finishing up and preparing for show

penultimate step

"a bitter northerly howls across the bog" 15"X20"

i finally was able to finish up the painting of a woman working out in the weather. her face was just about done and only a few little touches remained. none of these worth talking about. i picked up a habit of adding some dabs of warm around the eyes from charles reid and did that here on the medial canthae and along upper lids. i think it was cadmium red light. other than that it was really just finishing the coat, her hair, and the background. the coat was ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson permanent, burnt sienna applied with my largest round (#26). i wanted some lost edges near the bottom and kept the value lighter in areas where it met the background. the background i wanted to read cold. i chose cerulean blue, raw sienna, and the alizarin crimson permanent but in most areas tending to the cool gray. this, too, painted with the #26 round cosmotop. the hair blowing around is the really only thing in the painting that reads, "windy". so i made it flow out to the left.  i tried painting in the darker strands and shadow areas, but this was just too tedious for me so i did resort to my scratching into damp paint technique. i put down a darker wash of raw sienna and mineral violet and let it dry until the sheen came off the surface and then scraped in some lighter strand and areas mainly moving out to the left. i think that worked okay. here is the final product and one intermediary step.

i also attended the long pose session at the vitamin studio last thursday and painted a draped figure in a relaxed pose. i had a devil of a time getting her eyes as dadrk as they actually were. i finally decided that wasn't going to ahppen without making a mess so i stopped where you see it. i also had some trouble with the drawing trying to get the foreshortening of her legs correct. all in all these are learning experiences and i don't even try to get something finished. sometimes i fall into it, but these times are few and far between.

"dark-eyed girl with rosy cheeks" 16"X17"

there will be a bit of a hiatus in the painting as i must get ready for my first solo show at the pumphouse regional arts center in january and february. i have picked out about 20 paintings that i will now mount, mat, and frame. from those i will have to pick 12-15 to show as the space will allow about that many. i will share the final contenders when i have them ready for hanging. have a great thanksgiving.