How to paint eyes?

How to paint eyes? Well, what do I know. But funny how our art 'eye' sees things differently give it a day or two off. This was my class demo from CAI last week which I wasn't that keen on when I did it. But today, after a refreshing weekend, I think I caught something in the model's/eye mood that day. She wasn't having the best day and was reflective about life. I knew that.

They say the eyes 'have it', are the windows to the soul. For me, during this painting session all I can say is that I paid a lot of attention to the left eye but said nothing in the right one. I also let a lot of EDGES go, something my students have the hardest 'linear' time with around the eyes. I had fun with the colors in said focused eye, losing edges and pushing brushwork.

A bore says it all, don't you think? Hope I wasn't that...

Work in progress...

I am enjoying working " inside out " on this painting, 18 x 24, trying to finish an area before I move on. Also enjoying working on the hot yellow ground. Come back to see it finished.

Think Pink...Face of Ventura Project

This is a very special young teenager, Olivia Simonson, whose story really touched me. I know her mother, who passed away from breast cancer, would be so proud of her and I was thinking that when I painted her from life, in a single sitting, for my non-profit Face of Ventura Project running in The Ventura Breeze newspaper in CA. http://www.venturabreeze.com/ Thanks to Sheldon Brown, publisher, for his continued support of this project.

You get what you get when you paint from life with its distractions. There is talking, well, of course, breaks for coffee, lunch, restroom, aspirins or whatever. Each sitting has a life of its' own.

But I felt a real connection to Olivia hearing her talk about her mom and how she is now trying to raise money for the PINK RIBBON cause by climbing the world's highest mountain. As a proud mother myself of two young ladies, I found this eloquent role model inspiring. You don't get that connection painting from a photo in quite the same way.

FACE of VENTURA Project

A privilege to paint another sitter for my Face of Ventura Project running in The Ventura Breeze. Each sitter painted from life in a single sitting, each with their own unique story.