Mug Shot 9

Mug shot number 9....

This woman had unbelievable hair, flowing and shiny and soft looking.

Mug Shot Number Eight

A cautionary tale concerning hair color. She had her chin cocked way over, I think from disgust.

Flowers for Pamela

Just some flowers today. I had to wipe one of my alleged criminals

but I will have a go at her tomorrow.

Mug Shot Seven and Rock Roses on Aluminum Foil

One more study on the aluminum foil and another mug shot.

Mug Shot Six and Forms on Aluminum Foil

First the study, this is my entry for the challenge at Some Texas Artists Like to Paint, the topic this month is Upside Down, which these reflections are. To see what others have done, you will have to go to sometexasartistsliketopaint.blogspot.com. Blogger won't let me put a link in for some reason.

Next, the mug shot. I tried to find somebody mean looking to paint and to paint him in a mean way. I could have been meaner. It's hard to not be enthralled with a human being that you are scrutinizing, looking up their nostrils, etc. I know, I know, paint what you see. But that itself is a vast philosophical question.

Mug Shot Five

This is my first grapple with African American skin. For the first half hour or so of painting I was flying blind, no idea what to put together to get the right skin tones. Also, those mug shots, not to be whining, but the light is horrendous, so things have to be invented. This is good experience, but painful. Still and all, these are fun to paint.

Mexican Ashtray on Aluminum Foil

Only this one today. I had to make peach pies to pay back favors and since it is as hot as the Congo here in central Texas I got started early and didn't get into the studio until afternoon. This set up was really too complicated for the sort of quick study I wanted to do, but sometimes I like all the visual overwhelm of lots of detail, you just make yourself hack away at it. And I like so much aluminum foil, it is just a magic surface with soft reflections, sort of Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca in the rain.

Mug Shot 4 and Bowl of Cherries

This guy seemed very self possessed to me, very cool. Maybe a Scot, and they are both cool and wicked. He actually had on a plaid shirt, which I took as a sign he should be chosen. Some of the counties (I am currently working Florida) have everybody wear the same thing, sometimes hunter orange, sometimes a blue scrub shirt. One wraps all of them up in a black plastic bib, like a hefty bag, so all you see is the head. I might write them and complain.

The study was not so easy today, but I am posting it anyway and not looking back.

Mug Shot #3, Bowl of Shrimp

The study again was quick and fluid. It helps to have another painting to get to that is the REAL painting, so this one doesn't count so much. I am seeing some improvement in the bowl issue I think.

The second painting, the mug shot, was just --- well, really fun. They are wonderful exercises for painting the head and the sitter cannot complain. The photos are execrable, and there is so much you can't see, so if you can't see it, you can't paint it, you have to consolidate the information and simplify. I can see that there are lots of things you could tweak for your own amusement.

Mug Shot #2, Study of Yellow cup

I like getting the study done fast and out of the way - no obsessing, and I just try to get it down.

And then, wiping! Very good.

The second one, the mug shot, was again lots of fun. This guy must have worn his hat while he was allegedly committing a crime, and then he had to take it off for the picture. These mug shots are very interesting to look through - there is every sort of expression, from open weeping all the way through grinning. I kind of feel protective of them, which is ridiculous. Just that I hope when my own mug shot is available for artists and who knows who else to pore over, there will be some mercy.

Boy with Hair (mugshot)

OK, a really good painting day today, stress free and quick execution of everything, no agonia.

Those mugshots are fascinating and hilarious to paint, I can't think when I have enjoyed anything more. I just set my laptop (!!!!!!!) up next to the easel and off I went. Thank you, Linda Popple! Go to her site and see her wonderful paintings.

Peaches and Batik Napkin

Above the daily painting...camera issues still, the cloth is really black and in this all the yellows look like they are on fire. I will try to re-shoot tomorrow. And the below painting is the study for today, a small espresso cup.

Bowl and Batik Napkin

Today I only had time for a study, which mercifully, is taking less time to do every day. Something about an interruption in the routine of the morning means a wreck of a painting day -- not a phone call or something like that, but if I have to leave the house and marshall my wits to deal with a non painting issue, suddenly it's 4 pm and I'm tired and hungry and haven't finished anything. I think a painting life requires protection of large blocks of time, and then soon you have the thought, I have used all this time and what do I have to show for it, BUPKIS!

