New Drawing and a link

{Claudio Bravo's Roses - graphite - 15 x 22 inches}

Hello and happy memorial day weekend!

Our weekend is going by so fast, that it feels like it be over too soon...

The drawing above is a copy of a Claudio Bravo drawing, I only focused on a portion of the original. Roses are a big challenge to me, the variety of form, the variations in value, and complex shapes all conspire to making it difficult to for me to simplify what I see enough to get it down on paper or canvas. So I decided to copy the master of beautiful roses {here is one of my favorite rose paintings by him} to learn a bit and begin to understand how utilizing value and line can work in presenting a very accurate representation of this complex flower. Part of my recent passion for roses induced me to plant three rose bushes near the driveway. I cannot wait until they flower!

Also lately I have been captivated by the recent paintings by Barbara Kacicek. Her ability to convey the rough texture of the stones along with the smooth skin of the pears is so inspiring. I like how hard the edges are in the painting, it almost makes it feel as if there is no air in the space of where the painting takes place.

Some Cloud Scapes

{12 x 16 inch oil on linen}

In addition to taking three figure/portrait classes this term I signed up for Deborah Paris's online The Painted Sky class. We are in the third week and so far it has been an amazing exerience {these are all the other paintings completed so far} . Becoming more proficient with landscape painting is a goal of mine, so occasionally I will head outside to get some painting in.

"Be guided by feelings alone... Before any site and any object, abandon yourself to your first impression. If you have really been touched, you will convey to others the sincerity of your emotion." Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot

This is my goal with landscapes, to work with the impression and share the joy in it with others.

Thanks for reading. Liz

Class Work

{detail of Leslie ~ 24 x 18 inches}

Here is a portrait work in progress from Thursday's class. It is a five session portrait sitting and this is as far as I got during the first class. The arms are pretty psychodelic because I have been experimenting more with bright underpaintings. This really helps the skin glow from a distance, the face also started out this bright, with an orange on the light side and a deep pink/red on the shadow side. I then worked wet in wet to develop the actual fleshtones. Leslie's eyelid got a little too blue, something I will tackle later in the process, today's goal with this painting is to get the other parts to an equal footing.

Below is a 1-1/2 hour color study sketch from Tuesday's class. It also started out with the bright underpainting, and some of it continues to shine through because of it being a quick exercise.

{Figure Sketch - 8x10 inches - Oil on Canvas Panel}

Almost Complete & Some Good News...

{Almost finished ~ Pitcher and Apples ~ 18x24 inches}

Hello,

Here is the entire painting of the detail I shared last week. I am planning on fiddling with it a little more, refining a few areas and to wait for a really sunny afternoon so I can really observe and capture the fascinating highlights that reflect the studio window. Today has been a luxury in that I have stayed home working on this painting and planning future ones. The weeks have been flying by since April as I am enrolled in three different figure/portrait painting classes and one online landscape class. I have been just trying to keep afloat with attending classes and completing the homework. Oh well, you never you’re your limits until you reach beyond them… For the summer term my schedule will not be so full!

In the midst of all this I have also been sending in submissions to various juried exhibitions and competitions and this month three of my paintings have been accepted into two different shows. In June two of my paintings, Figs and Pomegranate on a Wooden Crate will be exhibited at the Rawls Museum Arts, and in July Three Apples on a Wooden Crate will be part of the Salmagundi Club Annual Non-Member Painting and Sculpture Exhibition in New York City. I am pretty excited about both shows as I have been entering a lot of them this year and have had on and off success. So my thoughts are to keep entering shows and make the most of all opportunities available, as you never know when a painting will capture the eye of a juror, the Three Apples painting has been turned down from other shows only be selected for the Salmagundi Club show.

I will see you tomorrow to share some of the recent work from my figure painting class.

Current Painting on the Easel

{detail of my current still life}

Hello~

There will be more to share this weekend, I just thought you may like to see what has been keeping me busy this week.

Good night, Liz

New Portrait & a Drawing

{portrait study}

Phillip – 24" x 18" (61 x 45.7 cm) – Oil on Canvas

The above painting was completed in Danni’s portrait class over three periods. On Thursday I totally re-worked the face to get the color and facial structure more accurate. There was a point where I thought it was just not going to work out and that I should wipe it out, then all the sudden it came together. Funny how things work out…

Below is a drawing completed last month in Robert Liberace’s drawing class. This technique uses sanguine and black verithin colored pencils and a white pastel pencil and it is drawn on prepared paper that has been coated with shellac thinned in alcohol. In class it is called trois crayon, however I have come to feel that is a bit pretentious as it does not use the traditional chalks historically used for drawings labeled “trois crayon”. When describing its medium in juried show applications I tend to call it mixed media as it requires three very specific and different mediums. This drawing was accepted into the Art League's May show

Marie – 12” x 19” – Mixed Media

Another Portrait Sketch

{3 hour sketch}

Here is a quick portrait sketch completed last Friday

in Robert Liberace's class.

Monday was summer term registration and

luckily I got into his drawing and painting class,

so I will have more to show starting in the summer.

Have a great day! Liz