multi session self portrait completed (stages documented)

                                                  16"x8" oil on canvas

It is going to its new home tomorrow. I have a lot going on right now between finishing stuff, trying to generate income from odd gigs and preparing for the move away from Austin TX to VA. The flight is purchased for me and Lolabeanne for June 13th. more photos and uploads this week.

continuing self portrait and dreamscape (both near completion) 3/26/12

Top: painting I started a while back (based on my animation themes) and picked up to rework. (photo is a shot indoors..a better lit one outside will be taken at its completion.) 2 feet wide, acrylic ink and paint on wood. Bottom: there is a very narrow margin of a specific type of light (afternoon to sundown) which draws this one out longer than I had hoped. I do think it will likely be resolved tomorrow. Likely. I know better than to promise.


These are a rather extreme range of styles I work in. I suspect my hardcore-work-only-from-life-painter colleagues  would find the top piece (and others in the same vein) frivolous, and others who would think that working in these two styles simultaneously as evidence of being less focused or "serious" about my work. To that I can only shrug. They satisfy two different ways of expression. The top starts with a stream  of consciousness type of markmaking and it evolves into a story that reveals itself to me which I may layer with more ideas. The lower one requires me to get out of the way and observe (though the multi arm idea is a bit of concept I'm playing with). They may meet up on some level someday (perhaps some of the silhouette pieces are already) , but they don't need to. Both are important to me on their own terms.

two self portraits in progress

 

more shifting of smaller areas and tone differences in vertical painting. Lets see what happens in the morning.

finishing small decorative dreamscape/treescape and starting new self portrait

started mapping quick sketch and sienna underpainting self portrait--about 12"x30"


...and some completed minis from my stay with my sister.  I seem to trade more than sell, but that is a help too.

acrylic ink on assembled wood panels--about 2"x7"

4" round wood panel. acrylic ink

4" round wood panel acrylic ink

 3"x3" acrylic ink on canvas

2"x3" acrylic ink on canvas

2/11/12 3rd step of self portrait in progress

 

 

3rd step. Ideally, I'd like tomorrow to be the last session. We'll see. Have a small still life to work on now.

completed self portrait 4/10

Finally finished this one! I'm thinking of making a mini gif animation from all the stages this one went through.

Self portraits in progress part 3

day 3 for this one. When it is complete I will take a proper focused daylight pic--which I hope is the next session.

Day 2 for this one. I think one more sitting should do it.

When I gave up and turned off one of the lamps, I noticed how the trees & sky were more illuminated & it may spawn a larger painting. (4/10--finished piece here: here )

self portrait in progress part two & resolved previous portrait

I was a little behind getting that sweet spot of time and light at sundown. It is my favorite type light but is fleeting. I need to start a little earlier tomorrow.

I didn't want to pack up my oil paints outside after I barely got into the previous self portrait, so I started another after sundown with the porch light. I hope to finish this in one more sitting. I'll probably let this layer dry before getting back into it.

My ex bf agreed to pose a while back but never did a final sitting where I wanted to punch up the color. I found just heightening the warm colors behind him resolved it satisfactorily enough. It is not quite dry so I couldn't get as clear a photo as I would like (it needs to be either photographed in sunlight or scanned flat on the glass. Since it is still wet it is not quite touching the surface of the scanner.)

I worked on a tree study too but not happy with it enough to post. So we have a lot of this and that going on. I hope I can share something complete soon.

self portrait in progress part one

I thought I would share with you day to day progress on a self portrait I'm working on out on my porch/balcony. This is oil on canvas. I apologize about the blurriness, but these are rough general areas to start with. It gets more specific as I go on, so you have the general idea for now.

The setup. It's pretty nice out this time of year in Austin & I prefer to deal with fumes outside as much as possible.

Starts with a sienna wash and wipeout of lighter areas with a rag.

Then a rough blocking in of main areas of color.

To be continued tomorrow.