Portrait of Jenny, 6" x 8"

I'm back!
Here's a recent portrait sketch I did of a delightful young girl, in a pensive pose. The lighting was natural, which means what we happened to have that day—overhead daylight flourescent and sunlight through windows. Despite the challenge, it was a pleasure to paint Jenny and I hope to paint her again in the near future.

Potential

Here's the second painting I did at Amy's, while spending the morning with Band of Brushes friends.

It's can be exhilarating to paint with such intensity (and speed) as I did on that overcast day. The concentrated looking and the trusting of instinct that's required, feel like a good workout when I'm done! I learn a lot when I change my approach to painting now and then.

Amy's Garden

This is one of my favorite paintings from this summer. I experimented with my block-in, using transparent oxide red and viridian. I painted two small painting that day in Amy's garden. I was determined to paint like there was no tomorrow, since it was my first time painting with Band of Brushes in so long! It was great to see friends.

Amy, a generous acquaintance of one of our members, and a talented artist and quilter, http://duringquiettime.blogspot.com/, invited our group to paint on her property. I guess I was pretty excited to be painting. It wasn't until I returned home that I saw that I had forgotten to wear my glasses while painting! Thus, the lovely, painterly quality! I may paint sans glasses more often!

Backyard Coneflowers

This painting was done quickly during a much-needed break this summer. I wasn't able to venture far, so it was nice to find models who agreed to pose for me right at home.

Stefan at the Hatch Shell

My younger teen on a rainy day in Boston. A little less rainy than today. Stefan's older brother, Marc, played piano with the high school jazz ensemble. At the Hatch Shell! The dampness didn't dampen our spirits. All the performing high school jazz bands had our feet tapping. It was very cool.

Kitties! Meet Fred and Jacques, 6x8"

Over the last few months, our younger son has been begging and then showing his maturity and readiness to care for his/our new family members: Fred and Jacques. The brothers put smiles on our faces with their antics. Although I'm helping Stefan out a little with the cat chores, he's doing a really good job! For this commissioned portrait, Stefan has asked me to work a little bit more on their eyes.

Great-Grandmother's Threads 2

Here's another painting of my great-grandmother's sewing threads. I kept the same general set-up, but altered the lighting. I'm not sure I want to do a detailed rendering of the lace at the bottom. So far, I've been happy to suggest it. My younger son feels it's incomplete. Although I respect his opinion, if any of you (of more artistic experience) would like to offer a constructive critique, I'd appreciate it! : )