Week 16

Pt. Reyes, Acrylic on board, 12"x 9"

I've been using a charcoal pencil for my under drawings and letting the line mix with the paint. Somehow I retain more of the quality of the drawing, which I like. I love drawings, but always feel I have to paint an entire image without letting the drawing show. It's interesting the self imposed rules that emerge, but I find most of the time when I try to break them, I am not happy with the result. Always trying though!

Gram I and Gram II, acrylic on board, 8"x10"

My other child. Sigh, as always, not quite right, but it looks like him. I only have a couple more portraits to go in this series and I haven't gotten where I want to with them. Perhaps I should paint the next one with my eyes closed.

After seeing the post online, Gram looked like he was reflected in a fun house mirror. It's amazing what the brain thinks it sees and what is actually there. Each part of the painting looked alright to me, but when it was strung together, it was really off. I repainted it, still not quite right, but it looks more like him. 

I looked through one of my art books with hundreds of painted portraits by well known artists and there were only two showing teeth. One was a Picasso. 

Peony, acrylic on rice paper from a Japanese ledger over wood, 5"x 5"

I love this paper from an old book I bought in an import shop. I have been doing Japanese images on the pulled out pages... I have a hard time with flowers! Next I should do a flower series until I can paint them the way I want to. I tend to get too literal with the petals...it's always a question of how many do you add?