Gotta get back to work.......

well, we got home about two weeks ago and I haven't done much except get unpacked and straightened up the studio. i started this current painting before we left for warmer climes but decided to leave it on the easel during the trip and finish it when we got home. Guess what? We're home. So, I better get back to work.

reference photo

This reference photo was taken about 11 years ago or so and is of our grand daughter Sophie (she's now 14) and me on the porch. Joan got the pic at just the right time. I have been wanting to paint it for quite a while. Now is the time. I wanted Sophie center stage so I decided to only show part of my face. When doing this I have to be careful to not bring an apparent or implied tangent to the edge of the painting. Here that would mean the vertex of my head bumping almost parallel with the top edge. It could also mean the right side of my jaw running into and parallel with the left edge of the paper. as the process wears on i will have it be a bit darker and cooler to let me recede and sophie will be warmer and hopefully come forward.

status at day's end

I am using some watercolor board by arches. I think it is #90 hot press paper on some sort of archival pressed board. The whole thing is about 1/16" thick. First time so I am anxious to see how it goes. Btw, it is cheaper than #300 arches paper by quite a bit.

So I drew it out, put a light value variegated wash of scarlet lake, brilliant orange, cerulean blue, vermillion, and raw sienna over all the flesh areas and out into the background. I couldn't resist putting in a few features such as a couple first washes on the eyes and Sophie's nose. All done with a #14 round cheap joe's pseudo sable brush. Then we left for California.

Yesterday I noodled around abit, put a wash of quinacridone yellow on the background, redefined the right side of my head, put a second wash on one of my eyes, started on sophie's dress. Again the #14 brush. I worked for about 45 minutes, took some photos, and went off to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather.