Hope with Red Hair

A portrait that I started at our weekly model group and finished at home. Thirteen year old Hope actually had pink hair but I did't feel like painting it that unnatural color. So I changed it to auburn. I asked her what color it really was before I left and she told me it was blonde. But I like the red I created and it's a natural foil for the olive shadow tones that always tend to show up in our room.

I worked on some watercolor paper that I gessoed and coated with a wash of black and yellow ochre a few years ago. I found it when I was cleaning up my studio and I thought it would be fun to try something different. I really liked the way the paint went on. It's very different from the new Arches oil paper, which is a bit flimsy. I did a portrait on that paper and it actually tore when I removed the tape from the board it was mounted on.

Hope 11" x 14" oil on paper

Traditional Syrian

Another fine model from our weekly portrait group. The handsome young man is Syrian and is dressed in a ceremonial Syrian style of dress. The scarf was his grandfather's. Youssef is thankful to be living in the United States. He has many family members whose lives have been destroyed by the warring factions in Syria.

This is that rare portrait that I an happy with after one pose and feel nothing else needs to be done to it.

Youssef 

9" x 12" oil on panel

Saturday model at Hyter Group

Jennifer

11" x 14"

oil on linen

Jennifer posed for our portrait group when she was eight months pregnant. I decided to just do a portrait but quite a few of the artists showed the baby bump and did a full-figure piece.
I love painting redheads-- or "gingers" as they're now known- courtesy of the TV show "Glee", I guess. Somehow I ended up with a good position too; I was right in front of the model. That never happens. Great model and fun to paint.

Jessica from our Portrait Group

Thought I had better be doing some painting from life in preparation for my upcoming workshop with Nancy Seamons Crookston at the Scottsdale Artists School.

This is Jessica from our Saturday morning portrait group at Common Space II- corner of Hill and Holland Sylvania in Toledo, Ohio.

She loves to dress in period costume and I have a feeling we will have her back again because she is a great model! Bruce found her at the Toledo Museum of Art when he was up there to see the Manet Exhibit.

I focused on the face while she posed and finished the hat when I got home.

14" x 18" oil on linen

Exotic Models are Truly Inspiring

Our portrait group at Common Space II had a special treat yesterday when Anyho modeled for us. She is a 24 year old student at the University of Toledo and is incredibly beautiful. She wore an exquisite African dress and brought jewelry to complement. If we had a model life her every week there would be standing room only on Saturdays. Many thanks to my friend Charlotte Loetz for asking her to model.

This is where I am after a two hour pose. The dress has a very complicated design and it will take another week at least to finish.

16" x 20" pastel on Ampersand Pastel Board

Another try at Samantha

Our lovely (I would not have guessed) 15 year old Samantha modeled for the last time Saturday. This is a small 12" x 9" painting where I focused more on getting the gesture than her face. It was quite a bit easier than trying to do a larger head as i did the first time. Some of the people who attend our weekly portrait group are unable to stand so they sit and they are not willing to move in close so the artists who stand and draw or paint often don't have a good view of the model. I choose to stand most of the time because I don't like looking up the model's nose. Not so attractive. lol

12" x 9" OIL ON LINEN

SOLD

The Model from Saturday's Group

I loved painting this model... she was beautiful and she held the pose so nicely. I love the painting I did too, and that is not always the case when you have two hours to paint someone.

Pastels Again

I switch back and forth between pastels and oils for my portrait work. These are the two mediums I am most familiar with and I enjoy working with the most. Occasionally I'll do a charcoal or pencil drawing and I have been know to create murals with acrylics but I love these mediums the best. Pastels are a more delicate medium but I can get more done in a shorter period of time than if I used oil paint, which is helpful if you are working from the live model and you are not sure if you'll get another chance to see the person. That's the case here, where I attend a weekly portrait group and I am never sure if i will be able to show up the following week. I think it's important to work from life as often as possible, especially if you plan to work from photographs at any point. The life sessions will inform your view of color and help when you have to make it up from those flat photographs.

Anyway, we originally had a different guy scheduled but he didn't show so this is Jake, a young guy who showed up to draw with us but who was promptly hired as a new model for $15 an hour! He has a very nice sensitive face and he was a pleasure to draw, paint whatever!

Another Head Study

This gorgeous looking lady was out model at the Hyter Group last week. It is very helpful when the model actually holds their head in one position and can maintain a bright and alert pose. It's not as easy as it appears. I had to leave early and they started late so this is about an hour and a half. When I know the time is limited I do try to pare things down to the essentials and I am not always as careful with my transitions between dark and light. Still, this sometimes results in a positive result. I toned the 1/2" birch board the night before with a light mixture of black and yellow ocher so it was dry when I started the portrait. The light green really created a dramatic contrast to her red hair so in a way it was just a lucky choice of colors for the underpainting.

11" x 14" oil on birch panel

$150