Here Comes Santa Claus

I finally got Santa completed. Actually two were completed, exactly alike. I've posted what I think is the best of the two. What I thought was going to be a quick little portrait turned into much more and I learned a few things along the way not the least of which is how to store my acrylic paint and preserve it after it's been squeezed from the tube. I can't believe I didn't come up with this idea sooner! I'm using a disposable plastic container with lid as my palette which is capable of keeping the paint usable up to 3-4 days. When it's dried out all I have to do is use a plastic palette knife to scrape it away and voila!...I have a nice clean palette for the next project.

Girl w/the Black Hat ~ WIP

I've been fiddling away at this one for the better part of a week. I could not bring myself to 'cartoon' her up so I went more realistic. I loved her pale skin tones with her red hair and I wanted to preserve her delicate features. Realism = fiddling for me. At times I was regretting my decision but now I'm glad I stuck with it. I think the BG could be tweaked. Maybe a stencil treatment...something. I haven't decided.

Self Portrait ~ WIP

In keeping with the collage portrait theme I'm doing a self portrait. I'm trying to remember to take photos as I work. So far, so good. ;)

A Redheaded Girl

Recently I've been interested in people's faces. Painting them, that is. I did a search of PMP and found some wonderful photos of men, women and young people to use as references and this is my first go. This lovely girl was not a redhead but I felt she should be. In fact I think all women should be a redhead at least once in their lives. I was for about 10 years and I loved every minute.

My approach was to start by adhering bits of tissue paper to my substrate, in this case an 8" x 8" piece of 140# watercolor paper. I wanted to create texture. When all was dry I used a couple of my homemade stamps to stamp most of the surface. I transferred my drawing to my paper, then added pieces of magazine pages to the girl's hair. With my palette in mind I began painting with acrylic paints and this is my result. It turned out the way I had envisioned so I'm pretty satisfied. 

I think for my next project I'm going to do a self portrait. It's something I've never done.

Reference photo courtesy of Neil A. Kingsbury (PMP)

Meet Peter Steele ~ commission

I've just completed a portrait of Peter Steele and it turned out rather well. I'm always a little surprised when I have success with people portraits, mostly because I so rarely do them. I will admit my first attempt failed. I couldn't find a suitable photo reference at first and a good reference is crucial. I also tried a non-conventional palette the first go around and it did not work. I had to try though.

The palette I did settle on was fairly typical for caucasian skin tones...Alizarin Crimson and yellow ochre. I do prefer DS Moonglow in place of cobalt blue because it will give me a full range of values. I added DS Quin. Burnt Scarlet and used it as the color on the lip area. This is the first male I've painted and I was able to create a more 'manly' lip color with this shade. The Quin. Scarlet also combined well with Moonglow to give me a nice neutral. For his hair, I did an under glaze of Indathrone blue, a staining color. I then mixed a black with the same blue and burnt sienna and went over the entire hair area, lifting out the blue highlights afterward with a stiff brush. 

Raven ~ drawing

I was looking through some old picture folders a few days ago and stumbled onto a photo of Raven I had completely forgotten I'd taken. I still don't remember taking that particular shot but it's clear enough to use for a portrait. Even though she's been gone since 2007 I haven't painted her portrait because I didn't think I had any decent photos of her. Not that I didn't try but black cats are difficult to photograph. I've always felt bad that I've never honored her memory in this way. She was the most beautiful black cat I've ever seen. Fur like silk and her eyes were the most incredible shade of green/gold with a bit of turquoise around the irises. Her ears were big and round. When she ran she would fold them back against her head and she looked like she was flying. For that reason my youngest son named her Raven. I hope I'm able to capture her beauty and spirit in a portrait.

JUGGS ~ a commission



Just before Christmas I received a call from the gallery. Apparently a fella saw my Red Hat lady paintings and wants a portrait painted in the same style. His wife has three close girlfriends and they have formed a group called 'Just Us Gorgeous Gals' aka JUGGS. I love it! They usually meet at Christmastime every year (from what I understand) and he provided a few photos I could use as reference. Not the best images but I think I can work with one of them. I've just finished the drawing and my Strathmore 500 plate illustration board arrived today. It's not something I usually keep on hand but it's great for portraits. The colors stay vibrant, similar to watercolor on Yupo only you have much more control of the paint. It's also great for fine detail work.

