Working Through October

It has been a good week at school though I struggled a bit with my video recording for National Boards.  I accidentally recorded over a video that I thought might have some possibilities and then I didn't know how to change the tape when it ran out. Now that I have that figured out, I hope this week's taping goes more smoothly.

On Tuesday night, I wasn't able to go to life drawing as it was my Tuesday for meetings. This means that I didn't get a chance to do any artwork during the week, but I did make 2 6"x6" collages this weekend. This first one is titled "Just Say Cheese".

This one is titled "Flying to be Free".

The only other artwork I even have going at this moment in time is the painting of my dad. Today I did finish his face and I added the photographs. Just a little more to do to it and the painting will be finished.  I should be able to get it done next weekend!

Fall Break Comes to an End

It is hard to believe that my fall break is ending. It was actually a relaxing week in which I got a lot accomplished. I have done everything possible with regards to my national boards, nothing else can happen until I am back in the class room this week. With upcoming video recording, I anticipate analyzing video on a nightly basis.

I worked on the painting of my dad. I actually procrastinated until just yesterday as I wasn't sure how to approach it. I decided that my dad'd skin was actually much paler and a bit less rosy than I had painted it. So, I mixed up a very light, yellowy skin tone and painted over the whole face, then I came back in slowly, adjusting for value changes, wrinkles, and other little details. His skin is much lighter now than how it shows in the photo. I am actually quite pleased as now it looks more like dad, he no longer looks like a young man.  I also added in the scale of justice, painting it a very dark green, not quite black. I am now waiting for the paint to dry so that I can come back in and add his eyebrows along with a few final details. I have laid out photographs that I am contemplating attaching to the painting. I will also add a fancy H as well as dad's name.  I am just not sure yet where these features will go. For today, I have the photographs just taped in place so that I can contemplate their location.

This week I went plen a-ire painting with Joan and Ann. We went to Thompson Peak, parking at a trailhead that had a great ramada, restrooms, and so on. It was a great place to paint, and the weather was perfect! I worked in watercolor and ended up with this painting. My focus was somewhere between the saguaro cactus and the palo verde tree. It was a perfect start to my week off from school.

I went to Stu's on both Tuesday and Thursday nights.  Thursday was a great session, as the poses were 40 minutes instead of the standard 20 minutes. Our model on Thursday was Rose, and you would never have known that it was her first time as a model; she was great. I finished 2 paintings, acrylic on brown paper, 24" x 36", both of which I were very happy with. The first one is titled "Portrait of Rose". She was wearing a headband, which added a nice touch to the painting.

The second painting I titled, "Laying on a Blanket". Having an extra 20 minutes really gives me enough time to make sure that the proportions are correct as well as the time to finish the background.  That is why I felt that the night's session was so successful. I wish Tuesday nights were longer poses too.

I also had the opportunity to make some of my 6" x 6" daily collages. I only missed a couple of days so I felt pretty good about them. The one on the right is titled "Count Down". The others I made are shown below.

And it is already October!

I can't believe that September has come and gone without me posting to my blog.  It is already midway into October, in fact this coming week is Fall Break which signals that I have completed 9 weeks of school. It is hard to keep track of where the days go. I am full swing into my National Board entries.  I wish I could say that I have started video taping for 2 of my entries, bit that hasn't happened yet.  I will be starting a watercolor unit right after break, so I will start taping then. Plus I will need to tape my classes as they are critiquing an artwork, hopefully that will happen the first 2 weeks that I am back in class. As for now, I have finished entry 4 and am almost done with entry 1. For entry 1, I still need to get photos of the students final project (which they are finishing over break) plus I need copies of the summative assessment that they will get right after break.  It is obviously consuming my brain at this moment.

I have been doing only a small amount of artwork, just what I can accomplish at me Tuesday night drawing sessions. I worked each Tuesday in acrylic on large brown paper, using the technique where I apply the paint with a brayer. The following are some September examples.

I did manage to make a few of my daily collages, just on the weekends.  It is hard to fit much else in on a weekday!  The collages are all mixed media, 6" x 6". Evidently I was on a black & white theme for the month!

Over fall break I really do have a lot on my agenda.  As for national boards, I am starting on the analysis of student work section. I won't be able to finish the section until after break, when I have all of the information in front of me, but for now, there is still more that I can do.  I will also try to "unpack the prompts" for the 2 video entries.

I worked in my garden just a little bit yesterday, took off the shade screen and planted beets and carrots. Later this week I hope to put in some transplants of lettuce, broccoli and cabbage.

For art making, I have some projects from school that need to be finished.  The most important on that list is to make a chart of watercolor techniques to have when I start back after break. I also have a pencil drawing and a watercolor pencil painting to finish up (these are teacher examples).  Then there is the painting of dad. It is still a too young version.  I haven't worked on it in weeks, trying to figure out where I went wrong. I think I need to make his face, or at least his cheeks, a bit wider. That might solve the problem. His skin tone needs to be paler, not so red. I guess I have some work ahead of me. I hope to make some progress on it.

This week I plan to do a Plen Air painting session with my friend Laura. Now that we are experiencing some cooler weather, it should be a nice, outdoor activity. That is scheduled for tomorrow. I plan to work in watercolor. Then there is Tuesday night drawing session plus a Thursday night session with a longer pose. I look forward to that.

For now, I think I have relayed all that has happened since my last post. I will try to post at the end of fall break. It might be interesting to see if I accomplished all that I have planned.