New Portrait: Sarah and Baby Zoe
Posted: June 6, 2010 Filed under: acrylic, Figurative, Finished Paintings, Paintings in Progress, Portraits | Tags: acrylic painting, baby, baby painting, baby portrait, Portrait, rocking chair, Ryan 4 CommentsA few months ago, I bumped into my friend Ryan who had actually hired me at my previous job four years ago. I had just been laid off and was catching up with him and telling him how I was going to take some time to focus on painting. Ryan got really excited and said right then that he wanted me to paint a portrait of his wife Sarah (who also worked with us) and their new baby who had yet to be born (Sarah was about 7 months pregnant at the time.). He was so adamant that this would happen and said that he wanted to do anything he could to help me succeed. I was so touched that this former boss of mine was so supportive of me and my art.
…and sure enough, baby Zoe was born in March and I heard from Ryan just a few weeks later. I went to their house about a month ago and sketched the new mommy with her beautiful baby girl. It was really sweet and Sarah did such a good job keeping Zoe comforted while I was drawing. I’m so pleased with how it came out and hope I get to do more mother/child paintings in the future!
Quick practice sketch. 18"x24", charcoal on paper
Initial sketch on canvas.
Sarah and Zoe, 24"x36", charcoal and acrylic on canvas
Art Show Success. Mission Accomplished.
Posted: April 11, 2010 Filed under: acrylic, Figurative, Finished Paintings, Portraits | Tags: acrylic painting, Allison, art show, Ballard Art Walk, barrel room, Cat, Cori, Domanico Cellars, easel, easels, Erika, Figurative, friends, Ingrid, Joe, Liz, oak barrels, paintings, party, Portrait, Shirley, Tara, wine, wine tasting, winery, women with wine 5 CommentsMy show at Domanico Cellars went great yesterday after a full day of finishing the big painting (pic at the end of this post), runs to kinkos, final touches on all the other paintings and desperate calls for help to my friend Cori. I obviously love the pressure of a deadline…
In the end, tons of friends showed up, the wine was flowing and it just turned into a really fantastic party. The paintings were set up on easels or propped on barrels all around the space, which was such a cool way to display the art. It was like the women in the paintings were there mingling with the rest of the crowd!
The scene.
Erica is the proud new owner of an original "Gannon." She bought one of my all time favorite paintings last night.
One of my beautiful models, Alaina. She is the girl in the pink dress in the painting behind us.
Cori came early to help me set up. Somehow she found herself entertaining baby Taavi while hid dad was tasting wine at the bar...
Allison! She's a personal organizer. And she has organized me in the past. I love her!
Ingrid toasting Cat in the painting since Cat couldn't be there in person.
My mom's friends came! They're my friends too. Aunt Patty, Bonnie and Joyce.
This is Joe. That painting behind us is the one that Erica bought. It will be sad to see it go, but I love where it's going...
Me and Shirley in the barrel room. She posed for a painting Wednesday night but I didn't have time to finish it for the show.
Liz and Tara.
Women with Wine No. 2, 48"x48", acrylica and charcoal on canvas
Purple Painting Done. Two to Go…
Posted: April 8, 2010 Filed under: acrylic, Figurative, Finished Paintings, Portraits | Tags: acrylic, art show, dress, Elie Tahari, Figurative, Ingrid's Loft, Kristina, Painting, Portrait, white leather couch, wine, yellow tulips 1 CommentI am finished with the purple painting! Now, not so purple. There are some things I might change, but for the most part it’s done. And I just don’t have the time to obsess over imperfections. I’ll have to be happy with the fact that I love the yellow tulips. And the dress. 🙂
I have two large paintings left to do before the show on Saturday. It’s 9:30pm, which leaves me with just a few tired hours tonight and all day tomorrow. Wish me luck…I’ll need it.
Kristina, 30"x40", acrylic and charcoal on canvas
The Purple Painting and its Dress
Posted: April 8, 2010 Filed under: acrylic, Figurative, Inspiration, Paintings in Progress, Portraits | Tags: acrylic, dress, Elie Tahari, figurative painting, Kristina, Painting in Progress, pattern, Portrait, textile Leave a commentRemember that really cool dress that inspired the portrait of Kristina? …I almost regret it. Almost.
