HOW TO PAINT FROM LIFE...What was I thinking?

My latest Face Of Ventura, Jalopy Joe.

So what was I thinking while painting this sitter?

This was a posthumous portrait. I decided, while painting Joe from a photo, that I will not be painting anyone else from photos for my Face of Ventura series being featured in The Ventura Breeze. He will be the exception.

Each sitter, nominated by the town's people for good deeds or of special interest, is painted directly from life in a two to three hour sitting with no touch-ups or tweaking after they leave the studio as I think this defeats the purpose of the project - the direct interaction with the sitter, hearing their life story and revealing the centuries-old art of portrait painting, from life, to them. I have worked hard to build this skill set up over the years and continue to.

It really tests an artist's metal. Some days you are shiny and 'on'. Other days you are dull and 'off'. It also reminds me to DRAW all the time so one is prepared.

Too many portraits are done from photos. You see portfolio after portfolio of them at The Portrait Society of America's annual conference. There is a certain flatness to them oftentimes because of this.

Things change if you finish a portrait from photos after the sitter has left the room. Yes, you will get a more finished art piece and a more exact likeness perhaps, more pleasing to perhaps the sitter and the artist's ego, but you sacrifice a certain ENERGY in my opinion. My series is far from perfect artistically. Sometimes I wince. But each sketch has a very definite life force.

I don't want to mess with that even if it means I have to put my art ego aside which is a little hard sometimes.

Thanks as always to Breeze publisher Sheldon Brown for featuring my series in his paper. My Face of Ventura project would not be the same without it.

How to paint eyes...What was I thinking?

How to paint eyes? Heck, I don't know.

But this is what I was thinking during this two sitting head painting.

FIRST SITTING;

Ah, Rembrandt

Ah, Vermeer

Ah, ain't life great? I am in THE ZONE. (finished the face fast)

SECOND SITTING, some weeks later.

Is it almost tea-time? I need a cookie.

Too early for wine?

Taco stand near?

My hand isn't moving right.

I am not in THE ZONE.

Stick with it. Get it done. I did. Glad.

VEILED

10 x 10"

Oil on linen panel

$500

Shipping $10

How To Paint A Corset...What Was I Thinking?...

How to paint a very large corset 38x48? Well, it is just about the same as everything else.

But this is what I was thinking yesterday as I painted this whopper.

*make it LUSH

*VIBRATE color all around

* remember to keep looking at that John Singer Sargent watercolor book on the studio chair

*he would be so proud of my subject matter

*make the form (dress form?) turn. PUSH light, shadow, halftone.

*can a dress form have cleavage? yes, to guarantee a sale it can

*control the value of the corset so I can put some high key SIZZLE on later

*wish I could wear this. It looks like a size 2.

*why do I love corsets so much and why are people staring through my studio door as I paint this?

*I must be strange? Reader, you don't need to post an answer to this.

BEAUTY IN BLUE

OIL on CANVAS

38x48

$500

Shipping $25

DON'T FORGET VENTURA ART WALK IS THIS WEEKEND. COME VISIT ME, STUDIO 78, BELL ARTS FACTORY, VENTURA, CA.

HERE IS THE LINK FOR ALL THE INFO AND A MAP

http://westsideartwalk.org/

How to paint a portrait?...what was I thinking?

How to do paint a portrait demo? Well, don't ask me.

All I do know is that I had just one short hour to do this one yesterday at my teaching class at The California Art Institute from START TO FINISH, 18 x 24

What was I thinking?

*keep it simple stupid

*Don't mess up as new students watching

*carve out the face like sculpture...think planes

*hang on to the dry blue toned canvas for half tones, no matter what

* Keep it airy - use mid value purple for that

*That long hair is going to be a w-itch to paint in such a short time

*Don't get sloppy

*I must eat a low-carb lunch

* Wish the school would make coffee soon

How to paint glass...what was I thinking...?

How to paint glass? Well, I don't know. But this is what I am thinking as I finish up this still life in my studio today:

SQUINT...get wrinkles while you paint to simplify the shapes

DRAWING...watch those perspective lines. Hmmmm.

VALUES...this is a painting close in values which is harder for the light effect. May need to push those cast shadows more.

EDGES. Do lost and found. Do soft and hard.

BALANCE Do rough paint. Do smooth paint.

Hang on to some of the original panel ground at all costs. (See light part of orange bottle.)

Spray some Chanel in studio to clear the air.

