2-16-08: When Dad Was Young
Total time spent on the painting - November 22, 2007 through February 16, 2008 is 4,632 minutes, or 77.2 hours

I reworked Dad's hand and the barrels and added three wires.  Looks like I'm finished.

2-15-08: When Dad Was Young

More of the same, working on Dad's face, his hand his clothes.  Adding finishing touches to the flags and whatever needed it.

2-14-08: When Dad Was Young

Using a #2 Ebony Splendor Creative Mark round synthetic brush and a #1 Grumbacher 4720 Bristlette round synthetic brush I worked on Dad today.  Most of the time I worked on his face, highlighting, shading reshaping.  Next I widened and lengthened his hand and arm.  The problem is that it's very blurry in the photo, so it's hard to know what to do.  After that I worked on his shirt, reshaping the upper back and painting more colors in the plaids.  The painting is close to being finished, but it still needs more work.

2-12-08: When Dad Was Young

I worked on three dimensionalizing Dad's clothes as well as the little boy's, then I added sunlight as highlight to various people and the clothes, and to Dad's hair.  At this point I'm not satisfied with the sunlight at all.  I'll have to evaluate it tomorrow.  I also worked on the shake roof at the top right of the painting.  I also worked on Dad's face a little.  I think it's now worse.  I think next I need to make his skin lighter.

2-11-08: When Dad Was Young

When I get this close to finishing a painting, as I look at it, it takes me a while to figure out what to do next and how to do it, so I have to stare at it a bit.  This time I added more shaping to the balloons, stripes to the flags, and sunlight to parts of people's clothes.  I used a scriptliner brush, a #2 filbert bristle brush, and a #2 round synthetic sable.

2-9-08: When Dad Was Young

I worked solely on Dad's head today, trying to figure out the colors for each part of his head and face.  I had to make his shirt color come up less far, extend his Adam's apple and the back of his head, slope his forehead more and reshape his chin, ears and forehead.  It's better, but I'm not satisfied yet.  It sure is making me miss him.

2-7 and 2-8-08: When Dad Was Young

I added another layer to the flags and the toys and painted in the clown's face on the posters.  I also underpainted the words on a banner.  I added highlights to more things, worked on the shadows, etc.  I added a long stick for one set of balloons.

When I first started to paint I remember asking an experienced painter what brushes she used for doing different things.  She just stared at me, like she didn't know what I meant.  I thought it odd she didn't know.  Jerry Yarnell's painting instruction helped with most of that.  Now, I know what kinds of brushes to use for which types of things.  But sometimes to achieve the results I want, the opposite kind of brush, than I thought, works.  Sometimes it's just a matter of guessing.  Of course, I still have a lot to learn.

2-5-08: When Dad Was Young

This time I underpainted the long pole and the lamp on it, as well as several poles on top of the tent and some flags.  I added more details to the toys on sticks.  I also adjusted the little girls legs.  They were positioned wrong.

2-3-08: When Dad Was Young

I worked more on the balloons and the ends of the batons.

2-2-08: When Dad Was Young

I extended the canopy below Seal Boy.  I tried adding more shading to Seal Boy, but it didn't seem to help.  I did miscellaneous layering including the little boy in the center of the painting.  After that I started working on the tips of the batons.

1-31 and 2-1-08: When Dad Was Young

I worked on three dimensionalizing objects and underpainting the toys on the sticks in the barrels.  Sometimes the paint consistency needs to be quite liquid and sometimes more like it is right out of the tube.  I used to worry about being able to match a color when I came back to paint on something again.  Now matching the color is getting easier to do.  I used to worry about what brush to use.  Now I just try something, and it works or it doesn't and I try again.  Experience and persistence can be everything.

1-28-08: When Dad Was Young

I added more shadows, but the problem is they look stupid if I paint them the way they are in the photo, so I may make them less exact.  I worked on the people in the background, giving their faces more definition.  I painted a design on the woman's dress, and redid the design on the little girl's dress.  I also redid some of the lines on Dad's plaid shirt.

