All in a Day’s Work

Today was a busy day in the studio. I came to some satisfying conclusions about the direction of my art practice. I’ve been thinking about the trouble I’ve been having with the Rosario painting. I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t want to do figurative painting anymore. While I am definitely interested in exploring [...]

Random Thoughts on Soap Operas, the Lottery, and Being an Artist

Right now I’m holding my breath, waiting to see how my interview goes next week. If I land the job it means freedom to paint and figure out what direction I want to take my art practice. I’m in a bit of a funk, worried about money matters. Wishing I could win the lottery so [...]

Rosario – Day 5

A few days ago I was painting shadows under Rosario’s chin and two long drips of ink spilled from her chin off the edge of the painting. I immediately wiped the drips but they left stains, and I was sure the painting was ruined. I thought about my options. I could trash the painting; not [...]

Nick Cave’s Sound Suits Video

Hope and failure: making mistakes in art and life

For four days now I’ve been painting Rosario, and today I attempted to add shadows and completely messed up the painting. If I were painting in oil, I could just add turpentine and wash my mistakes away. But I’m painting in acrylic, and as I’ve said, acrylic is unforgiving. The only way to salvage my [...]

Rosario, Day 4 – hair

Today I’ve finished the background and have started on the hair. I have highlights and low-lights now, I want to go back and create mid-tones. The eyes still need work, the mask needs work, and I’m still debating whether I want to keep the painterly brushstrokes on the face, lips, and neck. I’m leaning toward [...]

Rosario, Day 3 – background

I often begin work on a painting without an idea of what I will name the painting. As I am working the name comes to me, as it did with this painting. I’ve decided to call the painting Rosario because it makes me think of a friend I had in 6th grade. Today is grey [...]

Day 2 – New Painting

I’ve started work on the eyes, lips, and necklace. I still need to work on the skin tones, hair, and background–maybe I’ll start working on it tomorrow, but I have a lot of errands to run tomorrow, so I may not be able to get in any studio time.
I like the way the painting is [...]

New painting – Step 2

The great thing, and the challenging thing, about acrylics is they dry so fast. In just a few hours I was able to add the flesh tones to the skin, and the basic form for the hair. The tough thing about acrylics is you have to be diligent to wash your brushes immediately after use [...]

New painting in progress – Step 1

I’m working on a new painting. I’ve started with a charcoal sketch on canvas. I’m using artist’s acrylics, which is a switch for me because I usually paint in oil. Here I’m working on the background, making the underpainting black to add depth to the overpainting. This is a work in progress.