"STILL THE FAVORITE"

10 x 10

oil on panel

$500

Shipping $10

SOLD

WHAT WAS I THINKING...

Here is my latest Face of Ventura - lovely librarian Star Soto.

So WHAT AM I THINKING WHILE I AM PAINTING STAR FOR MY NEW ART PROJECT BEING FEATURED IN THE VENTURA BREEZE EACH EDITION?

This is a public demo.

1. I wish my back wasn't against an open door. I am cold. So is the sitter.

2. I need to get some good color going here with my limited palette. The room's light is not the best and we are near a restroom, even worse. I bring a backdrop fortunately so I can block out that uninspiring view. I hope no-one trips on my light wire. Will I get sued?

3. My sitter comes straight from a day of work. She must be hungry. I need to give her some breaks. A lot of people are eating around us which doesn't help.

4. My drawing had better be 'on'. Star's family show up. Not to mention, the public passing by.

I get a good likeness from early on ! Yes!

5. I need to make good shapes in her hair. Seems important to the 'feel' of Star. This takes me time.

6. That guy talking to me who is telling me 'how amazing' my work is, smells like a five-day old brewery. Take comments with a pinch of salt

7. Remind myself, public demos and locations can be a challenge. Always prepare. Take nothing for granted. Ever.

The Teacups Are Back

I had a lot of interest in a LARGE watercolor sketch I did of teacups last year in my 365 Days of Drawing Challenge to myself.

I could have sold that sketch 10 times over.

I thought it would be interesting to see how the cups would look painted in oil on a very smooth board. So yesterday I re visited them.

MY THOUGHTS;

KEEP CUPS IN GOOD DRAWING

KEEP THE COLORS CLEAN

COLOR RAW IN PLACES

GREYED IN OTHERS

PAINT SMOOTH IN PLACES

ROUGHER IN OTHERS

PUSH COLOR HARMONY

I am curious to see if these cups are as successful.

My Cup Runneth Over

10"x10"

oil on board

$500

shipping $10

SOLD

How to Paint Flowers...FAST

Lunch is served in Mark Twain's garden on my recent visit. Crumbly quiche and crisp salad devoured in a Martha Stewart 'eat your heart out' kinda delish way!

I feel I have done an o.k. job of painting 'Day Lilies' in the garden in the morning.

But I desire to paint a mixed arrangement of flowers in the afternoon, challenged that the flowers grow in seemingly 'same sex' floral garden borders, as glorious as they are!!

WHAT TO DO?

I have my answer. I notice my most gracious gifted artist hostess Susan Durkee http://www.susandurkee.com/ has a vase of combined CUT flowers from her most impressive Mark Twain garden http://www.thelobsterpotstudio.com/ in the kitchen window sill while watching her preen the quiche. I grab the vase, with her permission, and place it on a table outside. Susan even adds a few blue flowers for me, the perfect host that she is.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

SQUINT

MASS THE VALUES

WORK WITH BIG BRUSH

KEEP COLOR CLEAN

WORK FAST WITH A SUN DRENCHED HEART

NO REGRETS - EVEN THE SECOND SLICE OF QUICHE

"Sun Drenched"

6" x 8", framed

$350.00

$10.00 - shipping

Painting in Mark Twain's Garden

Nothing beats painting day lilies in Mark Twain's garden in Connecticut, USA.

What a treat that was. Despite bug bites and sunburn and painting on my knees for about 90 minutes, I squinted my way through the delicate shapes of these day lilies. Wish I had more time with them. And wish I had my camera with me to finish them.

Thank you to Susan, our lovely artist host for a wonderful day.

Day Lily- Mark Twain's Garden

Oil on Panel

8x10"

$500

Shipping $10

How to pack for landscape painting?

I don't know which is more exciting..ME and my new pochade box (hand-made!!) finally ready for our 4 a.m. start for landscaping trip to east coast, or the fact I have made high protein snacks for the journey. YU tell me?

FACE OF VENTURA PROJECT

FACE OF VENTURA PROJECT CONTINUES...

HERE IS THIS WEEK'S SITTER GENE DUNN, a charming retired fireman, THE START OF THE SKETCH AND THE FINISH.

I DON'T USUALLY DO MY SKETCH BLOCK-IN WITH CHARCOAL, preferring to go straight for the brush, BUT I REALLY WANTED TO FOCUS ON MY DRAWING THIS WEEK. CHARCOAL IN MY HAND MAKED ME DO THAT.