"Window Light"

I've finished my latest drawing, and I'm not as happy with it as I could be. I'm a bit frustrated with the texture of the paper. I don't like the background or the one arm very much. I think the face still needs work, but I like the hair. Anyway I've decided I'm done working with it, because I'm just getting more and more frustrated and it just feels like I'm going around in circles. I think it could be better but it's not horrible. For my next drawing I'm just going to cut off a piece of that white paper from the huge roll I have. I want to work a little larger but it's not going to be much more than 18" x 24" because I'm limited by the size of my drawing board. I think I have a good idea of which reference photo to use (I was trying to decide to between two).

Been Sick

I have been sick lately so my original deadline of Christmas has been blown past, again I'm only a day or two from finishing it's just a matter of staying up late enough to finish it. I'm going to try to just finish the drawing in the next few days. I really want to finish before New Years. For next year I'd like to have about a drawing each month or so. Because if I finish this one I'll have completed ten drawings this year, so next year I'd like to have at least 11.

Getting there

I'm almost done with the face and the hair needs a little more work, but other than that I'm happy with it. I'm having to sit in awkward position in the chair to keep the reference on the monitor, so my foot went painfully numb. Or else I probably would have at least finished that sleeve. I think I lightened the face a little too much when I was trying to smooth it out. I'll just go in and fix that tomorrow, then I'll fix that little piece of hair that bothers me and I think I'll at least try to finish the sleeves and arms if not the whole thing.

Update

I no longer feel that the face is too wide, though right now I'm not too happy with the texture that I have in all the space where I have new work done. I think I just need to spend more time layering white over black because I absolutely hate those blending stumps. So many people swear by them, but I just swear at them. It doesn't work for me. Though right now my usual method is not working. Also right now that chair is looking too dark though I do think the bottom of the face needs more shadow. I think I succeed in making the face not so wide and I tried to take a little off the chin. I think it still needs some work. I'm pretty happy with the hair and I like the contrast with the wall, though I do think it could use a little more white. Maybe I could also emphasize the wood grain more. I mapped out the borders, and it looks like it will be another 8" x 10." I don't think that's so bad. My next drawing is definitely going to be a bit larger though. I have mixed feeling about this paper though. On one hand it doesn't seem to wear out as fast as my sketch book paper, but the texture is causing me a little bit of problems in the face. I figure I'll be able to fix it with a few more layers but it is a pain.

**Looking at it now maybe the angle on the chin is too severe and that's why it looks off.

Another Update

I got a little more work done tonight and also decided how to crop it. I haven't actually drawn out the lines this is just my test from photo shop. It's also helped me compare a little more. The angle on the eye is off, the face is too long overall, that curl needs to come in a bit more because right now the face is too wide, and the hair in front needs to puff out a little more. I think the nose could use some more work. I think if I could pull it off it needs to come back into the face a little more and I need to fix the shading on the cheek some of that highlight is a little too right. I think that's why the nose looks off to me, because it's too far out. If I pull it in more then the angle won't be so severe. And that eye, the top of it is just off. That top lid. It's being such a pain. I'm rather liking the hair though.

Update

There are quite a few things I feel need to fixed, but I am a bit happier with it. I think maybe I'm making the head a little too wide but that is an easy fix. I also need to define the dimensions soon. I seem to have some how drawn the face straighter than it is in the photo, so now I have do decide if I want to crop at an angle. I think the angle makes the photo more interesting but I'm not sure if I want that for the drawing. I'll have to see. I think few parts of the face need to be a bit darker.
Also this is only work from tonight. I fell asleep early last night and didn't get any work done.

New Drawing

I've started a new drawing, obviously another black and white. I'm working on a huge piece of paper, but I'm going to cut it down. I'm using gray paper this time. I didn't want this drawing to be huge, just another small piece but I wanted to work on tinted background. So far I'm pretty happy with the eye I think a few of the angles could be adjusted, and the mouth is looking odd because only half of it is finish. Taking a photo of this was also a pain but the color her is pretty true to life. I'm going to be taking a few reference photos soon based on the ideas I was working on earlier. I was just eager to get back into another drawing so I went ahead and started this. It will be good to work on while I work through a couple of ideas.