1- 27-08: When Dad Was Young

I was nervous about working on Dad's shirt this time, so I worked on the lady's dress to the right of him and shaded in her little boy's clothes.  I also darkened the tent below Sealo, and did miscellaneous touch ups.

1- 26-08: When Dad Was Young

The left side of the tent is too prominent, so I toned it down by returning it to the original color, sort of.  Not sure what to do with it, but it needs to seem further away, so I need to tone everything down that's painted on that side of the tent.  I painted in an Indian - and to be politically correct, that's what they were called in 1930 when this picture was taken.  Most of the time I worked on shading Dad's overalls and plaiding his shirt.  The plaids need a lot of work.

1- 25-08: When Dad Was Young

Today's tasks involved shading and shaping people - three dimensionalizing them.  I painted over Dad's eye.  It was in the wrong place.  And I realized that his lower lip protrudes.

1- 24-08: When Dad Was Young

I worked on shading the tent and around the lettering.  In the photo, some of the lettering does not show up because of the way the tent is hanging.  Accomplishing that in the painting without messing up all of the lettering is proving difficult.  I also worked on evening out the edges of the letters.

1- 23-08: When Dad Was Young

I used a #2, 4 and 8 Ebony Splendor (ES) flat synthetic brush as well as a #6 bristle brush for today's work.  I painted more of the lettering.  I underpainted the gypsy in front of the moon, a clown, and some of the toys on sticks, although I don't really know what they are.  I worked on the little girl on the left and did some three dimensionalizing of Dad's face.  I also added more color to the dirt.  When I was doing the lettering I used cadmium red light mixed with white and a touch of purple.  Painting felt good today.

1- 20-08: When Dad Was Young

I worked mostly on the toys on a stick in the barrels in the right hand corner of the painting.  Since I can't really tell what they are from the photo, I'm ad-libbing.  I think one of the barrels contains sucker candy discs on a stick.  In another I think there are batons and kewpie dolls.  I painted what I hope will be a good underpainting for those.  I also worked on the color of the dirt where the sun is on it.  In addition I added another layer of white around the main entrance sign.

1-19-08: When Dad Was Young

Shading the letters in red pencil was a mistake.  Somehow it didn't allow the paint to stick.  Everything blurred on the big sign.  Today I had to wipe it off and paint over it, then redraw the letters in white charcoal.  I worked on shading and lightening the dirt in some places.  I also worked on reshaping the barrels and added the first lighter colors to the batons in the lower right corner.

1-17-08: When Dad Was Young

I painted in the lettering on the side of the tent using a number 2 round and a #2 flat synthetic brush - cadmium red light.  For the larger letters I tried shading the entire letter in red pencil first to see if that cover the canvas with less coats.  It worked, except it blurred onto the other parts of the white, so it wasn't a good plan.  I added a white outline around the main entrance sign.  I will have to touch it all up later and add more coats.  But at least it's a start.  I hadn't been able to get myself back into painting since the last visit to Mom.  This whole thing tramples the creative spirit.  Stress is like that.  I'm so tired.

12-30-07: When Dad Was Young

I decided to extend the turquoise background up the rest of that same panel.  I painted the center panel blue behind Harry Lewis, the thin man, and part of the next panel where Seal Boy is.  I added highlights to Seal Boy's face using some of the yellow left over from the moon.  I also added the first layer of highlighting to the top of the canopy to the right of the painting and to the top of the canopy beneath Seal Boy.  Most of the stuff on the side of the circus tent does not match the photo, simply because I can't really tell what's there, so I'm taking artistic license.  I added another layer of highlights to almost everyone's skin, using the moon yellow and a touch of white and red.  I also added a little highlight to Dad's overalls.  I used a number 4 bristle brush for highlighting the canopies, a number 2 round synthetic sable for the smaller details and a number 8 flat synthetic sable for panels.  When doing the panels the paint was quite watery.

12-29-07: When Dad Was Young

I painted in a turquoise background on the bottom part of the first panel to the left of the entrance.  I then painted a yellow moon on top of it.

