Progress!

Well, the last studies are done, and the comp has been projected on the canvas...there's no hiding now, time to man up and get this thing done.

The sketch of Emily, above, really brought my confidence back.  I was having a hell of a time trying to get her expression right on the canvas, but this quick color study really locked it in for me.  Had a blast with all the red in this one as well.  The study of Heather is below...

Heather's sketch was by far the fastest, probably only about 20 minutes of easel time on this one.  Sometimes it's hard to tell how long I actually spend on these as I have 30 high-schoolers back behind me.  So a lot of the painting is really broken up; it's a good thing I don't work in acrylic.  I have to admit that doing these color studies before the final really helped me loosen up and enjoy the paint.  It's something that I may be adding much more of to my routine.

So, the painting has started in earnest on the final.  I started in on the carolers from left to right, one at a time.  They're mostly finished before I move on to the next, but there are a few little details on each that need to be filled in before the finish.  And I'm sure I'll find little things here and there to mess with, I always do.  Progress follows:

Projected on the canvas.

Most of Matt.  I also toned the canvas, but forgot to start shooting pics until this stage.

Lining on Heather.

Basic value structure.

Most of Heather.

Starting Emily.

Basic value, and a scarf.  This is where I cleaned my brushes today, had to head out early to pick up one of my boys.  Too bad all of the underpainting will be dry on Monday when I get back to the canvas... But hey, on the bright side, this should be almost finished for Tuesday's post.  Fingers crossed.

And the friday kicker.  After getting my butt handed to me at last week's figure session, I got back on track last night.  We had a new model, and she was absolutely awesome.  I kid you not, she was built just like a girl out of a Frazetta painting.  The gesture poses she gave us were great, and I was pleased with this final 20 minute endeavor as well.  Until next time.

Sketchin' with the paint...

Took some time to work up paint sketches of the two male carolers, Jeff and Matt (left and right respectively), today.  It was definitely nice to get back into the pigments, and I'm feeling much more confident about tackling the final painting for the card.  The colors will probably change a bit, more towards some rich and warm hues, but these cards usually end up pretty full palette.

I definitely had a lot of fun painting Jeff (gent on the left), his expressions were so great, and I'm feeling good about how I worked up some of the detail-ish stuff.  With Matt, I just kind of fizzled out after I had the big shapes slapped down.  And, I can definitely tell I was getting a bit lazy - what with that off-kilter hat and its glaring tangent where the red and white meet...

Anywho, Jeff was around 45-minutes of broken-up painting during my Art IV and Art I classes, and Matt was 30-ish split between Art II and my Independent studies.

I was using a pretty full palette on gessoed illustration board, a number two round hog bristle, a similarly sized round sable, and gamsol as a medium.  And these are in the 6-inchish range.

More Holiday Card

And not figure work, boy did last night's session kick my butt.  We took a couple of weeks off from our figure drawing session at the Dover Art League and I was feeling it last night when we picked back up.  Not to mention I situated myself in about the worst place I could - every pose was foreshortened hell.  Enough with the excuses though...but I'm still not posting any of what came out of last night.  Instead, some more work on the CRHS holiday card.

Studies for the other two carolers, I didn't have as many poses to choose from for these guys, but these two will work fine.  Will probably still do a few more sketches before paint, just to make sure I nail down the likenesses a bit better.

And here is the working comp that I okayed with the principal this afternoon.  Carolers front and center, the wreath will frame behind them with a pic of the high school inside it, and the Leyendecker-borrowed scroll with an old english-esque CRHS will close off the bottom.

I'll project everything to canvas on Monday and then start laying paint on Tuesday.  I'll take a bunch of pictures along the way.  And, deadline - Thanksgiving.

Also, this Friday's kicker - I made a video! Definitely not saving the world with this, but I had to do some video work for my grad class, and it was an interesting learning experience.  I'm definitely going to try and hone my skills with this and get some more up in the future.  Enjoy, and don't be to harsh.

Carolers

Well, it's time to start in on the high school's Holiday card, and the sketches came together earlier on this year during an in-service.  I typically take the opportunity to incorporate my boys into the card, but I was feeling something a little different this year.  There are a few elements that seem to make recurring appearances - scrolls, wreathes, maybe a street light.  But the main thrust of this year's card will be a group of carolers.

Some of the vocal jazz students were kind enough to costume up and pose for me.  They actually sang during the reference shoot, so that was super cool - definitely got better facial expressions than just asking them to fake it.  This is the first batch of sketches for two of the carolers, more will be up next Tuesday, along with quite a bit of progress on the finish.

Happy Holidays

And the gift of new work.  Not much commentary for this first post in a long time, as I have a pint sized art director sorting through the desk next to me.  Two newest pieces off the easel in order:

Early Gifts, 21x30, oil on canvas.
This is the Holiday card for the high school where I teach, and continuing the trend that I started last year, I've made another family portrait out of it.  And also, continuing the trend I started with my first card four years ago...there's still a wreath in it.

RTM, 30x18, oil on canvas.
A wedding gift for the excellent Dr. and Mrs. Bongiorno, featuring an excellent Mecca for food - Reading Terminal Market.

A Delaware Christmas

A Delaware Christmas, 21x30, oil on canvas....And sketches.

This year's Christmas/Holiday Card for the high school.  I will forgo my usual hesitancies with my own artwork and come out and say that I'm really pleased with this painting.  It was some of the most fun and fulfilling work I've spent at the canvas in a while.