Blowing Bubbles (Again!)

Let's try this again.

This an example of what happens when you want to be finished... you try to convince yourself it's fine... you focus on all the things that ARE right... "I love the bubbles and the shirt and the toes and the..." hoping the face will miraculously be become right too.
... sigh... 

When will I ever learn?

If you flip back and forth between the two, you'll see the little nips and tucks that made the difference.

* Reshaped the ear

* Moved the eye down and back

* Took some off the lips

* Skinnied up the neck

* Shaved off the chin

* Straightened the nose

* Backed up and softened the jawline

* Lowered and softened the brow

* Lightened the cheek

* Highlighted instead of shadowed the nose bridge

Goodness gracious!  Seems like I just made a whole new face!

I still love the bubbles and the shirt and the toes and... but now I love the face too.

I may sound a little like I'm giving a speech at the Oscars, but I have a few people to thank. First, my art friend Nelvia so gently let me know it wasn't quite finished. Next, my art partner Jolene helped me find each needed tweak during our weekly paint time. And of course my neice Bev trusted me to put her little one on canvas. Thanks, guys!

Next, I think I'll paint something low stress like maybe a lime.

:) Anna

It's always fun to watch the initial reaction of a little one to her portrait. (Of course there's the little fear that they'll burst into tears or worse, not recognize themselves!)

Anna  stopped... looked... stepped closer... looked... looked at me... kind of cocked her head... looked again... reached out to touch... said, "The flower matches!" 
What was going through her mind?  Maybe she remembered that she was holding a raggedy old dying dandelion when I took her picture.

She looks pretty proud.  Her Pop (my brother) and I share a birthday today.  Tonight we'll give this little painting to him.  I hope he likes it as much as Anna seems to.

Anna

This is our Anna.  

What a sweetie!  

Every so often we get to have a playdate with her and her little sister and brother.  Ron and I have 11 nieces and nephews (on my side), and they’ve given us 24 great nieces and nephews who we love... and who happen to ALL be beautiful.  So, whenever I get in the mood to paint a little one, I’ve got plenty to choose from.

I've said many times that I like to paint children from the back or from the side because I like the way those images tell the story.  

That is very true; however, let me be completely honest... Views from the back or side don't have... eyes... or teeth... or nostrils... or dimples... or eyebrows... or lips... or ears... And, those are all just plain hard for me!

I'm a little sad that the pink rain boots (on this bright sunny day) didn't make it into the crop for the painting, but those eyes and teeth and nostrils and eyebrows and lips told the story this time.




Original Oil Painting - 9x12 
[SOLD]

Strawberry Girl

Sometimes you just KNOW you're cute!

You can tell that this little sweetie feels like a fairy in her big, fluffy dress!

Mmmm... She is beautiful, isn't she.  

Harper, I hope you always know that you that you are lovely. :)

And, because it's fun to see the process...

 

 

 

Lily

How could I forget this little face?

I painted her a long time ago... back when I was just beginning and learning about teeth and hair and folds in clothes and wrinkles in skin and shapes of eyes and making arms look round.

Somehow she never got to star in her own blog post... 
Better late than never!
What a cutie!

Peek-a-boo Pine Trees

How do you do it?

I get asked that question pretty often.  It seems like, "I just paint what I see" isn't enough of an answer.  And neither is "I just put the colors and shapes where they go" isn't enough either.  


Sometimes I take pictures that show every step of the process.  I like watching the image form then come to life.

I say this with love... most paintings are like most kids... they have to go through their ugly stages.

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Little Curt

Isn't it hard to paint a face?

That's a question I get asked all the time.  The answer is "no" and it's "yes."  The first thing I learned about painting a face is that I have to stop seeing a face, a mouth, an eye, an ear, a nose. It's just shapes and colors, darks and lights.  If I think of an eye as an eye, I make it too round or to almond shaped and exactly like the other one; if I think a mouth is a mouth, I make it too red, too crescent shaped. 
My portrait paintings are just like every other painting... they go through an ugly stage.  I'm never comfortable letting someone see a portrait that's not finished.  I can see in their face... "ummm... yeah..." while they wonder what to say.  In the first stage of my portraits, they look very creepy, kind of like the zombies from Thriller, while I'm getting the darkest darks blocked in. The second stage happens pretty quickly, and I have a lovely portrait of some little child - just not really the one I'm supposed to have.  The most tedious part is what follows.  What tiny  brush stroke will it take to make these lips, his lips?  What's wrong with the shapes of that eye? Where is that nostril supposed to be?
Finally, there's the, "Oh, there you are!" moment followed by a big "Whew!"  because the stress level is usually high by then.
So, my answer is no, it is not hard to paint a face.  But, if you want a specific face... well, yeah, it's hard!

In general, I don't enjoy painting portraits. My love is painting a story - a toddler doing something cute or sweet.  My thought is that if you want an exact picture of someone's likeness, then put a frame on a photo; however, sometimes there's a good reason.

My sister-in-law's father carried a photo of her and her brother in his wallet when he went to serve in the Korean War.  While there, he had someone paint those pictures.  Now, she has that portrait.  She asked me if I could paint a portrait of my brother, her husband, as a toddler and turn it into a color painting to be placed with hers.  She gave me an old black and white photo of him, a color photo of their daughter in a similar pose, and that was the challenge.

Isn't he a sweetie and a cutie!!  (Both 50 years ago and now!)

[SOLD]