Week 15 - Charcoal drawing

Finally! I'm back on canvas! Did the charcoal drawing using the earlier drawings and the reference photos. The client is considering adding some detail to the left side with the saddle horn (which changed, as did the bolo tie). I'll get those in later. Canvas is 16"x 20". I am looking for someone with a camel hair jacket to model a bit as the photos I have are in different light and direction. So far, no luck finding one in town.

Recovering the Sanity

Ok, maybe I was too honest in my last post. It was a crisis of confidence and a bit of self pity and now I'm fine. The client rejection wasn't so much a rejection as wanting some changes. And the other stuff is working out fine.
So, the life of an over-sensitive painter....ups and downs.
This week, I will start working on the canvas. I will continue with teaching my classes. And I will work on taking my time to react so that I don't get all panicky.

Rejection

I've decided to be honest. This is a blog to explore the process of being mentored in portraiture, as well as the journey of being a painter of people. So it should track some of the personal stuff, too.

I fear rejection. And I am being rejected. On a number of fronts. A number of art related rejections, including the sketches sent to the client. No details, yet. And it doesn't sound like a complete rejection, but a rejection none the less. Some of the others are complete and there are some personal rejections going on in my life, too.

I don't deal with criticism well. Not a completely new discovery, but becoming more and more apparent. Even when I agree! Or maybe even more when I agree with the criticism. I know it is useful in making me a better painter and a better person. But I feel it right in my gut. And isn't it interesting how we can hear 3 good things and brush them off, but we'll listen to the 1 negative comment and take it personally.

There has been enough criticism and down right rejection lately to make me consider tossing in the brushes, but I am bull-headed and stubborn. And I've put too much into this to give up now. I will try to realize that this period is just a bump in the road...ok a very deep pothole. But still...

Ah, how we torture ourselves!

Week 13 - Starting on another piece

This commission came during the November ArtWalk celebration here in Alpine. I've already posted a couple of drawings done from the client sitting for me. Now I've done a couple of drawings from reference photos as well as a poster study. The horizontal compostion didn't work, so the vertical compostion is what I will be basing the painting on. I finished that drawing yesterday and have done the poster study today.