New projects

I've sorted through reference photos and come up with some ideas for new drawings. I was originally planning to work on my painting again, but I have just lost all passion and drive toward it. I enjoyed painting it at first but then I just became frustrated with whole thing. I may eventually go back to it or I may end up trashing it one day. For now it will sit. I may try to paint again, though I think I might be better suited to acrylic. Most of all I need to get over all the stigma I feel. Some of it relates to my art classes in high school. I've been feeling that as an artist I should paint, and not only should I paint but I should use oil paint. I felt like it was something I had to strive to, like I couldn't be successful or taken seriously if I didn't. Though maybe in the end my drawings will help me stand out more, and right now that's what I'm going to focus on. I think my next drawing will be black and white, probably charcoal. I have one reference photo that I think would look great on colored paper. I'm also planning to work larger again soon. Though not as large as "Angelic" and "Angel on my Shoulder" because the drawing board I used for that has since fallen apart. I also have a few reference photos lined up for colored pencil work. As always I'm also thinking ahead to other pieces. Not just my "moments of life" work but also looking into some more conceptual ideas, along the lines of "Angelic" and "Angel on my Shoulder."

"Day at the Zoo"

I've finished my drawing. I'm not going to update my site until tomorrow though. I'd like to take a photo in daylight and compare the two. I'll use the photo I like better for my site. I don't mind this photo right now for updating my blog I just don't want to update my site until I take the photo in the day light. I think I really need to stop looking at this though I'm seeing so much I could fix but I think the paper will rip soon if I try to work on it more. Besides I've signed it and for me that means I don't work on it anymore. I like my date that put on it to be correct.

Almost finished

I would have finished tonight but I started to get a bit tired. I think you can already tell in that new part of the board. I got a bit lazy in the leg of the pig (I'm guessing it's a pig), and the grass next to it. I think it's all salvageable as long as I come back to it tomorrow. If I finish this tomorrow I could working on my painting by the end of the week. It would be really nice to finish the painting before New Year. I'm already beating my deadline on this drawing. Really at most I'll be fiddling with this for two more days rather than one. Either way though I only have to finish the bottom half of the painting, really. I do suppose if I get frustrated with it and stick a paint brush through it that will just mean I get to move on to something quicker... hmm maybe if I do that I can call it finished, deem it a sculpture and call it "Artist's Frustration." Really though I do think I'll finish it, seriously then just take a good break from painting.

Drawing Updates

So I think I'm only a few days away from being finished. Tomorrow I'd like to get that board done and maybe fiddle a little with the trees. I do suppose I should probably start thinking of a title. I don't know maybe it will just come to me when I'm done and I turn it vertically.
Honestly I almost posted this on WetCanvas, but right now I don't think I want any hardcore critique. I'm pretty happy with it despite the imperfections that I can see. Besides I don't think they could tell me anything I don't already know. I'm mostly done with the second face, but I think it still needs a bit of tweaking especially around the chin area. I think everything that is tentatively done could maybe use a little more tweaking.

I think after I'm done with this I'll try to finish my painting, but I don't think my passion lies in painting right now. I think only started the painting because I thought, that was the thing to do. I mean artists paint... right? Well I suppose not all of them do, not even all portrait artists. I think I've struggled far less with colored pencil and I think I enjoyed it more. Plus colored pencil gives me the color that I want for some work. I think I just forced my self into painting because I felt like I should be painting. Just like I think with painting I might like acrylic better but I pushed my self into oils because I felt like that's what I should use.

Another Update

I've worked for about an hour. I probably would have worked more but I'm developing a headache and my shoulder is starting to hurt. I'm pretty happy with my progress so far. I'm not so happy with some of the glare on the photo. If all goes well I should be working on my drawing tomorrow. I might be able to get some more work done on that second face or maybe a bit more of the board.

Update

I've had some issues with colored pencils. First I lost one then I tried to replace it only to be sent different pencils than what I ordered. After checking the Prismacolor website I'm almost sure that the pencil I've been looking for might have been discontinued. Still though would be nice if it wasn't listed on the site I ordered from. I have emailed Prismacolor though to find out and I'll be calling the company I ordered from tomorrow to find out why I was sent pencils I didn't order.

