After applying the color to the various areas blended and softened them. This is the beginning of the layering process. It's a little tricky because if I leave it for too long and the paint dries, then I basically have to repaint everything. If I can get back to the canvas soon enough, however, the paint will still be wet and I can add more colors and layers and move the paint around and manipulate it. He's not looking so great today, but at least he's got a face, right?
Paint By Number Face
Well, it's back to Ryan. And boy has he got dirt on his face today. This is the stage where I play with colors and values, general placement of lines, and try to find the planes on the face. It looks pretty messy, but it's actually quite an exciting stage. It's the beginning of the puzzle, like when you get all the edge pieces in and now you can really start getting to work on the meat of the thing. Good times, good times.
Neah Kah Nie Canoe Sketch
I've been invited to submit a painting to honor the Native Americans of Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain. This is a quick sketch of one of the concepts I am considering.
Family
I came across this little sketch I did over Christmas. One of the highlights of the holiday was watching my husband, Andrew, interact with his brother and his mother. We are all unique individuals. We all lead our own lives. And yet although we come and go and only occasionally cross paths, we are connected. We are bound together. And the unity we create as we share our lives is a beautiful creation indeed.
Happy Birthday... And I Cried...
Today is my brother's birthday. He passed away in 1999. Painting this portrait of him has been an emotional journey on so many counts. Like I said, bad references were a major issue. My emotional issues were also a huge barrier. Then, I kept seeing my son instead of my brother on the canvas. But the other day I looked at the canvas and my brother was smiling back at me. I sat there and cried, and cried, and cried. I felt him in the room with me. I felt his love, and his approval, and the joyful essence of him. And I missed him. And I loved him. And I was filled with gratitude that I was able to do this. A month from today is our father's 80th birthday. This painting is for him. I hope he sees Roger too.
The Grandpa Shirt
When my boys were little and we would buy them a plaid or western shirt, they would say, "Oh! I got a Grandpa shirt!" This one isn't plaid, but I think it still qualifies as a Grandpa Shirt. Once again it was fun doing fabric. There are only subtle folds and wrinkles, but it was fun to make the collar twist and turn and pop and finally come out just right.
In the Twinkling of an Eye
His eyes are twinkling and so are mine. He is finally beginning to really look like himself. I've really struggled with this one and it's a relief to see him taking shape. There is still a lot of work to do, but hope is in the air.
The Barber Is In
I have been very hesitant to add the hair. For some reason I was thinking I needed to save it for a finishing touch. Today, however, it was driving me crazy not to have it, so I added it. And Ta-Da! He suddenly started to look like himself. It was a real turning point. I seldom approach a painting the exact same way. And when I try to force myself into a certain order or way of doing it, I end up stuck. Today was a reminder that I need to listen to my inner artist and allow myself the freedom to create and find whatever is ready to come forth. Fighting the inner self is always a losing battle.
The Dark Side
Okay, I have to get my Star Wars reference in somewhere. But seriously, there has to be a dark side in order for there to be a light side. And it takes both a dark side and a light side to create form. Otherwise we're back to one dimensional flat surfaces. We all have a yin and a yang. The dark side is not necessarily a bad thing. It's simply the opposite of the light. And it's important because it helps define who we are. So let the shadows fall so the forms can be seen.
Step Away From the Canvas
I've been feeling a bit guilty that I haven't gotten to easel as much as I wanted this past week. But yesterday as I sat looking at this painting and the very poor reference from which I have to work, I began to notice some significant things that I had missed before. I thought I had them right, but I've been away from the canvas long enough now to begin to see the forest instead of just the trees. It's pretty impossible for me to paint without getting my nose right up there in what I'm doing. But this was a good reminder that it's just as important to not only step back from the canvas at times, but to completely step away from it, leave it alone, let my eyes forget what they've been seeing, so that they can actually see more clearly again. I find this true in relationships as well. Sometimes we get so caught in believing that a person one way that we stop seeing that they are many ways and many things. It's too easy to see people as one dimensional. I want so much for others to understand me and yet sometimes I'm the one who needs to step away from the canvas of our relationship and allow myself to see them more fully, as a whole person, and even through their eyes. When things just don't seem to be going right, step away...
Artist Reception
Check out the post for my Artist Reception at the Hoffman Center!
