Portrait studies

This 8x10" life portrait study was done last night with finishing touches put on in my studio today.

8x10" oil on linen

These past few weeks I've also done studies of my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, husband and a friend.

I want to paint it all!!

The past few paintings that I've posted are not done but I'm too impatient to totally finish one painting before beginning another and another and another.  These are not finished yet either but often it helps me to see them on the computer to notice what changes need to be made.  I'm already seeing where I need to deepen some shadows.

I have really been enjoying painting especially portraits.  It blows my mind that in spite of the billions of people on earth, no two people, even identical twins, look exactly alike.

Girl in blue scarf

I love when I have the opportunity to work from a model.  This is a 2 hour study I did the other evening.

"Girl in Blue Scarf"

11x14" oil on linen

My Muse

My muse has been keeping me busy.  I wonder what my muse looks like?  Maybe this?

My two loves - watercolor and oil

I love both watercolor and oil but understand why watercolor doesn't sell in galleries as well as oil does.  It is not the look of watercolor but the glass that is required when framing watercolor paintings.  It is as if there is a barrier between the viewer and the painting viewed.   This is done in oil in the style of watercolor with no glass required!!

I Found My Heart Song

I was asked recently what I liked to paint.  I said that I paint everything.  This is true but that question stayed with me this past week.  What do I really LIKE to paint?  I sat for a long time with that.  I pulled out some paintings and reflected on feelings I had when I painted them.  I realized that there are times when I paint I get an inner joy that is beyond description.  It is a feeling of being high and it is as if my whole body were smiling.  I have it when painting some things and not as much when painting others.  So, I put those paintings next to each other that had memories of feeling like I was "in the zone" when I painted them.  What did they have in common?  They were not all of the same subject.  They were not the same colors.  Some were high key and some not.  Some had a lot of contrast while others not so much.  There had to be something that weaved them all together.  What was it?  Then it hit me.  They all had faces but not necessarily human faces or even animal faces.  It could be the face of a mountain.  It could be facing fears.  I found faces of flowers and faces of people or animals equally exciting.  Ah, I finally found my heart song!  I finally discovered what made me sing inside.

22"x28" oil on canvas