Another Holiday Portrait Swap at Wet Canvas

Judy Manuche from San Francisco is my partner this year in the 10th Annual Wet Canvas Portrait Swap in the Portraiture Forum. I think this is my tenth year and it will be my final one. I have all the paintings of me that I and my two children will ever need. WHAT will happen to them when I die? I know my kids won't want them so they will be relegated to the burn barrel, and that's a shame. Because many of them are quite wonderful. I think the artists always try to flatter one another a little bit; delete some wrinkles here and there, leave out the zits etc. Why not? We are painters or sketchers...not photographers. Why not do something that is easy with paint but (perhaps) more difficult with a photo.

Judy sent me a great photo with Rembrandt lighting and I have had fun trying to do it justice. The mod asked us to show progress pics if possible so I did take a series of photos when I began. The last two hours I spent on it were not photographed as I tend to get too involved in the process of fixing all my mistakes.

I used the same size I usually do-- 11"' x 14". This kind of thing is never fun unless you turn it into a self-lesson, so I decided to limit my palette to Indian Red, cad yellow light, black, yellow ocher, violet-gray, ivory black, aliz. crimson and pthalo green. The pthalo green and the Indian Red are both REALLY strong and they formed the basis of my color scheme. Judy's photo had a red background and she is wearing a green sweater so it seemed to make sense to me.

I used a failed plein air painting as my base, and it always helps me to have SOMETHING on the canvas before I start. Eliminates all that 'white canvas anxiety'.

11" x 14"

oil on canvas