Sweet Tea ~ WIP 5

Another update. I finally completed the background. I did wind up requesting feedback on a critique forum but didn't get much help. I decided I was wasting time and probably overthinking things so one sunny afternoon I sat down and just banged it out. I've since added a pale blue wash to the sky and will probably add another before completing the leaves on the trees. Whenever I sit down to paint I'm always tweaking one or more of the girls. I can't help myself. If I'm not painting on this portrait I'm staring at it, continually seeing things I've missed or need improving. I'm guessing the biggest problem I'm going to face with this undertaking is deciding when it's done.

Note: the shawl tablecloth isn't bright yellow. It's yellow ochre.

Sweet Tea ~ WIP 4

Progress has been slow but steady. It's all those teeny, tiny little details like the grapes in the pedestel bowl that I can not sit and focus on but for a few minutes at a time. Gradually it's coming together, though. I'm still undecided how to resolve that background so I may seek opinions from other artists on that matter. One thing I do know. Once the little details are completed that background should go much more quickly.

Sweet Tea ~ WIP 3

Here is the latest update. I've made some progress but had hoped to be further along by now. The girls are finally starting to get their hair and I need to work on the grass as well. Ah, the grass. There will be lots of it as this is a full sheet of 300# Arches CP w/c paper. It's been a long time since I've worked on this weight of paper and forgot how it loves to gobble up pigment. I'm also used to working on bright white paper (and this isn't) but my reasoning is twofold. My client requested that the palette for this portrait go with her wallpaper. It doesn't have to match but can not clash. She sent me a sample so I have a reference to work by and the colors are low chroma for the most part so bright white paper wasn't necessary. Also this portrait will hang in an area that may expose it to some humidity and the 300# is less likely to buckle.

Working out the background has been challenging. I have only a very basic knowledge of landscape painting and how to create depth of field so I'm learning more as I go. My client suggested the tea party be flanked by trees and trees I do know how to paint. I decided a lavendar hedge would be lovely on the right but I'm not sure what's going on the left yet.  

Sweet Tea ~ WIP 3

First, I want to apologize for the lousy photo I've posted. I'll take a better one tomorrow using the tripod. It's also distorted because I was shooting at an odd angle. I was losing the natural light so I rushed.

I took a break after completing the final sketch(last update). Truth be told, I was simply burned out and didn't want to hurry into painting and ruin this portrait. Instead I threw myself into some Spring cleaning. Yes, I know it's Fall but better late than never...huh? I started painting yesterday and by today managed to get the girls mostly completed. The skin tones were my biggest concern and because I have no real references I've been flying by the seat of my pants here. They still need hair and clothes but I think I'm going to start on the background next and let it tell me what reflected colors, shadows, etc. I should add. And I promise to post a better image tomorrow.

Sweet Tea (formerly 'Precious') ~ WIP 2

 Notice the title change? All the sisters have been discussing the final title for this family portrait and Holly won with 'Sweet Tea'. Congratulations, Holly!

This is also the final sketch (hopefully). I'm pleased with it but I will probably get some feedback as most of the women represented in this portrait are watching my progress via this blog.




Each little girl is represented by something she is either associated with now (as an adult) or as a child.

• Angie - the oldest at 12. She was the 'little mother' so she sits at the head of the table and pours the tea. She also loves grapes hence the bowl of grapes in front of her.
• Marie - 11 years old. One of the family artists so she wields the paint brush.
• Rita - 10 years of age. She loves bangles and necklaces and as a child, was the one that brought smiles and laughter to the others.
• Louise - age 9. She is represented as smiling and happy with bouquets of flowers.
• Holly - age 8. She was very close to Louise as a young child so she sits, picking flowers for her. There's a funny story behind the dragonfly on her hat but that will be left as a private joke.
• Katherine - age 6. She was the littlest because of health issues so she gets the most cookies.
• Eva - age 5. Poor little thing is trying to say grace at a tea party!
• Melinda, the baby -  Hand on the cat. What baby doesn't like the feel of cat 'purr'?
• The Cat - This kitty will eventually become a tuxedo cat. Black with a white 'bib'.

P.S. I've added the closeups to better show detail.