I did finally give in after just telling myself that the pencils probably aren't being made in more, and did some work on my drawing. I also gave in and used a bit of black. I also defined my fourth border. I was on the fence between 10" and 11" but with some advice from my husband I went with 10". The dimensions now are 10" x 8" which really works out rather well because I won't have to order a custom mat for the frame, I can go with a pre-cut mat and a ready made frame no problem. The ready made frames, I think work out all around. They are cheaper for me, and it's also a bit easier to think of a familiar size too. So if someone is thinking about their wall space they might already have an idea of how an 11" x 14" frame will look. I still plan to get my frames through Pictureframes.com, they have really great mats, and their frames seem to be of good quality and price.

Small correction, I forgot it will actually be an 8" x 10" when I'm done because I'm going to turn it over.

Some Updates

It's not a huge update, but I did keep my word to work tonight. I think I would have worked more if it wasn't for my shoulder, it's starting to hurt. My wrist and elbow are following the trend of today and starting to hurt. My elbow pain actually woke me up today. I think that was a sure sign that it is definitely not just my knees and I really need to go to a new doctor and have this looked into. Aside from my joint paint, I'm still pretty happy with this and despite my misgivings about the hair closest to the to I think it's looking rather well. The shadows at the bottom are looking rather awkward though. I think those will look a bit better after I work them out more and fill in more of that board. I also need to work out that right side boundary. I need to figure that out soon. I think my main decision will be whether to include that corner or not. As of right now I'm planning on buying standard sized frames and getting custom mats so I really don't need to worry about fitting the drawing into a certain proportion. Hopefully that strategy won't backfire, and everything will look fine when I frame it. Also I'm really hoping to make this one of my five that I put in one of those three shows in the spring.

Drawing udpates

This really is not a great photo. There is too much glare and the light is uneven but since my last attempt at taking a photo failed miserably I think this is pretty ok. I'm a bit happier with the hair and I'm liking the progress ont he second face. The perspective is still driving me crazy though. I think I should focus on finishing the hair though that will just save me some sanity for a little while. Then I can move on to the second face and then I can worry about the board. I know the second face is in the right spot so I can trust lining everything up with that. I worked hard to place that face in the right spot with the sketch. I think though it still may be a little confusing without the reference photo to compare, it is coming together a bit.

I still feel that if I really push myself I can get this done before the end of december. I just need to push myself to work more and focus.

Drawing update and a little retrospective thought

I've got a little work done tonight. I'm happy with the progress I've made for the most part though I do think the lower part of the lip and chin look a little odd. I'm hoping that starts to clear up when I add in more hair, for some of what I have on there right now I was just trying to get the skin under the hair and most should be covered. Hopefully it will all turn out right. I also took a detail photo of the nose area and the cheek. I'm a little unsure of the teeth, though I haven't worked on the shading much so that might explain a few of my misgivings. I'm liking the hair though and for the most part the cheek.
My birthday is tomorrow and I just thought to look back at my artwork that I've done over the past year. I've finished 9 pieces between my last birthday and this one, and I'm working on a 10th. I've been consistently working most of the year and this is by far the most I have worked without an assignment and quite possibly the most I have worked even when taking a class. I also think I am producing quality work consistently, it's not like that last drawing class that I took where I walked away with 2 pieces I was really proud of. I hope to work even more frequently through the coming months and maybe get a few more pieces done before January. So far I've done 8 pieces between January and now I'd like to get that up to 10 or more. If I finish this one and my painting before January I'll be able to meet that goal before. My goal though is to be done with this before the end of December. I think ideally it's more time than I really need, but we'll see how that goes, if I get done before that deadline I can try to finish my painting. It really doesn't need that much more work before it's complete.

Drawing update

I got a little work done tonight, still not as much as I would have liked. At least it's a bit of progress. The hair is still frustrating me I've noticed that several more strands are out of place and I'm trying to make it work. Right now I'm having trouble typing right now because most of the keys are sticking on this keyboard. I don't know what happened with this it was working fine now most of the keys stick. Anyway I'm liking my progress on the board and the skin just frustrated by the hair and a few angles. I haven't been feeling all that great either and that just really hasn't been helping. I'm going to try to work tomorrow too, but I'll have to wait and see how I feel.