However, I just saw a wonderful documentary (Art City: Episode 1) that included the great Agnes Martin, who at 86 said two things that got my complete attention. (1) She painted for 20 years and knew she had not found her voice, and she burned every one of those paintings. {TWENTY YEARS} (2) You don't have to listen to anybody. AHHHH.

Zinnias and Napkin

Still having some camera issues. There is quite a bit of blue in the bowl study but it disappeared in every shot. My SLR for Dummies has arrived, so maybe I can dig out the answer. And the other painting is of my brave zinnias, trying to survive through our blistering

heat. Even with daily watering they are gasping by nightfall.

Zinnias on Turquoise

Here is my study, arduous, and a little painting, fun, mostly.

Bowl Study

For the past couple of days I have been doing lots of small studies of forms inside a bowl. This was the best one today, but I wiped everything and will start again tomorrow. It's kind of nice wiping everything....liberating, nothing to lose.

Plums and Pear Paper

So....this is ever so slightly under exposed, but I am making progress with the Dslr camera. I have figured how to navigate within the vast menu but have to be completely calm to do it. Have mastered white balance, aperture and shutter speed, but am stalled on metering a mid tone. I do have a book on the way, DSLR for Dummies, isn't that the most infuriating title, but whatever, I have to have it to move ahead. I used to think that one should acquire a doctor and a lawyer as a life partner but I was way wrong. It should be a carpenter and a photographer.

In the painting, I tried to keep it all dark and close valued and saturated.

Geranium and Pear Paper

Another one of the old medicine bottle, blacklit.

Horned Hat

This is my late entry( hat theme) for the June challenge for Some Texas Artists Like to Paint. To see other people's entries, click here.

Geranium and Tangerine

I got a painting done today AND I used the SLR camera and this shot is reasonably like the painting. I am not sure what I did right with the camera yet and don't know if I can do it again,

but I am encouraged.

Egyptian Clay Mask, Study

This is a study for another mask painting. The mask is made of Egyptian clay mixed with organic vinegar and is just a horrible color. Grey green. When dry it looks like spackle, so I have to figure my color strategy beforehand to compensate for such a large portion of dour color. However, when you wash this off your face, you are radiant.

P.V. Study

More ellipses today, plus a few heads. One fun exercise for the dreaded ellipse: take a 6 inch length of string and push pin it to cardboard, the pins 4 inches apart. Put the pencil point inside the string and draw the string taught. (You get the string tangled up a couple of times, must reposition after first half of ellipse.) You can see from experience how the shape has to be, no matter what you think you are seeing! I found this very helpful.

Nude Sitting

Today I drew bottles, pitchers and jars for the ellipses, also did some reading in a pretty good perspective book that explains and demonstrates foci and tangents, etc., hoping all this will somehow pass into my brain. I think it so strange that the brain really does lie to you about perspective, and that you must unlearn the old way of seeing. I want to think it doesn't matter about perspective, however when I see work in which it is perfect (Kehoe for instance) I am knocked out. So I suppose there's nothing for it but to learn it, DULL as it is.

Above is one of the 15 minute drawings from this week. I particularly like this model. She is very small and comfortable in her skin. She takes good poses and wears her hair flat to her head so it's easy to see everything. Sometimes models have long hair that is draped all over everything, or 5 inch ear rings they have to be argued out of.

Study for Dew Rag

I had to take a little break from painting because I suddenly couldn't painting anything. I just hit 500 posts (beginning Feb. 2010) so I figure maybe a little shift is due, and maybe drawing is a good way to decompress. I have been attending a couple of life drawing sessions a week for a while and loving it, just beginning to use decent paper now and be relaxed about it. The best class I have found so far has 2 hours of 15 minute poses, which gives me enough time to get it down but not enough to overwork. And oh, the psychological freedom of doing something for only 15 minutes and tearing it out and tossing it over your shoulder! But there is always a moment in the drawing when I find myself irritated at having to make marks to cover a space that would be better done with a brush. I guess that is progress really, that I have moved to thinking of mass and form first rather than line. So yay for that one, that was hard come by.

No matter how good drawing is, and it can be good, it is never as good as painting. For moi.