Color Study: Silas

I should have done this color study before I started adding color to the painting, but better late than never! Color studies are rather difficult for me, since I tend to go crazy with blending.

Art Renewal Center Winners Announced

The Art Renewal Center's annual salon competition winners have been announced. I am happy to say that my painting Weapon of Choice was included in the finalists this year for the Still Life Category.

The artists who are chosen for this competition, year after year, are many of my favorite painters that I drool over their talents. The fact that I was a finalist completely blew my mind.

Check out the still life finalists here.
Check out all of the Winners here.

I have a couple new paintings in the works that I would like to submit for next year!!

Painting in progress: vintage kodak camera

Working in a grisaille for now in the darks.  Lots of sinking in occuring but overall some good progress.

Painting of Silas is finally getting color

This little boy is finally getting some color! I should have started with the background. I think Ruben traditionally started from items in the background and worked forward I am using the Rubens method I learned at a workshop at the Boston Academy of Realist Art)... but I'm never one to follow the rules. I like to live dangerously so I started with the leaves.

I do think that I'll put in some of the background next. It's a good way to establish context for everything else.

Painting in Progress: Knock on wood

Knock on wood! I just thought of that title and I think it is quite clever.

I'm not sure how much more I am going to do on this (other than the sides). I don't care too much about it and I have a bunch of other larger projects I'd like to get some progress done on. Maybe some glazes... who knows. It's just a practice painting anyways!

I did, however, start to try out a new white from RGH Paints. The Flake White Pure Extra Fine in Safflower Oil. It honestly handles quite nice and is MUCH better than the Windsor Newton Cremntiz White I've been using since I started in oils (many lead whites are now impossible to find.) I highly recommend RGH Paints!

Painting in Progress: Practice painting

Sad to say, but this is the first color paint I have put down on canvas this year. I've done a bunch of dry-brush/underpainting... but this is the first color of 2013. The drawing for this is off a bit since this is just supposed to be practice (the whole thing is too wide!). I didn't care too much about the construct.

Fortunately, I have 3 more large original paintings in the works. (Maybe 4 if you count having paper with 1 or 2 pencil lines on it) My goal this year was to get at least 3 or 4 really good larger paintings completed or in the works.

Painting in Progress: Lips!

My first painting project at the Boston Academy of Realist Art. We have to do a value study and a value strip before we can start on the actual painting. This painting will be a grisaille.