A New Toy!

I found a great tiny watercolor kit from Japan called Koi. You can see the brush just under the paints. The brush holds water so I do not need to bring a water bottle. I just put my journal and this Koi paint kit in my handbag and it is all that I need to make small watercolor studies anywhere I go; museums, views from my car, or to work out ideas before I paint a larger work. I love it. It is a great way to make color thumbnail composition studies. These two small studies are of two works by the artist Kim English. The second one of the girls eating lunch reminds me of me and my sisters when we were young. He is amazing when it comes to plein air painting.

P-town Nature Trail

I drove to Provincetown this morning. There was no traffic congestion, I am pretty sure due to the fact that Friday we are expecting a hurricane. Today I found a nice spot on a nature trail and started to paint a fallen tree limb.

Padanaram Sailboat

I am right in the middle of this painting. Thought that I would show the progress as I go at it. It may be finished tomorrow if there is good light and the weather man says this is the case!

Starting a New Painting

Today I painted most of the foundation for a new painting. It is of one of my favorite places to go, Padanaram Harbor. It is so peaceful and quaint that it seems like it must be a long drive from the city but it is only 10 minutes away. It is a great place to grab lunch and watch the boats and the people fishing on the bridge.

El-Ghadi Family Finished and Delivered

Last month I brought the finished family portrait to it's new home. I am so glad that I got the chance to do this work for them. I had to make some changes along the way. The son's head was redone and you can see from the previous post that many other minor changes were made. This was the most people I have had on one canvas making it my most challenging work to date but now I am eager to take on the challenge of more of these larger works.

My thanks go to the El-ghadi's for choosing me to paint their family and for the kindness and openness that they have shown to me throughout this long and happy process.

You can click on the image of the painting to zoom in for more detail!

Commission in Progress

The family portrait is coming along nicely. It is difficult work but I love it and bit by bit is coming to life. I don't know how long it will take me to finish but I have found that I have to block out big chunks of time for days in a row to keep the momentum flowing and my focus clear. I can not put aside five hours one day and then come back two days later and pick up where I left off so it is good to have 10 or 12 hours set aside two or three days in a row. I am learning! Five people all on one canvas is more than double what I have ever painted and I love the challenge.

Visitors

James is down from college for winter break. He and his friend, Liz, came down to see what I was working on. I always encourage people who visit to make a stroke or two on whatever I am working on. Liz added a little more violet to the shadow on a dress. Then she wanted to try her hand at a painting of her own, so she made her first oil painting today. She painted my son as her drew. James is working on character designs for a comic story that he has been working on. It is always good for me to have people visit while I am working. They give me another perspective on what I am working on at the moment. Today's work for me was mostly focused on the face of a father in a family portrait. His face is nearly finished. It may be done with one more go...