat.  I have really had trouble since I came back from a short break getting myself involved into more than one picture.  So am finally glad to see that I can get interested in several, common threads but different looks entirely. Since I have been trying to emulate Vermeer's Girl With a Red Hat and am finding it a bit tedious I decided to take my explorations of verdicchio a bit further.  As you can see I am working on a couple of other reference photos from one of my favorite PMP photographers, the Russian, Vyacheslav.  One is a peeled orange in shadow and the other is his son as an angel.  Just so you can see where I am trying to go I have the original reference photos below. Verdicchio is a form of dead layer/color underpainting.  It is a form of painting in limited colors and going from dark to light and warm to cold.  So I am trying out some different colors to do that