Alan working things out

 I saw this old painting of mine displayed on a large computer screen and recognized immediately what was wrong with it. So…. I went into my archives and hauled it out. After a little while I think I made it better. Be careful using ink to do the small branches of a tree. I was trying to get the first green of spring but I lost that with the branches so prominent.  I also did some work on the foreground.

Before

After

I’m still working on Greeta.  I might have to use more pigment on the blouse but I really like it and don’t want to screw it up.

Couples Redux….

 Here’s my second attempt of this double portrait. I made a few changes to the background that improve the composition imo. I also redrew Andrew’s face and hand. I like the way I painted the background, but I’m going to darken the sky a bit more. (I redrew her face & can't seem to get rid of the previous outline.) Still debating on the blanket color. I love, love, love this 300lb Stonehenge 100% cotton paper. It absorbs the paint so well. I really like where this is going & Hope I don’t ruin it in the next few hours….

Still moving along

 I've put about fifty hours into this thing, and you know, I think I am making progress.

Happy Thanksgiving

 Two versions of a pumpkin. Street scene from a FB post on Pictures of Chicago—-photo by Martin Spicuzza. The buildings and yellow foliage went well, but I missed the boat on the red tree and that orange bush/tree made me crazy. 

Couples …

 I think this is done but still looking at it.  I’m going to do it again but not sure about the composition. Do I like the horizon line hitting her face? Is that big green blob of a tree too big ? should I lower that dune and add more sky? The black is a mix of alizarin crimson, ultra marine blue and Quinn gold, but it looks chalky to meMaybe something a little deeper in color? Suggestion box is open….

Moving along

 It's moving along.  Everything is under control.  Don't worry.  Be happy.

Working things out

 So……I was not happy with how this autumn scene finished so I  decided to do more work on it. I took out the darkness of the trunk and some branches, lightened the intensity of the leaves and introduced more cerulean into the skyholes and the lake. 

I did this on Yupo. 

I really liked it but I had planned to put a leafy border on the top like the picture I had cropped.  So I did that.  And liked it better.

Then I started a portrait of guess who.  This is just the beginning.  Everything is in the correct place and now I have to make it art  

Elaine O. — November 19, 2022

I'm calling this finished...a finished study, anyway. Sigh! I was quite happy last week and now I'm second guessing my choices. Not the colors—I love those. But I wonder about other things like: Should I have made both their little outfits the same color? Should I have gone darker on their faces? On the background? Should I have cropped in? Widened out? I'll need to think a bit, but I think I'll be revisiting this.

Brothers    12" x 9"

November 19, 2022—Warmup

Another 5 minute warmup...but from Modern Painters magazine this time. Once again, Ken got relatively lucky...

...while Sara got a cast of thousands, with nudes.

Elaine O. got Lydia the (detailed) tattooed woman...

...and Elaine T.'s woman is almost monochromatic with sinuous lines.

 Again, we can't stress enough how quickly 5 minutes goes by! But it's a fun 5 minutes.

 

Joe Redux….

 

Here’s my second attempt at this portrait and it’s much closer to my original intent: man silhouetted in darkness ignoring his iPad and finally noticing the beauty of nature right outside the window! Still needs a few tweaks but pretty much done. This is painted on great paper — Stonehenge 300lb 100 percent cotton. Very absorbent, but allows lifting and scrubbing with no damage.

One done, one started.

 I am calling this done.  Some in the class thought that there should be something more going on in the upper left hand corner, but of course they were mistaken.

This started out as a closeup of a painting of a tomato flower but now it is looking more like a hot air balloon in a tornado, but there is a long way to go yet.

Back to Graceland and A Zinnia That Wanted To Be A Geranium

Elaine O. — November 12, 2022

It's time for something warm and sweet. What could be more heartwarming than family? And what could be more challenging than dual portraits? Here are a pair of sweet brothers. I wanted to keep the vintage, sepia feel of the original (it's from the 20's), but also add color. So far, I'm happy with the effect I'm getting from the three colors I've chosen. 

