Country Moments

A little mid-morning rester

Aha, he's spotted me

Hmmm ... should I get up?

Up, and having a shake to get rid of wood shavings

"Would you like to play, or maybe let me on the back lawn?"

   I am not producing very much with my painting right now, so nothing to post with that. But I still deeply love the beauty and quiet of the countryside, so I will share some rural moments. I was outside hanging up laundry, and saw Bruno having a siesta.  I tried to get to him quietly to take some photos. But he was up in seconds, ready for anything.

   And Sandy Sandy will like this - I rescued a hummingbird yesterday. It was caught in the main house, trying to get out the skylight, and only becoming more and more exhausted. I finally had to get a kitchen step-ladder and a soft towel [wrapped around my hand to give me more "height"] and very gently put my hand around him. They are so tiny, I felt nothing in my hand. I took him outside, opened the towel, and let him zip away! I felt so good doing that.

The Wild One

The Wild One
6 x 11.25 in.

   

   I obviously had some intensely bright colors inside me tonight, just screaming to get out! This is done from the same sketch as the previous snail, and I used some of the most intense and bright colors on my palette, mostly quinachridone colors. What next? I suppose back to working on portrait sketches of my brother-in-law ...

   Please let me know what you think of this colorful cousin to the last snail.

Shadow Play with a Snail

A lot of fussy work on head and tail, and quin. burnt orange floated w/w.  on shell

Believe it or not, more work on head area.

When I finally got to the shell yesterday, it started to look good.
6 x 11.25 in. / 15 x 28 cm. / unframed

   This was a little item that I've been planning to do for a while. It was slow going at first [it appeared so uninspiring] but when I started the shell, he really developed quite a look. Actually, I thought I'd go cross-eyed doing the shell, and - horrors! - loose track of where the lines went.

Portrait Classes

Our classroom, very bright and airy, with good lighting

   I must say I am really enjoying the classes. Lalita is a fantastic, upbeat, wonderful person; just being around her makes everyone feel better, more positive. The class is small. The information is extremely well presented, and hand-outs are provided. We even get "homework"! So it's three hours every morning,  Monday to Thursday for two weeks. My brain "feels full" after each session.
   I took the portrait of Dr. Wong to class yesterday. Lalita liked it, and said it expressed my description of the model. Her only suggestion was to darken three points around the face, to increase focus to the face. I have done so, and the result is below.
 

Three spots darkened

Another view of the classroom

We're working on portraits in "pieces" - head shape and proportions, eyes, ears, mouth ...

Lalita, helping me to define the portrait I would like to paint 

My set-up

Lalita, with another student [Betty]

Time to Let It Rest for a Day or So ...

Did a bit of painting last night

This morning's work

   I think the portrait is looking all right, but it needs a few days alone. Then I will assess again, and probably take it along to the portrait class on Monday. AS ALWAYS, please feel free to leave comments and criticism!!!

Good Call, Sandy

Before

   I would like to give a "thank you" to Sandy at http://sandysandysweblog.blogspot.com for her advice. It was a simple fix that made all the difference to this small painting. I just darkened the leaves that were  a distraction from the flower.

Looking Forward to Monday ...

1st quick sketch

More depth

Loose washes, eyes and glasses masked 

Crawling along

Still crawling along

Mask removed, start eyes

   I finished the sketch about a week ago, put it on Arches 140 lb. CP, and started painting. If left to my own devices, I paint very slowly, using thin glazes; most of the time I get where I want to be but .... SLOWLY. I have just lately trained myself to always use the largest possible brush. So I am really looking forward to a portrait class offered by Lalita Hamill of the Federation of Canadian Artists. She is an absolutely delightful young woman, and a great artist. I took one of her classes years ago.

   There are a few things I am hoping to gain from the course. I would dearly love to create much more emotional depth in my painting. I would like to paint faster, and looser at times, be less tentative. And I would like to improve my compositional skills. I'm sure there's more, but those are the big ones.

  So I will leave you all for now, and probably post late Monday, after the class. I thank you for dropping by.