52:75!

52 Weeks of Art: 75 Paintings!

May 20th will be an Art Celebration for me as it marks one year of being a part of an inspiring and supportive art group! I appreciate my fellow artists who are professional, encouraging, award-winning artists! Thank you!

1.Started with the Ballerina.

Twice a week for 52 weeks (give or take) I have painted at studio (live model) sessions, creating 75 paintings. Some paintings are failures, some are successes, some have been wiped out (wipe outs were not part of the 75 count), all were valuable to my learning.

2. Plein Air Model Session

On May 20th, 2014 I started with a ballerina (left). I struggled and she remains incomplete to this day. The ballerina model was 6 feet tall, so her body and limbs were long! And, I have learned that beautiful people are harder to paint! I keep many of my paintings even those I don't love because I like to look back and review my art improvements.

The second painting (Plein Air Model session) was a challenge as well. I had to paint quickly outside in bright light. I needed but did not have an umbrella , so I had alot of reflection on my paints and canvas. I struggled to paint the sunlight on her face that came through the hat. Also, once home, I realized that I made the dress much too big!

Renoir-ISH plein air.

I actually love the next few paintings. The model on the stool (left) I consider a nice "study." The next painting was another plein air model session. And, I liked the Renoir-ish look of her. I was happy with how this one turned out.

Fresh loose painting, a favorite!

A top favorite is the next painting, it was loose and fresh and not overworked. I felt that captured the model and her features. And I was thrilled that this was not a struggle, it was a rare success, one that I did not have to continue to work on at home.





I wish there were an easier way to share my paintings here (for this blog I struggled with inserting and placing images). I would love to show all images across in rows but am unable to do that, please scroll through. I am posting many images below, a blog gallery of some of my work  (in order) from the last year..

 

One Fabulous Hat

Back to painting after a vacation, I was anxious to see how quickly I could get my groove back. I paint at a friend's studio and boy did she pick a fun costume this day! The model had on a deep blue robe and lime green hat against her pale skin and umber hair! Hat inspiration was instant and off I went.

The hat was a fun almost Triangle shape which I loved, but I was really inspired by the bright lime hat color. The hat also created a shadow across the face on the forehead and over the (facing model) left eye. The light was coming from the left above the model so there are dark shadows under the hat and in the hair along each side of her face.

The model does look a bit serious, I am not sure what I would/could have done to change that... She was looking out toward those of us painting her...I am happy with the eye in the light as it looks like it has depth and the color is fairly true to life. The other eye was in shadow so that was more of a challenge to paint. The light on the nose was strong and bright as was the light hitting the left side of the mouth. I am pleased with the face overall, despite the serious look.

I was also pleased with how the braid turned out. There was quite a bit of light hitting the braid, particularly on the braid from shoulder to chest, nearest the skin.

Overall I am happy with the painting, but maybe someday I will paint her again -- with a Mona Lisa smile!

Anatomy - Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone

My Binder for Anatomy Lite, handouts & notes!

There are some artists who do not believe that artists should take classes. I have even heard a few "I already know how to do that" art attitudes. And, in history, there are a few Self Taught  Artists who have become very successful. However I have an opposite view, I  have much to learn about art! Often I find myself asking other artists questions and gleaning their thoughts and ideas on ways to approach or improve paintings. Another artist friend strongly believes in the necessity of life draw ing. Even though she has perfect life drawing skills she has rearranged her schedule in order to take a life drawing class, it is important to her.

Hand Bones: My drawing of the hand bones.

My passion is painting and I have taken several painting classes and workshops. However,  I hear over and over how important it is to have drawing skills. Having taken Portrait Drawing, I felt the strong need to learn figure drawing. I believe that learning life drawing can only help my paintings.

For winter I took a life drawing class and I really enjoyed it and learned quite a bit. I feel the value in the class and in having a passionate and fantastic instructor. This semester, we are studying "Anatomy Lite". I have never taken a class like this and I find it fascinating. We look at a human skeleton and get a lecture overview of structure (i.e. rib cage) and then look to a live model, keeping the underlying structure in mind. There are so many bones in the body and I probably will not commit them all to memory, but I love seeing and learning and reading about the structure of us!