K. Day 8

This post may not look a lot different from the last one. As I mentioned before, hair can be a real struggle to paint. As with the face, there is a lot of layering and building. After blocking in the different tones and values I came back with different brushes and began creating the feel of hair. I'll let this sit a while and then come and build some more.

K. is finally getting dressed! The details are progressing and she will soon be finished. Fabric is one of my favorite things to paint. It's amazing how just a few plays of light, shadow, hard lines and soft lines can create such a sense of movement, texture and depth. It's days like these that I really love to paint.

Moving Forward

This sketch was done on a day when I was remembering my brother who passed away in 1999. I was struggling and my thoughts and focus were on simply moving forward.

Moving forward isn't necessarily a linear process. For me it rather often starts with just a speck of hope and will from the center of my being. Then, 10 minutes at a time, I act on the promptings of that hope and that will. If I can keep listening, keep acting, and keeping believing, before long the speck has taken on a life of its own and suddenly there is something that I can really see and believe. 

K Day 7

K. is growing some hair. Again, blocking in the main areas of highlights and shadows and basic shape. It's amazing how many different tones there are to hair. 

Hair can be difficult to paint and I admit I generally really struggle with it. There is the temptation to paint every strand. But, as always, the eye does not see what we know to be true. So while we understand that she has a million single strands of hair, we don't see her that way. We see a general shape of what we know to be hair and we recognize a few individual strands that represent all the rest of them. Next time you see someone, pay more attention to how you see their hair. 

So here is K's general shape of hair and next time I'll start working more on defining enough noticeable sections to make it readable and believable.

New Beginnings

I've always, even from childhood, wondered why January marked a new year. What is new in January? I always thought Easter would make a better New Year. As an adult I found my birth father and he taught me about the Persian culture. Their new year celebration is called Nowrooz and is celebrated at the spring equinox. I love it! It seems so much more appropriate!

Springtime is marked first with daffodils who herald the new season like the sun heralds the new day with golden light. Fruit trees burst with popcorn blossoms that seem edible. Calves wobble along, following their mothers. And the sun beats down warm on my skin, penetrating to my soul and reawakening it for a new season of hope.

New beginnings spring from eternity. They re-center the soul and ground us what matters most.  Tentacles of hope and joy are sent out to spread the news that life goes on and all is well.

K Day 6

Chunky cheeks are always so cute in kids! This little sweetheart has the cutest no-tooth smile and pinch-able cheeks! I love getting hugs from her when I see her and am grateful for the opportunity to capture her charm. Art doesn't necessarily last forever, but it is definitely the gift the "keeps on giving". 

Sometimes I take pictures of the process nearly every step of the way. It's funny how many face lifts one figure can get. Noses can move, eyes can get lifted, mouths can completely change expression. I love that moment when I can sit back and say, "Ah, now there she is!"

Actions of Gratitude

The expression "Attitude of Gratitude" is fun to say, but for me it leaves too much to the assumption. I can have a grateful attitude without ever acting on it. And I can do acts in a full heart of gratitude without anyone seeing a difference in me. I want to focus on acting in gratitude. 

Actions of gratitude start from the heart, weave us together, and radiate out.

K. Day 5

I thought I might note that Day 5 doesn't necessarily mean the 5th calendar day. My schedule doesn't allow me to paint 7 days a week. Additionally, I like to work on several paintings or projects as once. This is helpful because there are times when the paint needs to dry or at least thicken up a bit. And there are times when I need to take a step back and get a fresher perspective. 

I've come to appreciate the saying, "You can't see the forest for the trees". Often I have my nose so deep in the painting that I really can't see it as a whole. Taking a day or two off can really help with that. I walk in and look at it and suddenly I see exactly what I need to do. There is definitely a magic to painting and love those moments!

As you can see in this image, I got past the paint-by-number stage! The colors are beginning to blend well, the shapes and colors are beginning to align, and she is actually starting to look like K. That's always a relief!

Beyond the Horizon

What lies beyond the horizon?

I see only confusion ahead. 

The dark comes at me sideways,

Although there is just as much light.

The dark seems to get to me first.

Every time.

Am I coming or going

On this long road?

Will the seeds I've planted along the way

Continue to grow if I move on?

How will I nurture them 

If I'm moving toward the confusion?

K. Day 4

Once I established the shadow area I began blocking in the color and values for the rest of her face. This stage always makes me want to go find a color-by-number kit and see if I could do a better job now than I did when I was a kid!

The colors still aren't quite right, but again, I'm working toward shape. And those colors will help build a foundation for more color to come along soon.

It's interesting to observe the process. Some days the paint just lands in all the right places and in all the right hues. Other days I can have one simple section take me hours. I observe this in my students and remember my fellow art students experiencing the same thing. So I work to not get too discouraged about it. 

I've come to believe that opposition is an eternal principle. There is opposition in all things, and it is that very opposition that makes the sweet enjoyable, the easy days relaxing, and the love so deep. 