Peek - A - Boo
HIs face is beginning to emerge. He has skin tones, though not enough yet. Some of his features are coming through. My problem is that whenever I stand back and look at him, I see my son. Am I seeing what isn't really there? Am I painting what I see subconsciously? Or am I just verifiably insane? We may never know.
Art Show at the Hoffman Center
"Seeing The Light"
Art exhibit by Bay City artist Karen Gale
Karen has prepared a selection of about thirty paintings to exhibit at the gallery at Hoffman Center for the Arts during the month of January. Her oil paintings will examine the idea of searching for, finding, and seeing light physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Karen's oil painting classes were so popular this fall she will continue themThursdays, starting January 7th, 10am to 1pm. New students are welcome.
An opening reception will be held Friday, January 1 from 3p.m. to 5p.m. Karen will be available to discuss her work and the show. Refreshments will be served.
The Eagle has Landed
Just a few subtle changes, but I feel better about the draperies. The eagle has landed on the flag pole, and the blue flag background is drying in preparation for the stars. Another wonderful quote that I can attribute to Brian Hoover is, "Don't make decisions based on laziness or fear." I have to admit I didn't want to deal with painting stars on the flag. I looked everywhere for an image of a flag on a pole that only showed the stripes. Yes, sometimes I am that ditzy. When I figured it out, I realized just how lazy I was trying to be and put in the blue flag. Why do we so often insist on taking the easy way out? We are creatures that constantly veer to the path of least resistance when it is after a job hard fought and well done that we feel the very best.
Hat's Off
Well, I'm off and running with the hat at least. It still needs more work, but I'll need to find a better reference before I can finish it. His face is finding it's shape as well. It's slow going, but at least there's progress. It's amazing how being emotionally attached to the subject can make it so difficult to be objective about something even so detached as painting the figure. It's simply hard to look at what is really there. The human being is such an emotional creature. Our feelings, experiences and perceptions effect everything we do and every decision we make. It's not always for the best, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Drapery
I love painting cloth. There's something about watching the hard and soft edges and the value changes bring depth and form the canvas. And I'm typically pretty good at, even if I do say so myself. But these draperies are not cooperating. There are only two things that can go wrong - shape and color - so I walked away and will go back to it after I've taken a break. I simply can't decide if it's shape, color, or both.
Shape and Color
I heard my professor, Brian Hoover, say it 101 times and my own students hear me say it over and over again. There are only two things that can go wrong with a painting - shape and color. So the first thing I'm working on is creating a shape that will work. As I said, I am working from several different, very poor and very old references. If I were trying to create a generic person it would be one thing. But this is actually supposed to look like a particular person when I'm finished. So I have to be really careful about getting it right from the start.
Background - Take II
While I really did like the background originally, it just didn't feel right for the figure. So I'm going in a completely different direction. While wet paint makes for good layering and blending, it doesn't work so well for starting completely over. So I'll have to wait for this to dry and then do another layer on top of it. But already I feel like this is the better direction to go. I remember one time I was traveling with my extended family and were caravanning in two or three cars. Our car got off track and they called to see if we were okay and if we were headed in the right direction. I said, "We are now!" Even though we were no longer on the same road as they were, we had corrected our course. Often I feel overly bad because I've gotten of course in a painting, or in life. But life is all about making those course corrections. We can never go back to where we were before. But because of them we learn, get back on track, and are all the wiser for it.
Oh So Slowly
It doesn't look like I've done much here, but the truth is that I've done a lot of work that can't be seen on the canvas. The request is that I use one reference for the face, a different reference for the hat and clothes, and I have to adjust the lighting on the subject. So that big blob of brown in the middle of the canvas actually took a great deal of effort. Have I mentioned that this is going to be a very difficult painting? Yes, I'm whining about it.
The Hardest Thing
I was writing this blog post and got into the middle of a very personal and emotional bit about this painting when the page crashed. The internet didn't crash. My web browser didn't crash. My computer didn't crash. Just this page. I feel like I needed a minute to re-think what I was saying. So I'll just say this... This painting is going to be the hardest one I've ever done. It's a gift for someone I love dearly. He requested it of me long ago and I haven't been able to emotionally deal with painting it. But the time has come. I don't have any good references, he wants the references I do have to be combined, and I'm emotionally involved. All of these are a wonderful recipe for a grand disaster. So if you ever wanted to see a painter struggle, just keep following along with this one. It should be a great exercise in trial and error and trying again.