"National Cathedral" (oil on stretched canvas; 40" x 40") sold

 

"National Cathedral"

 

The painting is a commission for Catherine and her husband Andrew. Andrew went to St. Albans School, right next to the cathedral and practically grew up in and around the magnificent Gothic cathedral. He got married there and had planted a tree in front of the north side (entry area) with his father. It was an important sentimental project for Andrew and he chose this image personally so that his tree would be a part of the finished painting.

It was the largest oil painting project ever for me. It took about two months to draw, block in, paint and add finishing touches. I needed a little stool to reach the highest areas of the big canvas! Thank you for the opportunity, Andrew and Catherine, who were the most gracious clients. 

I must say that my patience and drawing skills have improved much because of this project. The only drawback is that I couldn't take a proper photography of the huge canvas, so I had to make do with a quick shoot with my phone. What a shame!

Work in Progress I

Work in Progress II

Work in Progress III

"Summer Roses" (oil on stretched canvas; 10" x 8")

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During the week of June 8th, I took a workshop of my teacher, Danni Dawson, at her house in Arlington, VA.  What a workshop it was!  Six of us painted in her rose garden, then when the weather became oppressively hot, we went inside to paint still lives in her spacious studio.  Danni, a gourmet cook, also prepared every lunch of an Italian dish made fresh with vegetables from her garden!

"Summer Roses" was the first painting of the workshop, which I didn't quite get to finish. Yesterday I worked on the leaves to make the painting more lush.  How do you like it?

I started the painting on the canvas toned with an ultramarine blue, which became part of the background. Cool, don't you think?

This is how far I got on Monday. After a heavy thunderstorm that night, the flowers were all gone!

"Man in Salmon" (oil on stretched canvas; 11" x 14") sold

sold

Back to Danni Dawson's portrait painting class.  Last Saturday was the beginning of the five-week pose, but the model couldn't make it.  We had instead Ed for one week as a substitute.  Lucky us!  I love his don't-mess-with-me look. Put a helmet and armor on him; he will look like a Renaissance-Italy general!

Step 1: After 40 minutes!  I used a gray-toned canvas for this portrait.

Step 2: I got this far during the class.

Step 3: The drawing was off, so I corrected the drawing and color temperature errors from a photo I took.

 

 

 

 

 

"Livia in Straw Hat" (oil on stretched canvas; 18" x 14") sold

sold

This spring I started taking a portrait/figure class with Danni Dawson at the Art League School in Alexandria, VA. It is exciting to paint from life, not a photograph, with the immediate feedback from the renowned portrait painter.  I am hugely encouraged by my first attempt, which I am sharing here with some step-by-step photos.

Week 1: I quickly drew the subject in burnt umber and established the light/dark pattern.

Week 1: I started blocking in.

Week 1: I got this far at the end of the first week's session. 

Week 2: The model's gentle smile is beginning to emerge.

Week 2: Many small adjustments later, the painting is almost done.  I realized I made her left shoulder too narrow. After the fixing the error, the subject is now too large for the  canvas.  Next time, I am going to use a larger canvas!

"Peonies and Coreopsis" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 8")

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Pink peonies and yellow coreopsis from my garden make a gorgeous bouquet! Below are the step-by-step pictures of "Peonies and Coreopsis". Is this the way I paint watercolors?  Not always.  I vary my approach depending on the subject matter; I sometimes paint the background first.  I don't think one suit fits all.

I started laying down the first layer.

Developing more flowers.

The bouquet is almost finished.

At this point, I decided to add another layer of glaze to the background.