Mask Complete and New One

"Flowers, Mask, and Beads" oil on linen, 9"x12", "Spaghetti and Butternut Squash" 11"x14". I managed to finish up "Flowers.." just in time , I'm putting it in a show next weekend. This was another still life set up next to a window. I really enjoyed painting the flowers and I think I'll do a few more. The squash are left over from a demo I gave on Friday, doing the demo painting kind of wet my appetite so I set something up in my studio. I'm playing with the light set up a bit, I hope it works. I have the window blacked out except for the top six inches, where the light comes through onto my canvas and the setup. I wanted the light to look more directional and angling down from above. It's a little bit harder to see but I think the trade off will be worth it.

Lily and Flowers

"Lily Painting a Cast" pencil and white charcoal on paper, 16"x20". "Mask, Flowers, and Beads" oil on linen, 9"x12". I just about have the drawing of Lily ready to transfer to a canvas. I need to do a little more work on the cast. I should have it ready when she comes next week. I'll also prepare a little poster study which I'll concentrate on at the next sitting, to get the color and tonal scheme worked out. I'm having so much fun with this one that I wish I could afford to hire her for a week straight and get it out of my system. I decided to do a re-load on the flower painting. I wasn't happy with the way that I painted the white flowers and I didn't like the way that they went with the red background. These colored roses sem to work better and their red fringes help to merge with the background. I'm on vacation this week and my version of a great vacation is to paint until my fingers bleed!

Drawings

I've started the block-in for a new painting, "Lily Painting a Cast" 16"x20". The model got lost on the way to my studio so I was only able to get in two hours. At the start of the next session I'm going to triple check my measurements before I do any refining. Basically I have her posing as if she's painting flesh colors onto a cast of the "Dying Gaul". I'm thinking about having her turn her eyes up towards me as if someone just called to her, rather than looking down at the cast, as she is now. "Dome with Bottles" 11"x14" is slowly crawling along. I'm not in any rush.

Julia and Mask

Almost done with Julia, just have to wait for a cloudy day to complete the background. "Mask, Roses, and Beads" 9"x12", oil on linen, was started in response to a juried show theme "Mardi Gras". Every once in a while I will take on a theme to break out of my usual subject matter. The first pass is almost done, next week I'll have to get new flowers and go fo a finishing pass (no football puns intended).