Lightly Cloaked
12″ x 12″Oil on Linen
A new addition to the “Cloaked” series but with a lighter, cooler palette.
12″ x 12″Oil on Linen
A new addition to the “Cloaked” series but with a lighter, cooler palette.
Alla prima paintings are completed in one sitting. When I paint a portrait this way, I draw with my brush, minding the spacial relationships between features. Next, I lay in the darks using full color, to support the forms of the face. The midtones, the lights and their transitions blend into the previous wet passages to complete a loosely painted portrait. This one layer painting allows me to break from the confines of too much detail and preserves the energy captured at the very start of a painting.
12″ x 12″ Oil on Linen
No artist I know ever stops observing, never stops studying. I’ve been away from this blog for a while, but I’ve been constantly working, studying. The dissatisfaction with at least one element in every finished piece always drives the next piece. Above are a few studies I’ve been working on, trying to “fix” something that didn’t gel in a previous effort.
Edges are a constant concern. Softening, firming or losing them in a back round. It’s something I’m always pondering. Transitioning of values from one passage to another, is another thing I’m constantly thinking about. Dramatic lighting changes up the way I think about edges and transitions. And color often runs away with my intentions.
I’ll be posting more soon. These will be finished works that will no doubt drive the next bunch of studies:)
One piece that I was pretty happy with (“Tommy”) when I finished it, was awarded sixth place in the Portrait Society of America’s Members show in the Non-Commissioned category. I’m thrilled, humbled and very excited! Click on the “Portrait Society” link and enjoy all of the excellent work!
Home 12″x 12″ Oil on Canvas
Probably my first landscape post. I’m not a landscape painter, but the swamp is my home away from home. A portrait was in order.
Oil on Linen 11″ x 14″
This week I will be posting work realized during my long blogging hiatus. This is the first of several portraits of red heads. I love colors found in the skin tones and hair highlights of red heads.