Sandy

 

Hello Friends:

Pablo Picasso said that painting is just another way of keeping a diary. I love that thought. I have mementos of my interactions with hundreds of people, and I've tried to capture something striking about their face or their personality in each one. With Sandy, it was her serenity and intensely dark eyes. Since I only had a couple of hours with her, I started with a wet wash and built up with thicker layers of paint as I went along. As I was working on her face, I was unaware that the background had started to run down as it did. But when I stepped back, I was happy with the moody effect that the drippiness gave the painting.

Playa Grande, Costa Rica

 

Hello Friends:

I know this is quite a departure from portraits, but I couldn't resist painting this spectacular sunset that we saw on Christmas in Costa Rica. Lots of thin washes of paint gave what I hope is a luminous quality to the painting. It's alot larger than I usually paint, too-- 24"H x 30"W. It'll take up most of a wall! Once again, breaking away from routine is very refreshing.

Jenny

 

Hello Friends:

This portrait was painted in two sittings with Jenny at Mainstreet Art Centre. I was sitting on a bench below the model, which gives an interesting perspective since I was looking up at her as I was painting. I really like the tilt of her head and the faraway look in her eyes. I began the painting with lots of paint and a palette knife and then refined her features with a brush in the final stages. Many artists would think that my process is a bit backward, preferring to begin a painting with thin paint and ending with thicker paint for the final flourishes. But I'm enjoying this technique for now and I'll stick with it while it's working!

As Yet Untitled

Hello Friends:

I would like to enlist your help, if you'd like, to help me choose a title for this painting. I'm finding that different people have different reactions to the model's pose, expression, and setting. What do you see? I think it would be fun to find out what the viewer takes away from the painting, much like an ink-blot test. Your opinion may have more to do with YOU than the painting itself!

Study in Red and Copper Pot

 

 

Hello Friends:

I thought you might enjoy seeing two of my paintings from my recent workshop with Qiang Huang. The red painting was a challenge because I needed to create so many different varieties of "red" to differentiate the cloth from the apple from the grapes. The challenge in the Copper Pot was to make the copper look realistic without being overly detailed. Taking time out from painting portraits is always worth my while, since I learn lessons which can be translated to whatever subject I'm working with.

Thank you for your interest in my art!

Barb

Hello Friends:

It's been quite a while since I've made a posting! While I was away, I attended a workshop in Sacramento taught by Qiang Huang, a painter that I have admired for quite some time. I learned quite a bit from him about color and value relationships that I hope to incorporate into my paintings in the future.

This portrait was painted from a model sitting, and I approached it with lots of paint and a palette knife to start. Since the model was interested in purchasing the final product, I took it home and softened some edges with a brush, but tried to maintain a spontaneous, painterly quality.

Sky

 

Hello Friends:

This is a palette knife portrait that I painted of Sky. His mother took the stunning photo of him, and I knew right away that I had to paint him. Sometimes paintings just seem to paint themselves, and this was one of them. I had a great time punching up the colors while trying to retain the likeness and personality of Sky. I also placed him a bit off center to paint the sky behind him.

Elyse, The Angel

 

Hello Friends:

This is a portrait that I painted of my very good friend and neighbor, Elyse. She has a truly angelic face and, in my opinion, a personality to match. This portrait was painted from a beautiful photograph taken by April Graves of Light Drawn Studios. April raises funds for WINGS through the sale of her lovely calendars. She is in the process now of photographing children for next year's calendar. You can view her work on her website, http://www.lightdrawnstudios.com.

Thank you for your interest in my art!

President Barack Obama

 

Hello Friends:

There's something I've admired about the president. He always projects an air of confidence and serenity when he's in front of a crowd of people. I tried to capture this aura in a portrait, and it wasn't easy. Painting such a recognizable figure leaves very little room for error. For the past few days, anyone passing through my kitchen had to tell me what could be fixed to make it "him". After many trips back to the drawing board, this is my final portrait. I hope you like it.

Max

 

I painted this portrait of Max today from a photo I took the same day as I took his sister Becca's. I love the serene, pensive look on his face. He's got the face of an old soul dressed in small boy's clothing.

Becca

 

I painted this portrait from a photo I took of Becca when she was about 8 years old. I was curious to see if palette knife painting lent itself well to childrens' portraits. It's so interesting to me that a looser format is actually more expressive. It's as if more of a story is told about the sitter than a completely realistic, detailed rendering.

Jess

 

Hello Friends:

I stumbled upon a photo that I took of a model a year or so ago, and decided to paint his portrait with a palette knife. You may have noticed that I've changed my approach a bit-- I'm starting the painting with a very wet brush and letting the paint drip to the bottom of the canvas. Then, I apply very thick paint with a knife on top of the wet paint. I think this process gives the painting a nice moody quality. I hope you like it too.

