Painting Begins Again :)

Recently, I started back painting.

I must say

I feel like I'm in heaven :)

With Christmas coming up,

I wanted to paint a picture 

of

Santa :)

He was so much fun to paint.

He is now framed and ready to be hung

as soon as the 

Thanksgiving meal is finished :)

I hope that doesn't make me seem that

I'm not Thankful for my

sooo many gifts.

Everyday I give God Thanks.

He is truly Awesome.

Speaking of which...

When we were in the old SVdP store,

there was a picture of

 Christ (Divine Mercy) on the

bulletin board.

Before we moved from the old store,

I took a picture

and vowed...

one day I'd paint Him.

Well that day came :)

Now...I keep painting on him.

I just can't seem to get Him the way 

I want Him.

But...in the mean time,

I sure am enjoying the process :)

Thank you God...

I am so Blessed :)

Signed ~ Sealed ~ Framed & Hung

Last October (2011),

the family took a trip to Florida.

While Jason & Sandra were out riding around,

Sandra spotted a swing fixed in an odd setting.

Jason hopped out of the car

and captured the shot :)

Being someone new to painting,

I thought maybe this might be an easy 

subject to paint.

Sooo it begins...

This is the conclusion of the 1st. night of art class.

Since, I wasn't all that enamored with the results,

I put it away/aside/forgotten.

Until this summer (2012), it came time to decorate my porch :)

I took the painting back to class last week;

but, I didn't get any advice.

Not to be deterred...

I decided to go it alone.

To get some advice, 

I pulled out some art books.

Here is the finished product.

Annnd ~ framed with a place to hang :)

Thank you Jason & Sandra for the inspiration. 

Lighthouse Continues

Last night (Wed.), was the 2nd.

time I worked on my lighthouse.

Here is last night's 2nd. pass at the painting.

Ok ~ I started getting very frustrated last night.

I realized the top "steeple" was off center.

Annnd, that really bugged me ;-/

Well, Thankfully ~ it was time to start cleaning

up to go home.

I couldn't do what I knew I needed to do there.

Today ~ Thursday...I made time

for myself to work on my lighthouse.

I'm happier with it at this point.

*I've got the steeple centered.

(I used a ruler :) ~ that was logical to me.

*I knew I wanted some color interest

in my lighthouse.  

Soooo ~ today I introduced some

 yellow ochre & burnt umber.

Last night, Andrea taught me how to 

use the gradation technique

across a cylinder shape.

I had a LOT of fun with that :)

*Then ~ also today, I added 

some color interest into the

"steeple" & the house roof.

*I also graded the "steeple".

*And ~ last but not least...

I worked on the sky a bit.

I decided I wanted the sky to be

stormy :)

Class Assignment ~ Lighthouse

Last session, I asked Andrea to

please give me a class assignment

for me to solely work on it with

her instruction.

We decided on...

This oil painting taken from a magazine.

This is my 1st. pass at the painting.

Basically...this first night of class, I just wanted 

to get paint all over the canvas

A few of the things I'll work on during our next class...

improving the ground, ocean & making

the lighthouse more cylindrical 

(during our critiquing session, Carol pointed this out).

For me, the critiquing session 

continues to be one of the most valuable

parts of class.

Tulip with Nest Goes to Class

Tonight, I took the Barbara Flowers

painting to class.

I was shocked to learn it was done in oil 

and using a pallet knife.

I don't know if I'll finish it anytime soon.

But, I enjoyed painting using a pallet knife :)

Just In Case It's Homework...

Earlier this week,

Andrea send out link:

http://www.anneirwinfineart.com/barbara-flowers/

(paintings by: Barbara Flowers

I'm often confused as to whether

something is homework or not.

I chose to paint...

"Tulips with Nest"

Here is my rendition...

I've got sooooo very much to learn ;-/

Texturized Sam

Today, I found myself with a couple

of hours between gigs...as it were :)

Soooo ~ you know what I did

...I pulled out my paints & canvas...

I'm still trying to paint my sweet Sam.

This time, I began the process completely differently.

I covered the entire canvas with

semi-gloss heavy gel.

I have a long way to go before I put her on the forever canvas;

but, she is so sweet...

~ I sure do enjoy the process :)

Cruising the Art Gallery

In 2010, 

Allen, Brandon, Angela & I

went on a cruise.

We sailed on the Emerald Princess.

During the cruise,

Allen & I "cruised" through the art gallery.

Always having my camera on me,

I snapped a couple of pictures

we liked.

Painted by: Adolf Sehring,

this is one of my favorites.

Of course...it made me immediately think of

my sweet Sam :)

Sooooo...you guessed it

~ I started painting it.

This is as far as I got yesterday.

And ~ today, 

this is where I left off.

1st. Time Drawing Nathanael

It's another day ~ it's another drawing ~ it's another blog post :)

Today ~ for the 1st. time, 

I drew Nathanael.

The picture I drew from...

This is actually the 1st. time

I basically free-handed.

I used only the pencil as a measuring device.

I think I figured out why his eyes look so far apart

...through-out the whole drawing, I was never

happy with how round his face was.

