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.