Little progress

It was just getting far too hot for me in this room tonight and being bent in so close to the light was not helping. Anyway I got a little bit of work done. I got a good bit of shading filled on on the nose and it's pretty close to finished I think. The hair still needs tons of more work. I really don't like how my teeth show in the photo and I may lay some hair over it just to cover it up. I don't think it's really that essential. I'm still happy with the direction that this is heading in.
I have to say since I started this drawing I've noticed that a lot of the story books we've been reading lately are illustrated with colored pencil. It's made me think of the girl I went to high school with, her colored pencil work was amazing and she did some wonderful illustration work.

Colored Pencil updates

I defined three of the borders, and got some more sketching done. I also realized that I put part of the hair in the wrong place. I'm trying to figure out how to rid of the hair I put in the wrong place. Putting it in the right place is no issue. Some of the hair can just be blended right into the trees part of the background, but the hair over the board is going to be a bit tougher to remedy. I'm wondering if I could just spray it with fixative and then put in a new layers with the colors for the board over it. I know I can work with the extra hair, it may just look a little too thick, but really I don't want that. Other than the hair I'm really happy with everything else I'm doing. This is really challenging but I'm feeling rather good about it. I really like what I did with nose and the glasses, still just need to make this hair look right. I'm starting to fill in some background too around everything so the hair will layer over everything right and so the hair will still have that thin wispy quality of hair.

Another try with colored pencil

I'm having another go at colored pencil. I'm really happy with the last colored pencil piece I did and I've been wanting to try it again. Also I think the reference photo I'm using could only work in color. I thought of using it for a painting but I just really need a break from that right now. So far I have mixed feeling about this. This is a huge challenge for me, most of my face is obscured by my hair so I filled in a bit of the nose then just started focusing on the hair. I'm a little unhappy with the color right now but overall I don't think it's looking that bad, if I can just make it look like hair even if the color is a bit off I think I'll be happy. So far though I'm really happy with the nose.
The first photo is how I'm working on this, and the second photo is how I may orient the piece in the end. I'm not sure though. The photo looks really interesting vertical, but I'm working horizontal because the photo takes us more screen space if it's vertical. I like to use reference photos straight from the screen, I feel like most of the time I loose some depth of color and value when I print photos. I've also been working small enough to accommodate. I've been working on my sketch book paper on the last few pieces. My next piece may be larger, and if this works out I may experiment with different color and textured paper with colored pencils.
The more I look at these photos the better I feel about this. We'll just have to see how this goes. I don't think the hair looks too bad right now.

"Bear"

This photo is a little more true to life. I also updated my site with this drawing. I think I'll start a new drawing tomorrow or the next day. I may do a colored pencil drawing of that one photo I took at the zoo. I'm not sure when I'll finish the painting but I do intend to get back to it.

http://jessicamckelvin.com

Almost done

I got a bit more work done tonight and I finally figured out how to get the texture of the hair on the arm and I'm really happy with it. I'm a little unsure of the pattern of the shirt and may tweak it a bit tomorrow, but I think if I just spend a little extra time on it I might finish tomorrow. And now that I'm looking at it one part of Bear's (Yes the bear's name is Bear, she did have a monkey named Jack to be fair) second foot bothers me a little, and I'll fix that too. I just need to finish putting in the background and clean up those lines in the side walk, right now they all look pretty lopsided.

Small update

I finally got around to drawing out the borders, and I think I'm liking the vertical orientation. At first I wasn't sure but now I think it works. I think I need a little bit of work done in the second arm and of course the bears leg but then I can move on to the shirts and the background. I'm thinking maybe the composition could be a little thinner because it looks like the first body is going to be cropped at an odd place. I'll have to think about that. So far though I'm pretty happy with what I have done and I'm looking forward to working more tomorrow.

More work on my drawing

I didn't get started until late on this, so I didn't get as much done as I would have hoped I realized I have quite a few things to fix and the second hand has a few issues that I need to work out. I'll work on this tomorrow but I think I'll forgo the blog updates for the next few days so I can just concentrate on the work.

I got a bit more work done on my drawing tonight. I had a bit of a hard time smoothing out the arm, but I'm pretty happy with it. I'm going to have to define my borders soon and decide if I want to put in the grid of the side walk in the background, I'm thinking lightly defining it in the background. I took a detail shot of the bear's face because I'm just really happy with the little detail of the stitching I added to the nose.
I have decided to take a small break from painting. It's frustrating me beyond belief. I will finish my painting but I just need a break from it. After I finish it though I'll be deciding whether or not to continue painting (I'm still not sure about it). All I know is right now I'm really happy to be working on a drawing again.