That Magic Moment

Oh. My. Google... I had a magic moment today! I was taking pictures on the beach and became fascinated with the dry sheds of some sand fleas and the patterns the sheds had made. The sheds reminded of some curious things I'd found last year that looked like leaf skeletons - like you find in late fall when a leaf has decayed all except the veins - only these were on the beach so they couldn't be leaf skeletons. I had gone home and looked it up and discovered they were Purple Sails. You can read all about them here (Blue Zoo). After reading about them I thought that I had missed my chance to see a live one. 

I continued to explore more of the beach when suddenly, right there in front of me, was a Purple Sail! I immediately dropped to my belly to get as close a picture as I could. To my further joy I discovered that the tide line was littered with them - not thousands, like in some of the web site photos, but scattered all along where I was standing. 

It's interesting that this memory came to me right when it did. If it hadn't, I may not have been paying close enough attention to realize what they were. They are so much smaller than I would have thought. Crazy how things work... 

When I first moved to the coast I would go the beach in hopes of finding this or that specific thing. I've come to trust that if I arrive with no expectations the Ocean will gift me with something very special every time. Today was a treasure beyond treasures. I couldn't wait to get home and start editing the photos. So exciting! Enjoy!!

"Purple Sail at Twin Rocks"

"Purple Sail Trio in the Sand"

"Stranded Purple Sail"

"Scattered Purple Fins"

K. Day 3

Values... The top of her face is in shadow, so I'm beginning to play with the values. The contrast is still too high and she needs more color in the rest of her face. But she's starting to come to life a little... 

K. Day 2

Blocking in... I used the grid method to help me sketch the outline for K's face. The initial colors are quite like, but it gives me a place to start. I like to layer my colors so what goes on first is not necessarily, and very often not, the colors that will be there in the end. One of my favorite Brian Hoover quotes is, "There are only two things that can go wrong in a painting, either shape, or color". In fact, a few of us formed a group who painted outside of regular class hours and called ourselves the Paint and Color Club. Ahhhh... good times... 

So while the initial color is not perfect, I'm working on shape and getting the foundation set so I build on it over time.

Grateful Moment

It has been fluctuating between rain and clear sunny skies all day. One minute it's a downpour and the next the sky is such a bright blue and rain on the fresh spring leaves sparkles in the sunlight. I took a quick opportunity during a break in the rain to explore a little finger on the Tillamook Bay that's been taunting me since I moved here. I've seen fishermen and clammers down there, but it's often deserted. I didn't get far before the wind picked up and the rain threatened again. But it was fun to know I broke that barrier and introduced myself to a new corner of this heaven where I live. As I stood there, taking in the chill, the bite of the wind on my cheeks, the smell of the varied types of moisture, the sound of the waves and the rustle of the leaves I sensed a message coming through. I laugh at the dramatic changes in weather in the fall and call it the menopause season - hot flashes and cold chills. But I felt that rather than an impending sense of imminent cold and miserable weather, Mother Nature was tell me that it heralded the coming of hope in the form of fresh blossoms, budding leaves, new plants and baby animals, and the joys of spring. My whole being took it in and relished it. What a grateful moment in time!

Starting Anew

There is always a range of emotion when it's time to start a new painting. There is the excitement of a new adventure as well as the anticipation of what may come. There is also the trepidation that this might the time that it just can't be done or it won't be good enough. 

Nevertheless the blank canvas offers a fresh start and all the hope of the unknown future. 

I typically sketch on the canvas before I start. However, this time I decided to lay in the background first and then draw the figure on top of that... 

And... Done...

Not only did I get unstuck, I finished the painting. A good artist knows when to stop. I could fiddle with the painting forever, but I'm calling it finished. I am happy with it, and I'm ready for the next one.

The next one will actually be two. I'm starting a commission piece as well as then next painting for the book contract. There is always a mix of emotions when it's time to start anew. There is the excitement for all of the possibilities. There is also the trepidation of all that could go wrong. And of course reality will be somewhere in between. 

I am excited though...

UnStuck

I'm happy to report that I took my own advise and headed back to the canvas. I admit that it was a bit of a mind game. I noticed it during art school, I definitely see it in myself, and I see it in my students as well... it is hard to get oneself settled into the process. As artists we seem to always be fighting task initiation. Once we have our canvas just the right height, our brushes in perfect reach, our palette adjusted perfectly, then we still have to wander around, in and out of the studio until there are no more excuses. Finally we sit down, stare at the canvas, and eventually touch brush to canvas. Once that happens, though, it doesn't take long to get in the zone. And then the magic happens. Even if it's frustrating and things don't seem to be going right, it's hard to tear away. Eventually, however, hunger, the clock, or someone pries us away. And if we are away too long, we have to go through the painful initiation process all over again.

I did finally get settled in today and made great progress. I think tomorrow I will be able to call the painting finished!

Stuck

I'm stuck on a painting. I'm under contract for the author of a children's book, so it's not a painting I can share visually. But I'm trying to do a sour face and struggling with the fact that he keeps looking either angry or constipated! 

I've learned over the years that these are the problems that both make me crazy and make me love what I do. The struggle may not be fun, but once the puzzle is solved I am joyous. And that's what it is - a puzzle to be solved. What is that color combination, value adjustment, brush, stroke, or angle that I am missing that will suddenly make his face sing? Or pucker as the case may be... 

In the end there is only one way to find the solution... Get back to the canvas...