12-26-07: When Dad Was Young

I underpainted Seal Boy and added a little detail to the people standing in line beneath him.  Around Seal Boy I added red again and then shaded it some.  I added an awning beneath Seal Boy.  I don't' know what's there, so I'm ad-libbing.  I wiped out some of the words I printed in, and I printed in a couple more words.  I drew in and underpainted the girl who is peaking around Dad.  I also worked on Dad's face.  But it still doesn't look like him.  I added a little more blue to his overalls.  I'm trying different colors for background colors on the side of the tent.

12-23-07: When Dad Was Young

I drew in more figures on the side of the tent, making Seal Boy smaller, and I printed in a couple of names.

12-22-07: When Dad Was Young

I painted some circus people onto the tent, then painted over them and Seal Boy.  He was just too large.  I also painted circus people that I did not wipe out.  The problem is I can't see what any of the figures on the tent actually look like in the photo.  So I may have to paint them and then paint over them several times.  Plus, I worked on sculpting Dad's face a little more.  My version is too beefy looking.

12-20-07: When Dad Was Young

I underpainted more people on the left side of the painting.  A few of them did not exist in the original.  I did paint in the little girl too.  I'm really not satisfied with them.  Maybe they will look better tomorrow.  I may paint over seal boy and try again.  He appears to be way too big.  And I think I need to paint in some kind of awning beneath him.  I really can't tell if that's what it is, or if it's a flaw in the photo.

12-17-07: When Dad Was Young

I underpainted Dad using the flat synthetic Creative Mark Ebony Splendor brushes # 8 and #4 - actually I think most of the brushes I call flat, are really bright.  Brights are also flat, but a little narrower on the side tips.  I started with Dad's plaid shirt being blue and decided to change it to red for a base.  I have no idea what color it is, but it was probably a red, blue and white plaid.  For the details of Dad's face I used a #2 Ebony Splendor, round.  I drew in more people.  Since I'm making this a landscape from a portrait I have to add more people on the left side of the painting.  I also lightened the foreground dirt and shaded it a bit.

12-16-07: When Dad Was Young

I blocked in aka underpainted the little boy, the woman holding his hand, except for her legs and arms, another woman and Dad's hair.  I find it comforting to be painting this picture at this time because Dad is in it.  I helps me during this difficult time with Mom being in the home and all I have to do.  I miss him.

12-10-07: When Dad Was Young

I drew in a woman and a boy, as well as Dad.  After that I redid the tan color on the tent and painted a burgundy color around Sealo.

12-09- 07: When Dad Was Young

I drew in a few more people, including an outline of Dad.

12-08-07: When Dad Was Young

Since I'm unable to make out all the images in the picture of the sideshow tent, I found some images of circus things in Print Master Gold and printed them out.  Hopefully I can make them look good.  I started drawing in people standing in line and the other man on the platform.  One of the problems is that the photo was taken in portrait.  I'm creating the painting in landscape, so I will have to fill in things that aren't in the original.  I'm taking artist's license to not match things exactly, size wise, etc.

Next I underpainted some of the people in line as well as Seal Boy on the side of the tent and the man on the platform.

12-07-07: When Dad Was Young

I painted blue and a pale turquoise on the side to the tent, so I could later paint pictures of the sideshow acts on top of that.  It didn't look right.  So I kept wiping some of it off.  Then I underpainted the batons in the barrels and some grass between the concession stand and the platform in front of the tent.  I really don't know what I'm doing.  A large part of the problem is that I can't make out what's there, and I'm faking it, sometimes rather badly, it seems to me.

12-05-07: When Dad Was Young

I added vertical banners and shaded in some highlights and such on the tent canvas.

12-04-07: When Dad Was Young

I painted over the lettering on the banners.

12-03-07: When Dad Was Young

First I changed the color of the man's coat, the one under the umbrella, to grey.  It's a better contrasting color.  I added underpainting for two men on the platform in front of the main entrance and lettered in the words on banners on the tent.  It's taking several layers to do the letters.  I may need to do some adjustments.  They aren't lined up quite right.  I also added the underpainting for another poster hanging from the umbrella.

12-02-07: When Dad Was Young

I painted more layers on balloons and banners.