(He has a round face; but, not that round.)

As I was making it more narrow, the left eye

kept getting closer to the side of his face.

I need to make adjustments to the features

as I make adjustments to the shape of the face :)

Art at My New Table

Allen made me a combination

art & sewing table :)

Today, I spent the whole day

drawing & painting.

At my table, I was able to hook up my computer.

So, I took an online portrait tutorial

by: James Sulkowski.

After he got this far in the instruction,

he tore off this page & started

with another instruction.

My reaction..."wait, woo, hold-it ~ I'm not finished."

I'm not real pleased with this little guy;

to me, he looks a bit possessed.

This is the 2nd. & final instruction

by James Sulkowski.

She's better; but, there are definitely some quirks.

(BTW ~ she has on a bonnet.)

And, then...

I pulled out my paints & brushes.

Yes...I'm still trying to paint my sweet Sam.

I'm still not coming close to capturing her.

Oh well, thanks to Allen & my table,

I can easily get back to it.

I've Pulled back out my Paints :)

Again ~ this is the picture captured brilliantly

by: Jennifer Polk 

Well ~ I've finally painted my

Sweet Sam.

I've been drawing her for 6 weeks.

(At home on my own.)

Again ~ I'm not pleased with this painting.

It doesn't look like Sam, she looks much

older than 3 & I went WILD with her hair.

I put this 1st. painting in this blog

for documentation purposes.

Sam in Charcoal

Today ~ I drew Sam using charcoal.

I don't have much to say; except

...Allen suggested I draw someone else for a while.

I think I agree.

This is my 4th. attempt to draw Sam

...without assistance.

Of course

this is Thursday after my Monday art class.

I consider this "homework".

I think tomorrow

I'm going to work with charcoal.

I have 0 (zero) idea how to work with 

this medium.

Well see :)

The Progress of Sam

I've eagerly been anticipating last night's

art class.

I got to start drawing ~ with Andrea instructing

~ my Sweet Sam ~

YIPPEE!!

I learned more about gradient value.

To grade the areas 1-5.

To look for the light & dark triangles.
I learned how to measure by using a pencil :)

I learned from Bruce during the critiquing session

~ mouths naturally slightly turn down,

we make them turn up through smiling.

Today I keep picking at the drawing.

I'm going to flip over the board,

tape down another copy of her picture

and another piece of drawing paper

and work there.

We'll see how that goes :)

I can NOT wait till next Monday night!!

3rd. Attempt at Drawing Sam

This is my 3rd. attempt at drawing Sam.
Again, I drew this one at home without instruction.
I'm looking so forward to Andrea's instruction.


Jennifer Polk did such a marvelous job
capturing Sam's
joy for life, intelligence and curiosity 
~ all in one shot :)
I so very much want to do justice by this photo.


I have to say in closing
...even though I struggled mightily with the
"Headless Naked Women",
in the end
~ I found myself enjoying the subtleties
of the exercise.
I'm actually looking for another  
gradient image to draw.
I know...shocking!!

My Achilles Heel ~ Headless Naked Woman ~ aka...an Ankle

I thought I was finished with 

Headless Naked Woman.

Andrea convinced me

...I still had a bit more to learn

from this drawing.

The lessons learned

will be applied to 

My Sweet Sam.

I have great confidence in my art teacher

...Andrea Kindl...

After working on it more in art class,

my Achilles Heel is now finished :)

2nd. Attempt at Drawing Sam ~ at home

Sooo ~ after the lessons of

* gradient value scale

* Headless Naked Woman,

this is the product of those lessons.

I have to give credit where credit is due...

While those lessons were extremely tedious for me,

I can see marked improvement in my work :)

Today is the day after I finished the

Headless Naked Woman at home.

This is my 2nd. attempt at drawing Sam

...both have been without any instructions.

I'm very eager to get instructions on drawing Sam!!

Headless Naked Woman...aka ~ Ankle

Last Monday ~ in art class, I took the first steps toward

drawing my sweet Sam.  I do NOT have adequate words 

to describe my level of frustration.

To learn how to walk, you have to learn how to crawl.

I was first assigned to draw...what I thought was a 

headless naked woman.  Turns out ~ it's an ankle.

Imagine my enthusiasm ;-/

This is as far as I got last Monday.  I was so frustrated; I couldn't look at it

again till today...Saturday.  I believe the only thing that drove me back

to it even then ~ was the thought of having to work on it another class day.

So, here's what I did today.  And, I've declared it finished!!!!!

1st. Step to Learn How to Paint Sam

Art class started up again last night.

I've decided, I need to learn how to draw.

My ultimate goal is to:

...paint Sam :)

My thought is,

you'd better learn how to draw before you learn how to paint.

Last night ~ as an art assignment,

we worked on value & gradient value scale.

If you are anything like me,

you have no idea what that is.?

Here is the result of my class assignment:

Ok ~ so today armed with my

gradient value scale,

I began my 1st. attempt at drawing my sweet Sam.

(I'm not at all happy with this.  I put it here for pure documentation.)

How in the world did I manage to...

age her 25 years

&

look scared to death ;-/

I have a very long way to go.