"English Gentleman", 8x10" (No longer available)

My good friend Jayne brought back a photo from England of this gentleman walking down the street, and I couldn't resist painting him.  She tells me that it is a rare sight these days to see a man shopping with a basket.  I imagined him picking up a few things for the holidays.

I used very thick gesso on top of a hardboard to achieve the textured look of this painting.

"Where Next, Fifi?", 8x10"

Why are the French so elegant in everything they do?  Even when perusing a tourist board-- they do it with flare.  I should have been photographing architecture, but found myself constantly drawn to the people in France.  And now that's all I want to paint!

Figure Studies, Jeff Watts Workshop

On the second day of the workshop, we got down to the serious business of painting figures using burnt umber and white.  I learned something very important that day-- I tended to smooth things out on my figure studies, which made them boring!  Jeff suggested that I paint abstract shapes in different directions on the model to make them interesting to look at.

And here's a reason that figure studies are difficult.  You have to understand the anatomy underneath it all and build out from there.  Here is an example of how Jeff starts a figure study.

He plots the skeleton and major muscle structures before he begins to paint.  Taking the time to study anatomy is well worth the effort when painting figures and portraits.  He showed us an App that he uses called "Visible Body" which shows the skeleton and muscle groups from every layer and angle.  It even shows the muscles in motion.  I hope that I'll have the discipline to delve into this and stick with it!

Repose, 10x8" (Sold)

I am so lucky to be part of a studio where we have models come in and pose for us.  This model came in a few weeks ago for our portrait class.  I was busy painting from another model that day, but I took a few reference photos and painted her today.  I may decide to put more detail on this one, or I may just leave it loose and impressionistic as it is now.  Do you have an opinion?

This week's challenge on Daily Paintworks is to paint someone in repose.  I think I'll send this one in!

The Perfect Day, 10x8" (Sold)

What could be more perfect than a day spent outside when the shadows and sunlight are "just so"?  Sometimes when I'm out with my plein air group, I can't resist trying to capture my fellow artists at their happiest and most industrious.

The Balancing Act, 6x6" (Sold)

My Brother-In -Law gave me this great magnetic sculpture with blue figures balancing balls and each other.  I took one out and placed it on an upside-down shot glass.  Voila! A Balancing Act!

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