Stinkbug

Spent a whole morning looking for a bug, and then the marmolated stinkbug caught my eye.  Have you ever seen a more beautiful bug?  Of course you haven't.  I suspect that the second photo is highly photoshopped, and I have been torn between the more natural bug on the left and the stylized one on the right though I am leaning strongly towards the stylized.

I haven't gotten it to the big paper yet, and here are my studies.  I think I am going with the design in the lower left using that square inside a diamond within a square within a diamond...  thing.  I am always interested in the battle between order and randomness, and this bug has it in spades.  I am tired of spending my mornings planning when I'd rather be painting, and I am hoping to get the big paper out Sunday, maybe Monday.

 

Alan

 I finished one of the depictions of downtown Three Rivers Michigan in my sketchbook. 

The nice thing about this sketchbook is the ability to make it panoramic. 

I finished the painting on Yupo of the Midwest woods during the fall. I learned a lot on this one. 

I’m taking another crack at the scene at the lake. I like the start. 

I like a lot of the start to this version on Yupo. 

Mortimer 3

 Did some work on his mouth and jaws since I left the class, and now I am ready for another bug

elaine t / Nov 20

I wasn't happy with the pale background on the self-portrait, so I gave it washes of purple, black and purple again. Then I put a faint wash of purple into the skin shadows, to reflect the background. Much better! 

The pale background

  

The final version
(the lighting in this photo is more yellow than the first one)

"Who Me?": Feisty Lady by SS

 So many moons ago, I took a photo of her, after a satisfying lunch. At that time, she was starting to solve her daily "find a word" puzzle. I asked her, am surprised she still enjoy her puzzles, at her age of 92 & having survived a major hip surgery! She answered my impertinent inquiry with a dialect phrase "Ako Pa?", roughly translated "Who Me?". For her, it was a "no brainer", she could still do puzzles, because she used to beat us at Scrabble! My secured universe fell apart, when some weeks after that she "transitioned" the day before Thanksgiving. During the 2 decades of amazing company with her, here in Chicago, all my previous attempts to paint or draw her likeness elicited a "does not look like!" response. Thus, on this pandemic November of 2021, I knew that in my newly found techniques that I got her likeness!  I acknowledged & respected the existence of the lines, shadows, folds & perfect imperfections of her wonderful life! What a lovely surprise to start Thanksgiving 2021!

Elaine O. — November 20, 2021

I may add a few tiny touches in the days ahead. But basically, this is finished! It's the courtyard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The panoramic format works to convey the light, expansive feel of the courtyard, in comparison to the smaller, darker rooms of the surrounding house/museum. But I still am saddened by the way this paper takes the paint. I may have to re-do on better paper.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Courtyard    6" x 18"

Fun fact: Did you know that admission is free if your first name is Isabella? True!

Marva — November 20, 2021

This is the completed painting of the floral bouquet. White flowers are probably the most difficult to paint, yet notice how these rely on the internal shadows and external colors to define them.

From there, it's back to the landscapes and another challenge—subtle, realistic greens. Don't you want to be here?

Alan Early Fall

 I finished the painting of the golf course on the lake. I’m not happy with it because it is not as light and airy as I envisioned. I’ll try again later. 

I’m working on my series of downtown Three Rivers scenes. 

Here’s an autumn scene from Facebook that I loved. It’s painted on Yupo and there are many changes coming. 

Porch time…

Think I’m going to put a wash over the two back white vertical boards and then call this done.

Below is the version I had when I left class. Basically I added a couple of washes of raw umber to the left hand side of the painting and used a more intense black mixed from alizarin crimson, winsor blue and a touch quid gold on the white chair.

Here are my boys awaiting facial and hand reconstruction….  

 

 

Mortimer 2

Now that Mortimer is fleshed out he is looking more formidable
 

New Citizen, August 2008, 11.13.21 by SS

 Big Sis took her oath of citizenship in August 2008 & she wore a smile of grace & appreciation for her adopted Motherland & voted Democratic ever since!

