Holly Berries WIP

I have been working on this painting for my Saturday morning class. I saw the turquoise colors under the green colors and wanted the demonstration to show how to paint undercolors and have them coming through the later layers of colors. What I learned in the class on Saturday was that different people see different colors that they choose to express. This is part of what makes different artists paint in different styles. It is also one of the reasons I enjoy teaching as I am always learning something new!

In the first step I layed in the lightest colors and I varied the values of them to start to capture some three dimensionality. Then I started to add a variety of green as well as more blue and turquoise. I mixed dark green with red for the darker colors for the stem and created some texture by lifting some of the color down to the previous light yellow green that was there. I also put in the first layer of reds for the berries. As the painting moves on you can still see the first colors that I used.

In my next post I will show you how it looks so different with the background in place.

White Lily WIP 3

Here is the next phase of my White Lily. I painted the leaves and decided the background needed to be darker. I had thought about adding some mid ground but decided the Lily can stand on it's own. I photoed the painting indoors so the colors are not as bright as they would be in the sunshine. But alas there is very little sunshine out right now. I do think the colors are blending together better than before. I just need to work on the details and clean it up a little and then it will be done.

I'm spending a great deal of my time working on my large painting for Stockley Gardens. Some days I like the way it is going and other days I am a little frustrated. When I start a painting, I have a vision of what I want it to look like. Sometimes the painting comes out just that way. (Like the White Lily is coming.) Other times I just cannot capture my imagined version. The painting can find a vision of it's own that is very satisfying or it just does not work. I feel like I am on the fence with this painting and I'm just not sure what direction it is taking me!!!

I think that I'm getting a little tired of painting flowers. Just like I had become tired of painting fish. I just don't know what I'll work on next.

White Lily WIP 2

I worked on the White Lily last Sunday at the Artistic Creations classroom but then I forgot to photo the painting at that stage. So here is the next stage.

The leaves still need another layer or two. I think that the colors will work together a little better then. And I'm not sure about the background. I think I might need to make a mid-ground or maybe I just need to make it darker. Then I need to finish up the details and shadows as well as cleaning it up. I'm pretty happy with the Lily itself except it looks like it's floating a little bit. And it is looking almost white isn't it?

I have to get working on it some more as well a working on my large painting for Stockley Gardens.

I'm putting in my first full week of teaching and I'm really feeling exhausted. But I will get back in the groove once I get used to the schedule. (This also means going to sleep earlier to get up in the am!)

White Lily WIP

This is the first stage of painting a white lily that we are working on in my Watercolor Class at the Classroom in the Art Space in Pembroke Mall. I am changing the day of the class to Saturday on October 2nd. It will be from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. I will have a class on every Saturday in October except for October 16th as I will be at the Stockley Garden Art Show that weekend.

Tomorrow Sunday September 26th, I will be at the monthly Open House for the Art Space and I will be demonstrating the White Lily as well as a large painting that I'm working on for Stockley Gardens.

I have just moved many of my paintings into Artistic Creations also at the Art Space at Pembroke Mall. I will be painting there Saturday afternoons after the art class.

The white lily is a study in painting white. I have begun by putting in very "light" colors to shape the flower. Tomorrow I will put in some slightly darker colors into the flower and start working on the stem, bud, leaves as well as the stamens. Then, in the next class, I will put in the background in a significantly darker color mixture that will make the white flower pop. The final step will be to add a little bit of white gouache to capture some of the details.

I really want to work on painting it now and can hardly wait to paint it! But I need to wait until tomorrow or else I'll have to paint another!

Hope that I'll see some of you in the near future.

Marion's Dad

Here's Marion's Dad. He is almost finished. I say almost because I want to add a little more color to his hair on the right side and I want to blend his right cheek a little bit more. But otherwise he is complete.

I have continued to add more shadows to his face, neck, hair and shirt as well as more details. I lifted the highlights of his eyes.


I am pleased with him. I think I have captured the essence of him from his photo. He really has agreat deal of character to his face and is in a very pensive moment. I never met Marion's Dad but I feel that I really like him.

I hope that you have enjoyed me taking you through painting this portrait step by step. Let me know if it is something that you would like me to do again in the future.

Marion's Dad 3

This is phase three of Marion's Dad and as you can see he is starting to emerge through the layers of paint. I've added more glazes of color to his face and neck and you can still see the transparency of the skin tones. I've started to work in a little more detail by putting in some darker darks to define the features. I have started to add more value differentially to the strands of hair and made the top of his head has warm tones and the side has cool tones.

When painting a portrait I experience an intimacy with the person I am painting. I feel as if I get to know every little curve and shadow as well as all the little details of their face. Then there is the sense of the entire face coming together to present the special feeling and character that the person emits. I feel as if I've gotten to know the person even if I never met them.

The next post will show you the competed painting of Marion's Dad. I hope you are enjoying these work in progress entries.

Marion's Dad 2

Here is the next phase of the painting of Marion's Dad. As you can see I've added more layers of different colors. After applying the yellows I start applying the reds. I also put in some purple colors mostly on the right side of his face and his shirt. I also stated to put more details in his hair.

I think he is coming along at this point. The skin is starting to get the look of transparency which I feel resembles real skin. This is basically why I have found that I like glazing colors to get the skin tones as apposed to painting in flesh tones. The scary part is that the eyes have not been done yet but they will start appearing in the next phase of this painting.

I have really enjoyed painting Marion's father. He has a great face and I love his eyebrows and hair. I can't wait to show you the next phase of this painting.

Work in Progress

This is the first phase of the latest portrait that I am working on. He is the father of Marion. She was kind enough to lend me his photo to paint him by.

There are certain things that I look for in a photo to copy for a portrait. First of all I like a face that shows character and/or there is a special "feeling" about the facial expression. I look for a clear photo that shows the features well enough to copy for an accurate depiction of the individual. I also want to see highlights and shadows a gradations of value in between. This photo of Marion's dad had all of them.

I started by drawing the face, features and shirt. I copied the outline and then worked more free hand for the features. Then I added the first layers of paint. I started with aureolin yellow and cadmium yellow. I painted around the highlighted areas. Then I added more paint in the darker areas.

I feel that I started to capture Marion's Dad right from these beginning phases. It is a good feeling when that happens. Sometimes it takes a while longer to start seeing the look of the person. (And sometimes it never happens at all.)

Thank you Kim for requesting that I post the work in progress of a portrait. I will continue to post my development of Marion's Dad. Let me know if there are any other things you would like to see posted. It's always helpful to get your feedback.