Sunday, June 21, 2009

Windows to the Words:Art Challenge



oil on canvas
9 x 12
Sold

This is my entry for James Parker's Windows to the Words Challenge.  The subject this month is old folks and wrinkles.  A friend of mine, Barbara Motter, has wonderful photos from her world travels, and kindly let me submit some for this challenge.  This is an old gentleman from Russia. Thank you, Barbara. Please visit the WTTW site to see the other entries, and also stop by James' blog to say hello.






Also thought I'd post the beginning stages. I roughed in with shades of burnt sienna, and then wiped out the highlights with a paper towel.  Then I came in with thin washes of more intense colors to establish rough value patterns and warms and cools.  

I hope that all of you Dads and Granddads had a Happy Father's Day!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Flower Girl and thanks, Akiko!

Wedding Reception, detail, 24 x 30 o/c


In the mid 90's, I attended a friend's wedding on the Island of Malta. The setting was spectacular. The ceremony was in a lovely church in the historic city of Mdina, and the reception was held in a converted palace complete with courtyard and formal gardens. Twelve years later, I uncovered the photos I'd taken, skipped over all of the landscape and architecture shots, and as an experiment, began a pastel on canvas of the maid of honor and one of the flower girls. Pastel on canvas was not a happy experiment. I scrubbed it, came over it with acrylic, then water-miscible oils. ack. Peeled off the maid of honor's head, re-gessoed and built up the paint again. Then painted over everything with regular oils. Someday I'll be brave enough to try the architecture.  


Thank you to Akiko Watanabe, who kindly sent me the Noblesse Oblige Award. Akiko's animal paintings and ACEOs are breathtaking. I spend a lot of time scrutinizing her work, and still can't figure out how she gets so much loving detail and spirit into such a small format. Please visit her site to see her extraordinary portraits of animals. Thanks, Akiko--am humbled and honored. (award details in May 17 post).