New Addition.

Meet Nicole. She's 9 years old. We got her from a rescue center. She's a very sweet cat.

Painting Class, Week 7.

Week 7 of my portrait painting class... painted from a live model... Taysia (oil on canvas, 9x12")....

I used a Zorn palette (titanium white, yellow ochre, cadmium red light, and ivory black) and spent a long time on the drawing stage. My instructor, Lucas, helped me design the nose and lips better.

Portrait Painting Class, Week 6.

Week 6 of my portrait painting class... painted from a live model... Rob (oil on canvas, 9x12")....

So that you get an idea of what my head block-in stage looks like, I took a picture during class (I apologize for the quality -- I used my camera phone). Starting with a toned canvas (cadmium red light and ivory black), I drew the lines in transparent maroon thinned with mineral spirits. I usually spend the first 20 to 40 minutes of class trying to get it right. If you don't get this stage correct, it makes for a very long class. To borrow from a popular in-class idiom: You can't polish a turd. And to paraphrase from Richard Schmid's teachings: 90% of all painting problems are actually drawing problems in disguise. Point being -- the drawing part is important.

For the painting part, my instructor, Meadow, helped on the background and painting the nearest cheek and part of the forehead. Including the drawing, all the rest is me. As I paint, I'll correct some of the (hopefully) minor drawing problems, so you'll notice some changes between the original block-in and finished painting.

Portrait Painting Class, Week 5.

From week 5 of my painting class... painted from a live model... Nicole (oil on canvas, 9x12")....

Using a brush and transparent maroon paint thinned with turpentine, I began by drawing the portrait and doing a rough two value layout. I was relatively pleased with how the drawing turned out (I wish I had a photo of it). My instructor, Meadow, painted the lower left part of the face (cheek to the bridge of the nose). It is amazing to see the subtleties she brings to the portrait. All the rest is me.

Does An Artist Paint In The Woods?

Brown Bear (Oil on Masonite, 12x9"). Playing around with some different concepts... namely trying to paint loosely while still respecting shape, value, and edge. I worked from a black and white photo I took at the San Diego Zoo.