One last thing, I've nominated myself for the Baker Artist's Awards. One of the awards is based off a voting system, so if you like my work and wouldn't mind taking the time to register and vote for me my entry can be found here: http://www.bakerartistawards.org/users/view/jessicamckelvin
You have to register to vote, and if you are a Baltimore Artist you can also nominate your own work.

Art Updates

I did some work on my drawing tonight, and I'm really feeling good about it. Also I'm waiting for my painting to dry so I can implement some drastic changes into the hand. Most of my proportions are off and I really need to fix them. I'll probably get some work done on it tomorrow night though I'll probably end up doing a little with this drawing as well.

Also in prep for the launch of my newsletter I've added a link her to sign up. The newsletter will have some photography (not featured here) and some specials deals just for subscribers. It's a monthly newsletter and should be released around the beginning of each month.

Art Updates

So I did some work on my painting tonight, I got frustrated rather quickly. It feels like I just can't get the fingers right, the shape or color. Also it just feels so disconnected from the face. Of course I put several layers on the face so maybe I just need a few more on the hands. It was that logic that got me to walk away from the painting, but I didn't want to not work on something.I started work on this drawing I've been thinking about doing for a few days now. It's too early to give myself any major critiques but I do love the start of this. I'm going to work on this while I wait for the painting to dry and whenever I get frustrated like I did tonight. This way I feel like I'm progressing on something without completely giving up on the painting.

Painting updates

I still don't think it's much progress, but I did work a little on a few things. I got a little done of the hand, and did a little in the hair. I even worked on the shirt some. I also pushed my self to work past my initial, "I'm getting frustrated, I'll put this away" thoughts. I hope to one day soon sit down and knock out a good bit of progress. I'm tired right now or I'm sure I'd be able to find more things to say about this.

Painting progess

I spent a little bit of time on this and I really didn't make huge progress, but I did spend a lot of time scrapping dry paint off my palette again. I'm really going to push my self to finish this soon. I just got a great reference photo that I want to work with, and I don't want to start anything new before I get done with this one. I still have some tweaking to do in the hand but mostly I just have to fill in more and of course I need more work in the hair. I added some darks to the hair. Also the photo is a bit blurry this time I'll try to take a clearer one next time.

Progress made toward a launch of a newsletter

I'm a bit closer to launching a newsletter. I figured out how to send html in an email. Apparently gmail doesn't recognize html tags, but I can still send an email through my current address with outlook and use that program to insert the html into the email. I really like the idea of using the html, so I can host it on my site as well and have a link to a copy of it in the email (for those with trouble viewing it). The article sample from Dreamweaver is not such a bad place to start either. Though I may just trash that idea and start over. I'm definitely not the best person with design. I still haven't come up with a really awesome logo, just look at my site: link. Maybe my newsletter should just stick with the same simplicity and maybe even the same color scheme and let the content speak for itself. I think I'll add my "logo" to the top of the newsletter, and then just focus on the content. At least now I have a way send it. Soon enough I'll be putting up a link on my site and on my blog so I can get subscriptions. If anyone wants to sign up now though: Click here to sign up to recieve my new newsletter
I think I'll be putting up a similar link to that on my website or blog let me know if anyone hates it. I still haven't figured out contact forms, so creating a newsletter sign up form is a bit beyond me as well.

Newsletter and photography

I'm in the process of looking into creating a newsletter. Even though I'm wanting to move away from photography on my website, I still post some on my blog from time to time, and I think it would be a good addition to a newsletter. I think I'll do a monthly newsletter, it will have new art, photography, information about upcoming projects, shows and I think I'll include special sales just for the newsletter subscribers. I still need to research a bit more into the actual creation of a newsletter, but I think I'll be able to get it off the ground within the next month or so.
With my photography I'm moving away from it on my website because I usually end up wanting to use a lot of it as reference photos. I just feel that it gets a little redundant that way. I still love my photos, that's why I'll still post them on my blog and include them in the newsletter (the newsletter will have photography that will not be posted on the blog as well).