Her Honor 2.0, done 11.06.21 by SS

 This is the second painting of the Mayor of Chicago with her determined look & her striped dress reminiscent of the headdress of  Queen Cleopatra of the Nile. 

My Lady 2.0 10.30.21 by SS

 This painting is a second version of my painting "Farewell my Lady" done in June 2021. The first version had darker underpainting & was almost totally void of Values, no hills and valleys. This second version was almost a likeness in her younger years! Painting the dark expressive eyes was a challenge. I am at peace with this!

Mr.Tee, 10.26.21 by SS

 Mr Tee is Tall, Dark and Easy on the Eyes! Blessings, he likes this painting! Hallelujah!

More Like Her, 10.21.21 by SS

 This painting is in honor of my friend & former officemate, a fellow CPA artist who passed in November 2020. It took me a Sad

year to finally paint her likeness. May she rest in Peace! 

The Curly, The Wavy, The Tassel,10.23.21 by SS

 I painted a collage of my big sis in three stages of her life: as a toddler with curly hair &  innocently floating in the turquoise waters of life; as a teenager with wavy hair in a swimsuit smiling shyly with her complicated leaves of her romances & waiting what her future brings; as a young graduate with graduation dress & tassel framing her face, with a determined face as she helped support the family. 

From Her Chin Up Twice 10.16.21 & 11.13.21 by SS

  Painting a holiday photo of my big sis was a challenge. The group  picture where it was taken by a self timing camera was at an angle where emphasis was at lower side of face. The reference photo showed a face with dark eye sockets in shadows & her mouth of big teeth. My first version done in October showed eye balls, painted as I imagined them! It was a disaster! The second version done in November was painted as is, lower jaw in lights & eye sockets in darkness. Amazingly, the painting respecting the shadows worked! 

Elaine O. — November 13, 2021

It's gray and rainy and a bit disappointing altogether. Here's the finished study of the Post Office in Washington. As studies go, I've learned what I wanted to learn, and I think I'll revisit later, but at a larger size.

Study 12" x 9"

And then, I found an old pad of watercolor paper and thought it would be especially suitable for this panoramic view of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Courtyard. Unfortunately, there's something off about the paper/sizing. The paint goes on all spotty, although I will admit it looks slightly better when it dries. And the paper grabs the color so there's no chance to blend—not to mention that the color soaks in immediately and gets very pale. I'm going to finish this as a study and try again, hoping that it's only the first sheet that's defective. If not, it's a lesson not to let paper sit for a decade before using it!

Isabella Stewart Gardner Courtyard    6" x 18"

Marva — November 13, 2021

This is the beginning of a bouquet of white flowers—definitely a challenge! Look closely and you'll see them beginning to take shape already. And once the background  goes in, they are really going to pop.

Fiber Art show at Botanic Garden

 Here are some interesting pieces of non-quilt fiber art from the show last weekend. Some of them are thread paintings, where a photo is printed on the fabric and then “painted in thread” either by machine or hand. Others are fabric collages and other forms of fabric manipulation.

Sara on the porch…

 Value study and painting …(in reverse order)ihave a long way to go on the painting.

elaine t / Nov 6 / more skin tones

 A self-portrait that's not too bad. I added the background at the very end, and it's competing with the skin tones too much. The original photo has a very dark background. Later this week I think I'll darken this background to a deep gray with warm undertone so the face can stand out. I need to tone down the hair color too.

Mortimer the Murder Hornet

 Looking pretty good so far.  I think.

Alan Bldgs and trees

 A couple of little paintings in my sketchbook. The first one is just WC and the second one is ink with a watercolor overlay. 

I could see doing some more like this but I would like to try a more general wash. 

This painting is destined to be sacrifice sheets. The tree should not be a focus and the tone is wrong. Looks better on the blog 

This is a view from Waveland Golf Course looking south toward the city. I think that it’s a good start but there are many things I’m looking at that need work.