Mike

 

Hello Friends:

This painting was done in a two hour session with the model. I started the painting quite wet, with paint and turpentine flowing and dripping off the canvas. I then went in with a palette knife and dark paint to establish the placement of the dark values. From there, I applied the lights with a knife, then went in with a brush to give some definition and detail. I stepped back from the painting and decided to stop there.

Lisa

 

Hello Friends:

Here is a portrait I painted this morning at Mainstreet. I had so much fun painting this one-- the lighting was a challenge, since she's lit from underneath, so everything that is normally in shadow was thrown into the light. I tried to keep it full of energy and light, in keeping with our model, Lisa, who kept smiling and animated the entire time she posed.

Palette Knife Portraits

 

 

Hello Friends:

I've taken the plunge and started to paint portraits with a palette knife. The painting of the girl with the scarf is a reproduction of a painting by Jeffrey Watts. The second painting was done from life this morning. I'm going through tubes of paint at an incredible rate, but having a blast with it. I'd love to know what you think of this style...

And thank you!

Grace

 

Hello Friends: I painted Grace in class in two separate sittings, a total of about six hours. The challenge for me was to emphasize her beautiful eyes and cheekbones while keeping the rest of her features soft. I really like the tilt of her head and the distant look in her eyes.

Olivia

 

Hello Friends, This is a drawing in Conte pastels that I did last Wednesday at Open Studio at Mainstreet in Lake Zurich. Our lovely model, Olivia, is from South Africa, and she can't wait to get back home by Christmastime to celebrate the holiday with her family. In her country, Christmas merits a brand new outfit every year, and she was sorely disappointed to celebrate it last year next to a swimming pool with everyone wearing bathing suits. This year, she's determined to do it right!

Late Summer, Illinois

 

This is a painting of a scene we've all stumbled upon here in the midwest when we drive just outside of suburbia and hit the open country. At this time of year, the leaves on the trees haven't changed yet, but the grass is high and we feel the change in the weather is just around the corner.

Rose and Sugarbowl

Hi Friends,

I thought I'd publish another photo of this painting, since the previous photo looked quite yellow to me. This one is a better representation!

A Wistful Experiment

 

Hi Friends:

As many of you know, I've been painting with palette knives lately instead of brushes, and I've been enjoying myself immensely with this new process. I started this beach scene the other day, and was happily working along, when I was suddenly overcome with a wistful feeling. I stood back and looked at it and then it hit me-- the little girl running away from her mother hit a bit close to home, now that daughter Emily is away in Vancouver for a year! I know she's not exactly a toddler (she's in graduate school), but still...I think I'll stick to fruit and flowers until I can pull myself together!

Teapot with Orange

 

Hi Friends:

I'm still having fun painting with a palette knife. This one was inspired by a photo I saw in an artists' magazine, and I thought I'd have a go at the reflections on the glass and metal. There is so little control with a knife-- I can't get bogged down by detail-- and there's no blending!

Veggie Still Life

 

Hello Friends, Yes I know this is not my usual type of painting. This one was done using a palette knife instead of brushes, and I enjoyed doing it so much that I thought you might like seeing it too. Applying paint with a knife forces me to use lots of paint and not "overwork" it. I made a conscious effort not to blend anything at all-- quite a departure from my usual way of doing things!

The Sparks Family

 

Hi Friends,

Here is my latest completed portrait. As you can imagine, the setup was pretty complex so it took me quite awhile to complete this one. In fact, I had started this portrait initially with a completely different pose. It was much more formal, with everyone looking directly at the viewer. After I started painting it, I decided it just wasn't a good representation of the Sparks family, and asked them to pose for me a second time. The card game turned out to be a perfect activity for them, and everyone relaxed and became "themselves". In the end, it was alot easier and more fun to paint them like this than in the more formal, staged format.

Rebecca

 

This painting of Rebecca was commissioned by her mother for her 16th birthday, next week. I have known Rebecca since she was in preschool and she used to visit my house on a regular basis to play with my son Jordan. What a joy it's been to watch her grow into a lovely thoughtful young lady, and then to have the opportunity to paint her. I had hoped to capture her quiet intellect in this painting and her connection with nature. I hope I came close...

Tara

 

I haven't published much to my blog lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy! I have quite a few live model sittings to share with you, both in charcoal and paint. Here's one of Tara, a high school student that I drew in an open studio last week. I love taking my time with charcoal, focusing on getting the drawing right and paying close attention to the dark/light values. When you have a limited time situation as I had last week, adding color to the equation can muddle the process quite a bit. I'm glad that I could take my time, and I think that the quietness of this model shows in the drawing.