8-6-06: Freedom of Spirit

I completed the painting today - after taking the last week to figure out what I needed to do to it.  I made her facial features deeper set.  She no longer looks Asian.  All small faces seem to come out looking Asian.  They are easier for me to paint.  I added new highlights to the hair and a burnt sienna and dioxazine purple mixture to some of the shading.  I also carved off some of the upper arm and added highlights to her hands.  It always feels good to complete a painting.

7-30-06: Freedom of Spirit

With a #2 round and a #4 flat Creative Mark Ebony Splendor brushes (all the ones mentioned below are also Ebony Splendor) I honed the face a little more.  I also used a #4 Manet filbert bristle brush to do some shading of the clothing.  My basic problem is with the shirt on her right side.  The armpit area and shoulder look very unreal.  So tomorrow I will have Phil take a picture of me with my arm spread back like that so I can get the shading.  I'll have to extrapolate out my age and fatness, but I don't know how else to do it to get the shading right.  I just don't have anything to go by for that area.  I also added lighter layers to the hair.

7-28-06: Freedom of Spirit

Today I repainted her face.  Now she looks Asian.  The Creative Mark round #1 is really good for doing small eyebrows.  I still need to shape everything a little better, but it's closer to being complete.

7-26-06: Freedom of Spirit

After today's painting session the woman's clothes are now a golden color.  To accomplish this I used indian yellow with a little burnt sienna.  I wiped out her face, twice, although I left her lips, which are now smiling.  Her hair is black again - it looks better with the gold than the blonde did.  I also painted her shoes to match the clothes.

7-23-06: Freedom of Spirit

Today I sculpted the face, turning her into a human, rather than a ghoul.  I used the new Creative Mark #2 flat sable-like brush for most of the face, and painted in her eyebrows with the Creative Mark #1 round sable-like brush.  I also added eyes.  She's better, but the face is too small.  I also added a little more shading and layers to the hands.

7-22-06 : Freedom of Spirit

I worked on the shoes and a little more of the shading on the body and the face.  I also added another layer to the hands and carved off some of the stomach.  Her face still looks ghoulish.

7-19-06: Freedom of Spirit

I painted in the lighter goldenish shading to the clothes and her hair.  It looks better in some ways and in others not - maybe the alizarin crimson was better.  But I think I'll stay with this color scheme . . . at least for now.

7-18-06: Freedom of Spirit

I added several shades of brown to the hair and with the hairline shaped the face a little more.  Then I added more of the alizarin crimson to her clothes, and I cleaned up the edges of the clothing a little.  After talking to Phil I decided to make the clothing the color of a deer's coat in summertime - a golden light brown.  So I added more brown to the clothing.  But I couldn't tell that it made a difference.  I decided not to add more until it had a chance to dry overnight.  I also spent time removing brush hairs from the painting and then painted over those spots.  My new painting supplies arrived from Jerry's Artarama.  So I tried using the new wash brushes from Creative Mark to scumble in - touch up the background.  These brushes are good, but not for that.  So I still need to get a new hake brush from Jerry Yarnell.  In addition to some new brushes and paint, I also got a tube squeezer that will help me utilize more of the paint.  And I bought some canvas stretching pliers.  This should help me stretch the canvases tighter.  I bought some erasable colored pencils for drawing the images.  It was like Christmas today with all the new supplies.

7-17-06: Freedom of Spirit

I underpainted the woman.  I wasn't sure what color to paint her pants and top.  I want them to match.  She's wearing jeans, but blue jeans would have been too close in color to the background.  I thought of a rust color since the sky is a bright-dark bluish color and white, and orange and blue are complementary colors.  But that didn't seem refreshing enough.  So I made a mixture of alizarin crimson, burnt sienna and payne's grey.  The alizarin crimson is the outstanding color here.  But as I look at it, that doesn't seem right, even though the highlights will be lighter.  I may still make the outfit a rust color - not sure at this point.  Her hair is underpainted with payne's grey.

7-16-06: Freedom of Spirit

I adapted/combined the two pictures I'm using to paint the woman in the picture.  I also drew her in.

7-15-06: Freedom of Spirit

In applying the second layer of the background, I used pure white gesso.  Then I combined ultramarine blue, a touch of dioxazine purple, and a little Payne's Grey - mixed together in varying degrees.  With both the white and the other mixture I made the paint thinner than with the other layer - almost a wash.  At first I applied it with the hake brush, but since that is losing hairs, I decided to try the larger of my angular cut brushes.  It's an inch wide I think.  I let the paint dry a little and then started blending with circular motions.  This worked great.  I should have ordered the large one from Jerry's Art Arama when I made my order last week, but at the time I didn't realize my hake brush was shedding so badly.  Creative Marks makes a 2 inch angular brush for washes.  So far I've found Creative Marks brushes are quite good, for a reasonable price.  I need to order a new hake brush from Jerry Yarnell.

7-14-06: Freedom of Spirit

I started another painting, trying to paint what I see in my mind.  This starts with swirling blue and white.  I think it will need another layer.  My hake brush is losing lots of hairs - I hope I don't have to rip off the canvas and restretch a new one.