Painting People

I enjoy painting people.  And I use the term "enjoy" loosely, since it can be a very frustrating process, especially if I rush the drawing stage, or ignore it completely.  But when I take my time and it goes well it is quite satisfying.  I think it's the challenge of it that attracts me to it.

The painting above was quite fun.  I really took my time with the drawing stage, but I still feel that I should have spent even more time on it.

After penciling it all in, I added watercolor in layers to build up depth, and then added the ink at the very end for contrast.

I love the look of watercolor and ink, although a lot of purists would say that it is technically not a "watercolor" anymore.

I made two prints from this painting.  One for the couple shown on the left and their daughter beside them, and one for the couple in the middle and their two boys (and dog).  Craig and I, shown at the right, get to keep the original painting :)

Shown above are the next two people paintings I have on the go.  My sister's boyfriend and their daughter at the top, and my sister and her daughter (at a younger age) on the bottom.

When I draw people, I like to use a grid to get the proportions right.  I usually draw an X over the whole picture, and then split each side into four sections, no matter what size I'm using.  If I need extra definition, I'll put an extra X in each of the four quadrants.

I then lightly pencil in the same grid on the paper, and then draw in the outlines of any critical details of the picture.  I usually run the eraser lightly over the whole thing when I'm done, so that the pencil doesn't show through the lighter areas of paint.

It's hard to see the faint pencil lines in the pictures above, but I've got the grids drawn and I'm ready to start drawing the people.

"Water Play" Series - Knife Painting

The 5 paintings below were painted in oils with a painting knife.  Each measures only 4"x5", with the edges of the canvas painted black.  I haven't done a lot of knife painting in the past, so when I picked out the photographs for these 5 paintings I was a bit intimidated by the amount of detail in them, especially for painting on canvases so small.  But I'm quite happy with the results.

Water Play #1

Water Play #2

Water Play #3

Water Play #4

Water Play #5

"Water Play #3" was chosen for Argyle Fine Art's Pre-Shrunk 2017 show.  See the previous posts Pre-Shrunk at Argyle Fine Art and Gallery Show - Pre-Shrunk 2016 to see the paintings I've done for previous Pre-Shrunk shows.

I've got a few more Water Play pictures picked out to paint as well.  All of these feature people I know and love enjoying the water in their own way.

And I'm definitely going to do more knife painting in the future.  I love not having to clean brushes!  I hated that part.  And I can use the paint strait from the tube, without having to mix it with thinner and/or oil.  That's a bonus.  I may even put together a plein air kit and paint outside a bit more, which is another thing I've been doing a lot of recently and really enjoying.

Handmade for the Holidays

It's been a while since I've written a blog post, which is odd considering how much crafting I've been doing lately.

The problem is most of my projects lately are Christmas presents, and I don't want to spoil the surprise.  I figured it would be ok to write a bit of a teaser post though.  The picture below shows some of the materials I've been working with.  Details of the finished projects will have to wait until the new year.  Stay tuned!

Halifax Urban Sketchers

I recently joined the Halifax Urban Sketchers.  This is my sketch from last weekend.

Below is the photo I took before I started sketching.

I guess I need to work on my perspective.  I was sitting in the same location for both the photo and the sketch, and I didn't notice until I looked at the two side by side when I got home that I had drawn it as if I was looking at it almost strait on instead of from down low and at an angle.  How did that happen?

Annapolis Royal Paint the Town

Paint the Town in Annapolis Royal was a lot of fun.  I spent pretty much the whole first day in the Historic Gardens, and sold these 3 roses in the auction.  The painting of the hydrangeas came home with me.

On Sunday, I set up along the boardwalk to paint these inukchuks that were set up on the rocks.  This one is in watercolor, 11"x15".  From talking to passersby, it sounds like these inukchuks have only appeared here within the last few weeks.

After spending all morning on an 11"x15" painting, I decided to do a couple smaller watercolors in the afternoon.  I had fun with the sky in the last painting, so I figured I would play some more with that in the smaller ones.  Both of these were painted from Fort Anne.  I spotted a sailboat heading back to Digby, so I sat down in the grass in the much needed shade and painted "Sailing Home".  And since I still had time to paint one more before I had to head home myself, I walked a couple of feet, sat down low, and painted "Adirondack Chairs".

These outdoor painting events are an awesome experience.  I enjoy taking a break from painting and browsing the auction for inspiration.  Even though we are all painting in the same general location, it is interesting how we all see and are inspired by completely different things.

I'm now looking forward to "A Brush of Autumn Color" in Lunenburg, which is a very similar event to the Annapolis Royal "Paint the Town", and the Lunenburg "Paint Sea on Site" event I participated in last July.

Daily Paintworks Challenges

I've been trying out the weekly painting challenges on the Daily Paintworks website.  I've been thinking about joining, and this is a good way to test it out and see if I can commit to painting regularly.  I like their concept of painting small and often.  The 2 paintings below have been added to the site.

Butterfly and Clover - The Butterfly Day Challenge

Campsite - The Forest Challenge