K. Day 5

I thought I might note that Day 5 doesn't necessarily mean the 5th calendar day. My schedule doesn't allow me to paint 7 days a week. Additionally, I like to work on several paintings or projects as once. This is helpful because there are times when the paint needs to dry or at least thicken up a bit. And there are times when I need to take a step back and get a fresher perspective. 

I've come to appreciate the saying, "You can't see the forest for the trees". Often I have my nose so deep in the painting that I really can't see it as a whole. Taking a day or two off can really help with that. I walk in and look at it and suddenly I see exactly what I need to do. There is definitely a magic to painting and love those moments!

As you can see in this image, I got past the paint-by-number stage! The colors are beginning to blend well, the shapes and colors are beginning to align, and she is actually starting to look like K. That's always a relief!

K. Day 4

Once I established the shadow area I began blocking in the color and values for the rest of her face. This stage always makes me want to go find a color-by-number kit and see if I could do a better job now than I did when I was a kid!

The colors still aren't quite right, but again, I'm working toward shape. And those colors will help build a foundation for more color to come along soon.

It's interesting to observe the process. Some days the paint just lands in all the right places and in all the right hues. Other days I can have one simple section take me hours. I observe this in my students and remember my fellow art students experiencing the same thing. So I work to not get too discouraged about it. 

I've come to believe that opposition is an eternal principle. There is opposition in all things, and it is that very opposition that makes the sweet enjoyable, the easy days relaxing, and the love so deep. 

K. Day 2

Blocking in... I used the grid method to help me sketch the outline for K's face. The initial colors are quite like, but it gives me a place to start. I like to layer my colors so what goes on first is not necessarily, and very often not, the colors that will be there in the end. One of my favorite Brian Hoover quotes is, "There are only two things that can go wrong in a painting, either shape, or color". In fact, a few of us formed a group who painted outside of regular class hours and called ourselves the Paint and Color Club. Ahhhh... good times... 

So while the initial color is not perfect, I'm working on shape and getting the foundation set so I build on it over time.

UnStuck

I'm happy to report that I took my own advise and headed back to the canvas. I admit that it was a bit of a mind game. I noticed it during art school, I definitely see it in myself, and I see it in my students as well... it is hard to get oneself settled into the process. As artists we seem to always be fighting task initiation. Once we have our canvas just the right height, our brushes in perfect reach, our palette adjusted perfectly, then we still have to wander around, in and out of the studio until there are no more excuses. Finally we sit down, stare at the canvas, and eventually touch brush to canvas. Once that happens, though, it doesn't take long to get in the zone. And then the magic happens. Even if it's frustrating and things don't seem to be going right, it's hard to tear away. Eventually, however, hunger, the clock, or someone pries us away. And if we are away too long, we have to go through the painful initiation process all over again.

I did finally get settled in today and made great progress. I think tomorrow I will be able to call the painting finished!

Stuck

I'm stuck on a painting. I'm under contract for the author of a children's book, so it's not a painting I can share visually. But I'm trying to do a sour face and struggling with the fact that he keeps looking either angry or constipated! 

I've learned over the years that these are the problems that both make me crazy and make me love what I do. The struggle may not be fun, but once the puzzle is solved I am joyous. And that's what it is - a puzzle to be solved. What is that color combination, value adjustment, brush, stroke, or angle that I am missing that will suddenly make his face sing? Or pucker as the case may be... 

In the end there is only one way to find the solution... Get back to the canvas...