"Watching for the students" (10"x14")

I finished this painting this morning after letting it languish on the mantel while I figured out where to go with it. It's not exactly as I imagined, but it's close. The name comes from the obvious bus waiting to go on its appointed rounds, but also I just couldn't get Elvis costello's song "watching the detectives" out of my head while painting it........

Start of another painting

I have done some things on the school bus and barn painting, but I haven't photo'd it yet. I did start another painting that is a horizontally composed painting of an extreme closeup of Anna's face. The first washes are a little darker than I usually do and are painting in very loosely with a large wash brush. Scarlet lake, Carr yellow, peacock blue, mineral violet and a few others are the hues and a Princeton synthetic squirrel quill brush that measures about 5/8 " in diameter at the ferrule.

Now it really is finished

You will probably have to look closely to see any differences. The artists who read this will probably understand those niggling little things that bug you near the end of a painting. Those things that only you see but their aggravation grows exponentially as the end looms near. So, I put it up where I could see it every time I came in the main room and the feeling just wouldn't go away. So, I fixed 'em. So, here is really the finished product of "paint my brown eyes blue" (20"x16").

Since this is a watercolor board with no possibility of decked edges, I think I am going to varnish this and mount and frame it like an oil painting.........oh, yeh, I bad.