Week 12 - Finished Commission work to go with the earlier companion pieces.

Michael is the brother of two sisters I painted 10 years ago! My work has really changed since then, so this was a challenge; to make this piece compatible with the others and yet keeping the quality higher. Both of the others were done in this size, in a vignette style with a yellow ochre under painting and blue-ish, green-ish background. This doesn't match exactly, but is similar enough to work.

Week 11 - Color boost

Yesterday, a friend brought me a tiny bouquet of pansies and itty bitty roses. I was smitten! Put aside the commission I was working on and dove right into the rich colors of the flowers. So this is a bit of a poster study. Mostly it was fun for me to sample some of the pure tones instead of subtle nuances.

And how wonderful to have this lovely "gift" of fresh flowers at Christmas!

Week 11 - Done and sent

Watercolor portrait. First one since really working on portraiture and had a very tough time with it. Gee, I'd forgotten that watercolor and oil are sooooo different! Worked from client photos of grandchildren. It has now been photographed, packed and mailed! Now it is on to the next project!

Week 10 - Trying to re-set the pace

Alot has happened since the last post, though not so much progress. Got stalled on the watercolor and oil sketch. Expect to be re-energized after this weekend!

We went to Dallas to deliver the landscape to my client's home. I was so honored by the reception; they'd changed their lighting for the piece and we all celebrated with a lovely dinner.
That same evening, I spent some time doing another quick sketch of my client in preparation for the portrait. No hat and a bit more relaxed this time. The next step is to do a drawing that incorporates elements from photos, drawings and background info.
Important notes: when asked how he'd describe himself, he said "Teacher, Rancher & Grandfather". I will keep those words in mind as I work on the painting.

Week 8 - No visible progress...however

Nothing to show at the moment. A lot of behind the scenes work is going on, though.

I am working on a watercolor portrait commission. A double portrait of two teens. The grandchildren of a very good friend who is giving it to the kids' parents. I'm struggling a bit because it is watercolor and I've been working mostly with oil or drawing lately. Also, the reference photos were taken with a flash and that creates different challenges. Hopefully, I'll get it finished by the end of this week.

Late last week I got an email from a past customer who would like a portrait of one of their children to go with two others (2 other children) they have from years ago. I will be starting on that one very soon!

The commissioned piece of the gentleman from Dallas is in the planning process. I have photos and the sketch to work from. Plus the client is sending photos of some different clothing and backgrounds. And we are heading there next week and I'll get more photos and sketches done. The stretcher bars have arrived and I'll be stretching the canvas soon.

Received an email yesterday from someone who is very interested in commissioning a portrait. So we've started the discussion; what would she like as far as medium, size, background, clothing. As Jennifer (my mentor) says, who is the audience? Is this for professional use? Or a family piece? etc. So this potential client will be thinking about these things and we'll work toward scheduling the work. (yippee!!!)

Got a call yesterday (a busy day) from the Odessa Art Association. They would like me to jury/judge their main show next spring!

So, tho I don't really feel like I'm doing anything differently, it really seems like the energy from the mentoring relationship is fruitful. Wow!

Photos will be forthcoming! But not today.

Day 39 - New Project

This weekend, during Alpine's ArtWalk, a gentleman came by the studio looking for a landscape painting of the Big Bend National Park. I have only one. He and his wife (via phone and email) decided they wanted to buy the piece. Yippee!!!!
What I didn't expect was that he would also want to commission a portrait! Double Yippee!! And he would be available for some sketching and photos. Yippee again! All of this was Friday and Saturday.
So today, he came back through Alpine and we spent a couple of hours discussing the commission, the delivery of the landscape painting, taking some more photos and working on a sketch. He is now returning to Dallas and we will see them in December.

Some notes; this is perfect timing, especially with the mentoring relationship building. Jennifer has been discussing the photo shoots and using multiple photos for the portrait. We've gone through some of my photos, discussing light, composition, expression and eye direction. We've also talked about portrait sizing: some standards for a head and shoulders is 16 x 20 and 20 x 24. These sizes allow for more space around the head and in the background.
I enjoyed taking a the time today with the sketch. Tho it was only about an hour or so, it allowed me to get to know the client a bit more, finding out what is important to him and a little bit of his background. These help with chosing the expression and lighting. The process of doing the sketch has also helped with getting an idea of some of the proportions and characteristics.
Now, I will finish up some of my other projects, order the stretcher bars for 16x20, work with some of the photos I've taken and do some sketches from them. In December, I will get to photograph the client in his chosen clothing, as well as take some reference pictures of his home/ranch that might be used for the background. Phew...an exciting weekend!

Simple Lemons

Enjoying a bit of painterly process. Not sure if it will remain a totally separate technique or something that will meld. For now it is an exercise and I'm having fun with it.

Day 25 - A bit of playing around

I set up this still life and started with a very strange, very smooth panel. (Speedball Gessoed Art Panel). It was like painting on "Yupo" or mylar. So I needed to pile the paint on a bit thicker than usual. And after a while I was playing with some effects. I realized later that the perspective seems a bit weird and flattened. Even later, I realized that I'd had the wrong contact in my left eye and I wasn't using it. I know, any excuse.

I'm actually kind of fond of the piece. Another aspect of my multiple personalities.

Day 24 - It is the Process, Right?

Part of this process is self-discovery and exposure. So here goes. I'm setting myself up. I have proposed a project and it has been accepted with enthusiasm! Yippee!

Now I'm going to have to do it! Oh No! I will reveal the details as we go foreward, but for now I will only say that it entails a number of quick portraits from life. Quick?

They will be in 3 - 4 hour sessions with a sitter. So I knew I needed practice. I've been working on long detailed pieces so this "quick" sketch is going to be a challenge.

Sunday, I decided to get going on the practice and was able to convince my favorite model (husband) Wayne to sit for a bit.

I love the process! I love painting! But I am often disappointed in the results. But because I have made the committment to tracking this whole thing, it means the bad with the good.

Hope it gets better.

Day 23 - End of the tunnel

Well, I haven't been able to get the model back in for one reason or another. But I knew what I wanted to do. And this is a good exercise for me, too. So. I tried to perk up the lights and get a little bit of life and sparkle in. Softened some of the dark areas. Unified the colors of the shirt. Added the necklace and fluffed the hair a bit. Today, I am satisfied. I may sign it! Will probably need a better photograph of it, but here you are!

Day 22 - Just an Onion

Day 20 - More "daily" work

Ok, a silly little piece (6"x6") but I was in the mood! It is crisp and fall-like outside, so I gathered a branch and a small pumpkin that was a gift from a friend. This is really working as far as making me want to paint everything that is around me. I did do most of this in one afternoon....yesterday. But I needed to touch it up a bit today.

Jennifer and I had talked about enjoying painting fabric. I do! But I haven't worked on it much lately. At least not until these small pieces. It is really good practice for portrait work. I think my next small work will not have fabric (I set it up today), but I'll get back to it again.

Day 18 - Assignment

Well, it really looks like I'm not going to be able to do a painting a day. To get it to the point I prefer, it is taking about 3 days of painting for a "quick" still life.

So about the mentoring; Jennifer and I spoke on Friday. A wonderful chatty call with lots of info and updates. She is working on a portrait commission and it is giving us a good chance to talk about the process. At this stage she has taken photos and is building a composition from her references. This is something I've done to a very small scale. And there we have my assignment! I must find a model willing to let me take a number of photos for a full portrait/figure. For fun, I'll probably try a number of different outfits and backgrounds and lighting. Part of this exercise is looking at lighting, too, so I'll do some inside and outside.

Of course, the most willing "model" is my husband, Wayne. Might even get him in a tux for the shot.

I've loosely set my goals:

Build a "winning" body of work for portfolio and competition.

Have a professional quality portfolio useable for galleries, portrait brokers and potential clients.

A sub-goal, which is a part of the above, is to work on incorporating an environment in the paintings. A background/story/location. I like vague backgrounds and fabrics, but I haven't really explored anything else. So this is a good opportunity for that.

Day 14 - Baring my Soul

Well, I've counted the days wrong. It won't make too much of a difference later, as it is a year long process.

Tues and Wed were spent out of town. I wanted to attend a fundraiser dinner that had an art auction of donated pieces. Some of the art was tremendous, some pieces were standard prints. The bidding was not related on art quality. Frustrating.

Today, I started a still life and realized that the flower would not last into tomorrow. So here is the rough piece.

I'm also realizing that this could get embarrassing, posting unfinished works. Hope the ego can stand it!

Day Twelve - The gallery side of art

Today, no painting. There is a business side to art that must be addressed. My artwork is showing at a cooperative gallery in Alpine and all of the participating artists must work 2 days a month. These are 8 hour days, but it is a peaceful environment. We get a number of customers and it is a pleasure talking to them. I am pretty good at talking about the work, even my own. But I find it very hard to say "my name is...., please come and see what I've done".
I do have brochures and business cards out, so they help. And the director of the gallery has made us some very professional name tags.

Part of the mentoring process is goal setting. And I think I'm going to have to set some real goals about promotion and networking. We are fairly well connected in this area, but with a population of about 6,000, there aren't a lot of portrait commission potentials. So the goal must entail reaching a larger area.

Day Eleven - Not a still life a day

Ok, I realize that this still life a day isn't going to work the way I'd planned. This one took 3 different painting sessions. But at least I'm trying to do some work each day. I am having a tough time finding the compromise between finely worked detail and/or sketchiness.

Day Nine - Worked on Portrait Background

Had the pleasure of my model back in the studio, so worked on forms in the face and eyes.

After the model left, I decided to take the plunge and change the background. It has been bothering me...too harsh and battleship gray. So I made a choice and have softened the color and the forms in the back. I like it better (at least today).

Day Seven - Some good strong coffee needed

I started an oil "sketch" of the Turkish coffee pot, torn between a simple poster study/color study and a full fledged painting. It is now in the early stages and I hope to get finer details and more true lighting tomorrow. Back to my old contact lens for the moment and that helps some.

For the mentoring process, I now need to come up with a couple of concrete goals for the next 9 months. Tough to limit them, but I need to focus.

Day Six - All about subtle changes

I've worked on yesterday's still life, changing the fabric and some shadows, reshaping the mouth of the vase and boosting the highlights.

Day Five - Got the paints out

Made some subtle changes to "Jan". Didn't get any model time, but there were some tonalities I needed to smooth out, etc.

So I decided to take some painting time for a still life today. I have the tremedous luck of having an antique store next door where I can "borrow" my still life objects. What fun! 5"x 8"

Day Four - Frustration

Still enthusiastic! But as we all know, there are days where drawing from life is more frustrating than others. This was one of those days. Set up the straw hat and thought the shape would be interesting and challenging. Sure was right about that. I'll have to try it again some other time. I'm also adjusting to a new prescription for my contact lens and it is totally throwing off my close vision. (sounds like a good excuse for a less than ideal drawing session...that and crummy pencils)

Day Three - weekend work

Following the thought that everything is interesting and worthy of being in a still life, I took some time to draw the mess on my kitchen counter. Living in an RV forces you to live simply and clutter is a no-no. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen...it just can't stay there very long.

Different feel to the piece as it was done on a softer, more textured paper.

Day Two - Daily Tasks

One of the tasks proposed with the mentoring program is to paint a still life each day. I am going to take the term "paint" a bit loosely and try to at least do a drawing a day. This should help with my time management issues as well as keeping my skills up.

This is a fairly quick, and unfinished drawing. Just graphite on paper.

Jennifer sent some photos of her work in progress as well as a piece she finished recently. Beautiful and contextual. (that word just came out of the blue, but I'm using it to mean that the figure/portraits are set in real locations. Giving them a sense of time and space.)

I have a commission that I need to get started on in the next week or so. Although it is a watercolor piece, it will be a perfect opportunity to work on the "contextuality". Ha!

It is a portrait of a brother and sister and I am working from the customer's photos. More soon.

Photo of "Jan" Portrait

18"x18" oil on linen

Day One - Phone Meeting

Today, I spoke to Jennifer Welty on the phone for the first time. What a pleasure! She will be my mentor for the process. We will be working together for 9 months, setting goals and working towards them. Right now. the plan is to talk on the phone weekly, plus emails regularly throughout the week. Also, we hope to meet at least once during the time.

I have not yet received the packet from the Cecilia Beaux group who coordinated this process, so I imagine some of my expectations will evolve.

I'm setting up this blog as a bit of a journal, tho rather public, of the process and my progress.

Today, I'll post a photo of the portrait I have been working on for the last couple of months. I still see about 2 weeks of work left in it. The photo is not great, either. But I need to work on the edges, the shape of the eye on the right, the hair, add a gold chain, etc.

One of the projects I've been tasked with is to work on painting a still life a day. We'll see. I'm going to work on something this afternoon. I may work on drawing, or painting. But I will try to post daily (M-F) on the progress.

This is all very exciting and I have caught a bit of Jennifer's enthusiasm! It will be a wonderful journey.