Making progress

So much red seems a bit overwhelming but necessary to deal with at this stage. I have begun to indicate the patterned fabric background and it is going to change the feel of this piece very much. The background colour of the fabric is an off white. I am hoping it does not end up being distracting. It can always get painted out again. The beauty of making art is that changes are allowed. Where else in life can you experiment so freely, take chances, try ideas without fear of

catastrophic outcomes? It's only paint.

I thought I'd never start...

Today's efforts finally seem worth something after days and days of messing around. I don't feel such a procrastinator, (although I remain one at heart). Now I can look at what everyone else is doing without guilt, thinking I really ought to be working. I might even be back to business early tomorrow. Oh, one can only dream. James Taylor and Piano Classics really help.

Decision on Chica

Thank you for the input regarding placement of Chica. It has been decided, and I agree, that it is best to keep a slight distance between bird and girl. The parrot's head and neck angle to echo the curve of Samanda's cheek and I think that works ok. The painting will be ok too. But is ok enough? I am seriously considering shutting down this computer for a while and just working! My brain feels divided. I find myself interested in what so many of you are doing also that I while away the time becoming involved with processes not my own. And now we are basically snowed in for a time. No excuses for not painting. I did my bit of shoveling to make it out here to the studio. Dinner will be simple, hearty, and warm this evening, which still comes by five o'clock. If the power stays on we can cuddle under blankets and watch DVD's. If it goes out there are enough candles and oil lamps to allow a bit of reading and then early to sleep under even more blankets. Hey, what am I complaining about??

A Kiss or No?

Now I am getting into the subtle changes that make up the final composition before I begin to put paint to canvas. I am using a slightly different pose for Chica, the parrot, and trying to determine if I want it seem as if Samanda is giving Chica a kiss on the head...or not. Hands are more accurate now as are the shawl folds around her shoulders. Of course, part of this fussing is to stave off the actual moment of beginning to paint. And why do I do this? Why do so many artists I know also do this? We love painting! It is our greatest joy...but so hard to begin. What if it fails? What if no one likes it? What if, what if. It doesn't matter. BEGIN.

I would appreciate any opinions about whether or not to have Chica being kissed by Samanda but I don't guarantee going along with the majority vote...

Just chattering

Getting ready to transfer drawing of Samanda and Chica

"Bananas & Oranges - or Bowl of Fruit" oil 14"x18"

"Grapes in Yellow Bowl" oil 12"x12"

"Cartoon" is the word the old master's used to describe the preliminary sketch that was scaled up to size via a grid and then transferred onto the final surface the art would be painted on. They punched teeny holes all along the lines and tapped fine charcoal powder against the drawing so the particles would go through the holes and leave an impression for them to follow when painting. I use a more modern approach - enlarge my drawing on a copier and transfer it by using a special transfer paper like Saral, which comes in various colours so you can transfer onto a light or dark surface and have the drawing visible. In this case I did not spend the extra money or take the time to travel down to Campbell River to use a professional copier that makes 36" by any length you want (from a roll of copier paper) which is frequently used by blueprint makers and available at Sure Copy there. Most decent sized towns have at least one copy place that has one of these machines. When I do large paintings it is a time saver but this is just 16"x40" so I used our home copier and taped together the separate copies of each section of the drawing. I have small and also a large lightbox but here I just taped the copies to the window and lined up the drawing that way. There is always some distortion in the enlargement to be aware of and correct in the final transfer. In this case I can't use my favorite Red transfer paper since my underpainting is red so will use either white or yellow. I like a red underpainting since it enlivens the whole image even when painted over - the red shows through subtly and adds a richness.

The next two images are for one of my blogging friends, Claire Christinel, who is having some issues with making shadow colours on lemons. Shadowing yellow can turn to mud if you're not careful. Here I used a red tone for the shadow in the yellow bowl but on the right side went to the green reflected from the green grapes and to offer a cool breathing spot. In the Bananas and Oranges painting I did the same thing, alternating between the warm red tones and cool green/blue tones. I allowed a bit of burnt umber in there but not too much - always aware of staying away from mud. I went very bright red for the shadows on the oranges which I like very much, and a deep purple for the orange in front. I outlined the bananas in Cerulean Blue before painting the yellow tones. One of my favorite painters, Wayne Theibaud, does this and I remember how impressed I was with the liveliness in his work the first time I ever saw it - a portrait of a young girl sitting in a yellow dress and go-go boots - just a white background - and all this colour around the edges. That was back in the late 60's and I have often returned to that technique for my own work. Thank you Wayne! His paintings of food are scrumptious!

Upcoming CBS Sunday Morning Challenge

"Curly Headed Sun" oil 12"x12"

Side stepping today to do this little painting to send to the upcoming challenge in Dante's Pub. It is a chance to have your work selected to be shown on the CBS Sunday Morning show. Go to http://www.theartistchallenge.com/upcoming-art-challenges/ to find out the details. The challenges come up every few weeks and give artists the opportunity to have work seen by collectors and maybe SELL something! Aside from that it is just fun. Most challenges cost a mere $7 to enter and some are free! Victoria North, a talented artist in her own right, is in charge of this enterprise and very accommodating those of us who may be computer challenged when it comes to sending her the correct size jpegs! I made a semi self portrait with my sun...I have a lot of wildly curly hair. Deadline for this challenge is this coming Saturday, Jan. 8th!

"To Tell a Story"

The parrot's name is Chica which Samanda tells me means "To Tell a Story" in Filipino. Who is telling this story? Chica or Samanda? Or both? Holding her close is Samanda whispering to Chica about the story? Chica can talk but she is reticent in front of strangers. This might be a very appropriate name for the painting so that is the working title for now. I am making the decisions about placement and composition and wondering about how strong to make the background colours. Little by little it comes together. The canvas is selected and underpainted with a strong Cadmium Red Dark. Tomorrow it should be dry and ready for the preliminary drawing to be transferred to it. I enlarge my drawing on a copier and transfer it with Saral red transfer paper usually. It is a lot faster than gridding and fussing. I generally have to make corrections on the drawing after it is initially transferred to the canvas. I don't do any of this if I get to work from life. I just eye ball it and start working on the canvas directly. Vicky and Brian and I are thinking of hiring a model to pose for a few days, one pose, so that we can have this opportunity to paint from life beginning to end. Maybe in the spring when weather is better and getting together isn't such a problem...I don't live too close to anyone. I could set up carefully lit still life subjects, and I might do that again soon, but always I am taken by the human face and form and want to explore that subject more thoroughly. We are mysteries to ourselves no less than everything on the planet is a mystery. Somehow coming to some sort of understanding about the stories we tell each other may help to bring about the harmonious world we all wish for, but I am not naive enough to think this painting will have anything to do with it.