Spider

The final post for tonight is of a man named Spider, who sat for our portrait group last Saturday. I used big brushes loaded with lots of paint to paint him quickly. This is 14" x 18", and is done in oil on masonite I prepared myself.

Little Crow

Based on another black and white photo by Edward Curtis, this Indian woman is painted life-size on 11" x 14" canvas. I love the feathers and how they contrast with soft even skin tones. This is a detail of the painting.

OSU Painting is finished

I listed this one today at $99. A large painting like this takes a bit more time than I am used to.

My Favorite Part

I forgot to add that my favorite part of this painting is the referee's head and the abstract crowd. Here is a closeup of that. Also the size of this painting is 26" x 30".

Close to the Finish Line (Pun intended)

I need to add a number to the OSU guy- my son says go with 11, Anthony Gonzalez. Also need to finish the blue helmet and add some darks and lighter lights all over after it dries a bit. Otherwise, I am pretty happy with my sports painting, considering I know nothing about football except that they wear helmets and uniforms and the goal is to get that ball over the finish line.

OSU Football Painting

This is somethng new for me. My husband, the Ohio State fan, suggested a painting featuring his favorite team against their arch rival. What a coincidence that they play this weekend in the classic match-up. Let's hope those OSU students behave themselves and don't make us look like weanies again; win or lose. There is no reason to tip cars over and set them on fire. Maybe those farm boys miss the cows?
I have an hour of painting time in this but two hours of research.

Chief Joseph

Yesterday and today I worked on another Indian portrait. This one is Chief Joseph, a man who if he lived today would more than likely be an environmentalist. He cared for the land, he loved his people and he was a fierce yet gentle leader of the Nez Perce. Chief Joseph was chief of the Nez Perce, a Native American tribe of the Wallowa Valley in Northwest Oregon. In 1877 the Nez Perce were ordered to a reservation, or special land reserved for Native Americans. The Nez Perce refused to go. Instead, Chief Joseph tried to lead 800 of his people to Canada. Fighting the U.S. Army all along their 1100 mile journey, they crossed Idaho and Montana. They were trapped just forty miles from Canada. After a five-day fight, the remaining 431 remaining Nez Perce were beaten. It was then, on October 5, 1877 at Bears Paw, that Chief Joseph made his famous speech of surrender:
Surrender Speech by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce
I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohulhulsote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead.
It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead.
Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.

Saturday's model

I joined a new portrait group on Saturday. The great thing about this group is that they have tow models each week and the models sign on for a four week session. You can have the same model for a total of eight hours less breaks. This is Margarita; she emailed me a photo when I got home so that I could finish her dress and fix her eyes.

Indian Girl from Another Curtis B&W Photo

This one has a really cool background. It is a small 8 x 10 piece painted on linen. I haven't come up with a name for her yet. She is very far from looking like the original; I think I am getting better at adapting the photos and placing my own stamp on them.

Latest Portrait is Finished

I finished this one Tuesday - 16 x 20 oil on masonite that I prepped myself. I am happy with the way it turned out and finally heard back from her today and she is likes it too. I included the background in the photo she provided because it had such great composition and possibilities. I hadn't painted any foilage this year and this was my opportunity.

Vaquero No. 3

This painting joins the other two Mexican Revolutionaries I have painted for Mr. J. Arce. At 20" x 16" this one is a bit smaller than the previous paintings. Not needing to model the features of his face as clearly due to the size of his head, I concentrated instead on the painting as a whole and placed him outside in a garden. It is still very evident that he is a soldier as the pistol is clearly shown, but the suggestion of the flowers in the background and the deliberate use of warm colors indicate a more romantic atmosphere. Quite a few people have told me they prefer this soldier to the first two just because of the bold color. I still like the first one best, but I think it's just a matter of taste.
I think they would all look awesome hanging in a Mexican restaurant and I believe I will order some prints and market them to one of the larger chains when I have finished the entire series. I know I will be painting at least one more for Mr. Arce and I could probably paint a few more to sell independently to come up with a total of ten. I would want to add a few senoritas though, just to balance things out.

Yellow Wolf 16 x 12 on linen

A looser painting where I stopped before covering up the bold brushwork that made up the original sketch. This is my interpretation of a kinder, gentler Sioux Indian.

The Toast Eater

This is a woman who uploaded her image to the reference library at WC and the lighting was perfect for what I had in mind. Now I just need to get a few more of these done.