Painting updates

I've finally been able to get back into the painting again. I'm not sure about the size of the hand already. The tips of the fingers are right, I've measured that about 16 times. The wrist might just be over too far. The hair needs some more work but I'm happy with this layer for the most part.

Painting updates and frustrations

Nothing fully dried since last night. I tried to put in the last of the background since that color is starting to dry out on my palette. I might not have brought the shoulder down enough. With the background it's ok if it comes in too far but if it's not in far enough I have to mix the color again and it's really hard to get that exact color twice. I included a few detail shots in this. I even painted the edges of the canvas with the background color, because I'm not sure if I'm going to frame this or not. I just wanted to keep the options open. I'm really getting frustrated though because again I'm waiting for it to try and I'll know the edge will probably take a few days. At least the rest of it will be able to dry in that time. Meanwhile I have nothing to work on. I think I'll either start a drawing or another painting so I have something to work on while I'm waiting for this to dry. Before it was I felt like I had no time, now I feel like I have the time but I can't work because I'm waiting for something to dry. If I try to go wet on wet I just end up getting an awful gray looking mud color. I'm seriously considering trying acyrlics again, I might try to find the proper place to post a comparsion thread on Wet Canvas, or maybe I'll search for a post that may have already been posted. I think I'm going to look through reference photos when I'm done with this and see about starting something new tomorrow while I wait for things to dry. Still working on something else doesn't solve my main problem of wanting to finish this, and of course I really don't like working on two projects at once. I just usually can't split the focus and end up neglecting the one project.

More Progress

This really is not the amount of progress that I was hoping to get done but I am happy with what I got done. I still need to make some adjustment to that line on the left side cheek because I've had to move it and it's looking a bit awkward. I may have to look at the line on the right as well. I noticed that the knuckle was too high, which was throwing off the line of the cheek which was throwing off the ear. The ear is entirely too high. I just need to move it down a little. I have to wait for everything to dry so I can go back over it or I would have done more tonight. Hopefully everything will be dry tomorrow and I can fix that cheek, the ear and the hand. If I can fix all that and get more done on the hand I'll feel good about everything and if I can start the shirt and arms before the week ends even better. We'll see what happens.

little progress

I did a little work this morning too. I got the background filled in, but I'm not sure if it's too dark and I think the texture might be a bit too much.

Progress

I'm really happy with the progress I made tonight. I might have worked a little longer but I set the easel too high and didn't notice until my neck started to hurt. I still have some things to fix, but I made some changes to the right eye that I'm happy with. It still needs a few tweaks but I think I need a smaller brush. I may be a little hard on my brushes because my smaller one is fraying a bit and I was having trouble because of it. I think that left crease next to the cheek is a bit too strong but when I was lightening it I thought it was getting too light and had to make it darker. I may just leave it as is until I get the hand in and the finish the lips. The lips are giving me a huge problem because I can't get the color right. I also need to fix the left eye and then decide how much I really need to change about the nose. Right now it looks a little big but I think the left eye needs to be a little larger. The nose might look right then, and then I'll just need to fix a little shading around the left nostril. I'll work more tomorrow and see how that goes, unless of course the wet paper towel I put in there waters down my paint to much. I'm hoping the moisture from it is enough to keep my paints from drying out but not so much that it adds a bunch of water and makes the paint runny. Though either way I didn't put that much paint on the palette this time anyway.

painting progress

I got some work done on my painting. I'm really liking my progress though I'm still having a bit of hard time with the lips. I think I need to let them dry and come back to them. Also I think if I got more of the finger in it might look better. I also need to wait for the hair to dry so I can put in the ear and then of course add more hair back in. The hair isn't done anyway.
I did try that clove oil and I'm just not impressed at all. If anything my paint dried out faster. I haven't painted since Friday but really I didn't think it would be this dried out. There was a skin over everything, the alizarin crimson included (one of the last to dry out usually). I put some in there tonight but the smell was so horrible I just won't be using it again. I'm going to try to paint to paint tomorrow, but I may just have to spend the night washing my palette again. I think I will try putting a wet sponge or paper towel in there. I've done that with acrylics before so I'm not sure if it will work out. I'm actually thinking of getting a set of acrylics after I run out of my oils. I may get a set before running out of oils. I seem to spend a lot of time waiting for these to dry, I might benefit from a faster drying time, and I work so thin anyway the paint really doesn't even stay wet over night anyway. I haven't let that stop me from blending, I've found a dry brushing technique that really works for me.
Also I have been published in The Battered Suitcase, an online literary magazine. My art work is featured as well as a few other artists, who have some very interesting work.