Two and a half hours later…
Elie Tahari dress pattern - the inspiration!
I'm hoping the rest of this painting will be quick and easy!
Pink Painting I am Done with You!
Posted: April 6, 2010 Filed under: acrylic, Figurative, Finished Paintings, Portraits | Tags: acrylic, finished painting, orange, painting detail, Portrait, sneakers, Teri, wine glass 2 CommentsAfter a painstaking process, I finally got Teri’s portrait to a place where I felt it was done. What I love are all the mini paintings inside of it. Now I’m going for a run to decompress!
Detail. Wineglass and orange
Detail. Sneakers.
The face I painted over and over and over agin. It finally worked itself out!
Teri's Portrait. "Reward", 40"x30", acrylic and charcoal on canvas
New Medium: Crayons
Posted: April 4, 2010 Filed under: Drawings, Gesture Drawings, Portraits | Tags: child portrait, cousin, crayons, Denver, easel, mother and child, Portrait Leave a commentBefore flying home to Seattle today, my mom, brother and I spent a beautiful sunny afternoon at my cousin Holly’s house in Denver. As we were leaving, Holly pointed to her 5 year old son’s easel and asked me to leave behind a drawing. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at kid portraits and here was the perfect spontaneous opportunity! Holly sat down with Alex in her lap and I did this quick drawing, with crayons no less. It was the perfect medium for my first mother and child portrait.
My cousin's 5 year old son, Alex. Such a cutie!
Holly and Alex, crayon on newsprint
Another Finished Painting!
Posted: April 1, 2010 Filed under: acrylic, Paintings in Progress | Tags: acrylic painting, April Fools Day, blog stats, Greenlake, painting detail, Portrait, Sushi, Teri, Vail 1 CommentI finally finished the pink painting, the portrait of Teri…..APRIL FOOLS!!
Unfortunately, I went for a run around Greenlake instead, then went to sushi, then my mom arrived for the night, then I obsessed over my blog stats and yesterday’s record number of views (I did this for quite a while, not gonna say how long). Long story short, I did not finish the painting. I’m off to Vail tomorrow, so the ALMOST finished pink painting will be waiting for me when I return on Sunday…
Happy April Fools Day. =)
Teri's Portrait, detail
Green Painting is Done!
Posted: March 31, 2010 Filed under: acrylic, Figurative, Finished Paintings, Portraits, Studio | Tags: acrylic, Cat, Charcoal, figure painting, Painting, Portrait, sketch, Studio 8 CommentsGreen won over Pink due to some frustrations I was having with the face in the other painting (Sorry Teri!). I’m happy with it, but there is always something I regret about painting over a really great sketch…I feel like I always lose some of the effortlessness of the drawing. With every new painting, I strive to keep a little more of the drawing quality and I do think I’m getting somewhere.
Nonetheless, I still really love how the painting turned out!
Fulfilled, 30"x40", acrylic and charcoal on canvas
Just finished studio scene.
Teri’s Portrait: Finally Started!
Posted: March 6, 2010 Filed under: Figurative, Paintings in Progress, Portraits | Tags: Charcoal Sketch, Paint Damage, Painting in Progress, Portrait, Studio, Teri 4 CommentsMy friend Teri is having me do a portrait for her. She posed for me several weeks ago and I did a sketch on canvas in charcoal which is the first step for all my portraits. This sad little sketch has been sitting in my studio naked with no paint on it for so many weeks. Luckily, Teri has been very patient with me as I’m adjusting to my unemployment and getting over my fear of failing as a painter, which naturally has resulted in some procrastination on my part.
Today, I started the painting. It looks like a mess. But, that means progress is being made! You’ll see that I’ve just covered the entire canvas in a pink wash. It’s the first step towards a finished painting! Teri, the wait is almost over…
Teri, 40"x30": Original Charcoal Sketch
Teri: Pink Wash
Pink Paint Damage. This is what happens to my floor when I swipe wet paint all over a canvas!
Gannon Weeks in her Studio 