return of the wayward blogger: a few new paintings

"a tale of prejudice and pride" (17"X15")

first of all the diptych of custer and sitting bull is finished and framed. this proved more difficult than i suspected to get the two paintings somewhat harmonious. here it is without a lot of to do.


i had a pretty good start on the painting of "behold, the mule man cometh," but i hadn't posted any of it. the process is pretty similar to those figure paintings of the past. i laid down an initial light value wash with flesh tones and some manganese blue and then started carving out the facial shadows and features. the last few paintings have had a more abstract approach to the background but in this one i decided to add a more representational background: a sky with clouds and the landscape around the anza-borrego of the santa rosa's and desert. at the point i finished painting yesterday i decided that i needed a splash of (unexpected) color or two and haven't really figured out just what to do, but the barrier in front of the figure or his hat (or both) might be deserving locations.....we'll see.

"behold, the mule man cometh!" not finished but getting there
(19"X17")

lastly, i did a painting of a friend, landlord, photographer, rancher and owner of the mustang sanctuary in borrego springs. she rarely sits for any length of time and i got this candid shot a couple of years ago when she took some time to relax with friends during the quick draw portion of the borrego springs plein air festival.

"bosslady kay takes a breather" (15"X21")

i can see finished from here: "a tattered hat future"

" a tattered hat future" (11.5"X20.5")

i put what i think are the final touches on this portrait of a young african boy. i didn't like the hard straight edge on the dark shape in front of him at the bottom of the painting. so, i lifted out some of it. the hat needed some work especially the tattered, frayed edges and holes. and i needed to darken some of the shadows in his clothing. the hand was only started when i last left off so i completed the painting of that. lastly, i thought that the upper left corner needed a splash of color so i added a spatter of manganese blue and teased it out a bit with the brush, finger, and spray bottle. the consequence was that i got a nice little organic dash of blue with a little run down the side, which i liked. so, i am declaring this finished unless i see something else while it hangs for a few days on the studio wall.