12-01-07: When Dad Was Young

I looked up Seal Boy and Harry Lewis online today.  These two names are painted on the circus sideshow tent.  I found both of them, including some pictures.  I have sort of an idea of what to paint now, but I need to think on it, since I can't really see the scenes on the tent.

I decided the man under the concession umbrella needed to be a little larger, and that what I could see in the picture behind one of the barrels was his legs - so I worked on that.  I added some ground shade, painted over the red balloons, making one larger.  It appears the balloons will need a number of layers of paint.  I also added another layer of paint to the back side of the counter.

11-30 -07: When Dad Was Young

With white gesso and a touch of ultra marine blue I painted the undercoat for the banner signs on the tent.  I used a ½ Creative Mark synthetic flat wash brush.  It worked good for painting the edges and smooth lines.  I used a number ten bristle brush and scumbled in a lighter shade for the dirt in the front of the painting.  I created the color using alizarin crimson, a bright yellow green, Indian yellow and white gesso.  It turned out about the same color as the tent, so in the next layer I will lighten it.  After that I worked on the barrels and the back of a rectangular counter.

11-28-07: When Dad Was Young

Using a white charcoal pencil I measured and drew in more of the scene.

11-27-07: When Dad Was Young

Phil took new pictures of the photo of Dad at the circus - close ups so I could see what was in the shadow more clearly.  It helped some.  I printed out copies of those pictures.

Using the #8, #4 and #2 Creative Mark flat synthetic brushes I continued to underpaint the stuff under the awning - the man, a hat etc.  I had to enlarge the balloons.  The problem is that I can't tell what everything is, and I'm trying to draw strictly freehand whenever possible, and sometimes the proportions are a bit off.

11-26-07: When Dad Was Young

Today I used a #10 and a #6 flat bristle, and a #8 sable/synthetic flat brush.  First I added green, white and yellow to the pile of paint I made the other day for the tent.  The paint had to be the color of yellow sand.  I applied that color to the tent as a second coat.  I started with the #6 bristle, but that was just too small to do a big area.  I switched to the #10.

I studied the photo to see what I could make out.  Some of the items are hard to see.  Using a white charcoal pencil I started drawing in items from the right side of the photo.  I used the #8 flat to undercoat the shingles on the roof and do the undercoat for the balloons.  I used the #6 bristle for the roof of the small tent umbrella.

11-24-07: When Dad Was Young

Using a white charcoal pencil I sketched in the tent.  I wasn't sure what color to underpaint it.  I looked online but could not find any old fashioned circus tents to go by, so I mixed ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, a touched of dioxizine purple, a little cad. yellow medium and white gesso.  I used a number 10 flat bristle brush to block it in.  It still came out pretty much like a subdued burnt sienna.  The ground and the tent were then the same color.  Next I added a second layer of underpainting to the dirt - using some of the above colors and varying it here and there.  Most of the dirt will be covered with other things.  I had to make sure that where the tall grasses will be, the area will be dark brown so the straw color of the grass will show up.  I painted the entry-way payne's grey and dark brown.  Now, I need to let it dry.  This is entirely experimental and may take a while to get right.

11-23-07: When Dad Was Young

Today's session began with assessing the picture of my father at the circus.  It's in black and white.  He worked at the circus when it came to town when he was 16 - that would have been in 1929 or 1930.  Dad turned 16 in November 1929.  The circus would have come to town in the summer, so the photo must have been taken in the summer of 1930.  The photo was glued onto the inside of an old family album, so yesterday Phil took a picture of it.  We downloaded it into my computer.  Today I expanded it to the correct size and began planning the composition of the painting, although for the most part it will be like the photo.  But some of the things in the photo aren't very clear, so it will be a paint it by ear kind of painting.

Using the hake brush I underpainted the sky with ultramarine blue and white.  Next I underpainted the ground using the hake brush and various combinations of burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, cadmium orange, hooker's green, ultramarine blue and gesso.  The green helps make the dirt look a more realistic color.  I had to let that dry before I underpainted the middle where the circus tent is.

11-22-07: When Dad Was Young:

I painted over an old painting with gesso.  There comes a time in the development of painting skills when a person decides to paint over other paintings, and reuse the stretched canvas.