Unexpected update

I feel a bit silly because my shadow is in the photo. But I was painting on the floor today, which I don't usually do, and I just am not used to taking photos from that angle. Also when I was cleaning up I only took one photo rather than several, I had hastily decided that one photo was enough. That's what I get for being in a hurry. The lips still need more work and so does the area around them. They need a bit more pink and red in the lips themselves but I'll have to wait for the paint to dry. I keep trying to put more color over it but it just turns out purple still. I've got to add more highlights to the hair and work on the ear more, but I'm happy with the start of that.

I was making chocolates today and was really happy with a few photos that I took so I just wanted to put them up here. I may not be so serious about photography anymore, but I still enjoy it.

A bit of a break

I've taken a small break from my painting. My palette dried out again and now I need to soak it and scrub it clean. It was advertised as "easy clean" well not so much. It didn't stain like my last one, I've scrubbed off some of it. I got a recommendation of clove oil from WetCanvas. Apparently a small amount of clove oil in with the palette seal will keep the paint from drying out a bit longer. The trick is just finding some. I've checked in a few stores but I'll have to wait till I go shopping this weekend to pick some up.
Also I haven't been painting but I have been doing something art related. I've been reading about Caravaggio. Since my Art History 102 class I've been interested in learning more about the Baroque period of art and some of the artists before, during and after that period. I was inspired by Caravaggio's use of light when I did "Angelic." I can relate to the lack of preparatory sketching. Also that being faithful to realism. I really strive for realism, though I don't think I've quite achieved that to a perfection. Of course I'm a perfectionist. I'm just now learning to accept the style that I have. I have two more books from the library that I hope to read in the next few weeks on Titian and Velazquez. I think when I go back I'll look for a book on symbolism I think that might be interesting as well.

Progress

I'm learning not look for a finished product in any part of this, just to look for a right direction. Nothing is perfect or exactly where I want it to be but this is ok. I can go back in and fix it after I get a bit more filled in and know what exactly is wrong and how to fix it. I also experimented a bit with the background in an attempt to clear some remaining paint off my palette. Which I spent a good bit of time tonight just trying to clean half off. (Easy clean, it is not.) So I didn't get a lot done tonight. Also I got a bit too much water in the paint for the lips and I need that to dry. I started to move into the hand a little. That will be fun. I'm not sure how I feel about the background either. I think I'm going to let it sit and see how I feel about it. If I hate it I'll just follow the reference photo and add the fence and trees. I think I might try to lay in some more of the hands tomorrow with the remaining flesh tone that I have mixed and see how that works out. I'd like to clean off my whole palette but I don't want to waste that last bit of flesh tone, I have some of the reds and orange left but those as well as the flesh tone are drying out quickly now. I'm working on a solution to keep my paints from drying out so quickly, past a few days and I start getting a film. I'd like to extend that time a bit.

A little progress

This whole painting is just nerve wracking to me now. I worry so much about everything that I add to it. Before I was completely happy with the right side of the face, now I'm happy with the left side and I think the right needs work, also I think I'm a little off on the placement of the lips. I need to work on the area around the right nostril but I'm really starting to like the shadows on the left side. I started trying to lay in a bit of the hair and I'm worried I might need an even smaller brush. Right now I'm working with two brushes, 1/8" flat and #4 round. I've mostly been using the 1/8" flat brush recently. Also I think the eyebrow is too dark but I want to come back in with some lighter colors when that layer dries. I've been working in thin layers that have been dry or just about dry. The heat in the room I store it in might also help that drying time. Tomorrow I'll try to work on the nose and the right side of the face more, and maybe get some more work done on the lips. I might be heading into the fingers or more of the hair in the next few days.

Progress

I've made a bit of progress on the painting. I think the right highlight is a bit off. I'll just fix that a little tomorrow. Other than that I thinkit's looking better, though now I also think the right nostril is off, but now the left one looks right. I'll just have to work on that side of the face a little more. I'm pretty happy with my progress and I like the left side of the upper lip. Just some more fixes tomorrow.