Brothers    12" x 9"

Still life continued

 I redrew the still life from last time to fix some things I did not like about it. Then I painted it on Yupo just for Ken. 

SS: Autumn at Devon, October

 One Sunday morning drive at Devon Avenue was through a canopy of Autumn in various stages of colorful departure. This is my inspiration for this painting from photos taken from our car on the way to a Sunday Lunch. " A thing of short lived beauty is a joy forever"!

SS: Apple Picker Blue

I added background elements for Apple Picker in Bleu Shirt, I added cerulean tint sky; portions of nearby tree with air holes,multi colored leaves; distant tree half with green leaves & half with cobalt violet, grassy picnic area at the Apple Orchard at Poplar Grove!

November 12, 2022 — Another Ken, Sara and Elaine Warm-up

We had so much fun last week, we did it again —a  5 minute warm up. Same rules: grab a magazine (HGTV again), set a timer for 5 minutes, open the magazine at random and paint the image. Here are the images at left and the paintings at right. Again, 5 minutes sure does go by quickly!

Here's Sara channeling Matisse...

Sara's warm-up     12" x 9"

 ...while Elaine matches the minimal style of her reference...

Elaine's warm-up    12" x 9"

...and Ken paints toast!

Ken's warm-up    12" x 9"

Minutes of fun!

Ss Art Class @ Uncommon

 Watercolor Class of Truman led by art teacher Pat Otto, were in full artistic force during the Art Exhibit CAVA Invitational Reception on November 11, 2022 @ Music Room Uncommon Ground, 3800 N. Clark, Chicago. Group photo shows the artists & family from left: Standing: Susan Silvano & Joe Drummond; Sitting: Dave Osborne, Elaine Osborne,Sara Drummond, Pat Otto, Kristopher Dodd. The art group posed before 2 Watercolor Portraits of Susan, part of the  Group Art Exhibit  from 110822 to 031323. The Watercolor Portraits are titled: " Easy On My Eyes" (Tony) and "Sunny Milestone" ( Susan). " I thank all for sharing an amazing artistic night of friendship, drinks, sliders and fun! Fondly from Susan Silvano 

SS @ Music Room, Uncommon Ground

 Susan Silvano, Watercolor Artist & Truman Watercolor Class Student since January 2008 with her 2 Watercolor Portraits @ the Music Room, Uncommon Ground Restaurant 3800 N. Clark, Chicago, IL. Photo taken during CAVA Invitational Exhibit Reception, November 11, 2022. Art Exhibit runs from November 8, 2022 to March 13, 2023. 

Tree with Context….

 This is pretty close to done I think. Trying to make Joe’s face look a little less cartoonish, but it’s only getting dirty….the tree needs a little more work on the right side maybe….

fleurs dans un vase 2

There might be some minor changes but I think it is pretty much done.

 

This is something I knocked out in the Thursday Cultural Center class.  I had an old crusty pallet of mostly dark colors which I didn't remember which was which, but when I finished slathering and blotting I think it turned out pretty good, and I just wanted to show if off.

Elaine O. — November 5, 2022

This definitely feels like spring, not fall. It's a view of cherry blossoms against a clear blue sky. I like the way the panoramic paper works for this, too.

Cherry Blossoms    18"x 6"

November 5, 2022 — Ken, Sara and Elaine O. Warm Up

Three of us tried something different today—a 5 minute warm up. We each grabbed a magazine (HGTV if you're interested), set a timer for 5 minutes and, at the signal to go, opened the magazine at random and painted the image we saw. Here are the images at left and the paintings at right. You'd be surprised how quickly 5 minutes went!

Ken's warm-up    12" x 9"

Ken landed on a torn page and stopped painting at the tear. He did manage to get a good portrait and a great plaid in 5 short minutes.

 

Sara's warm-up    12" x 9"

Sara got a back view (with a partial face); yet she managed to get the subject's personality via her stance and balance, along with an interesting background of swatches.

 

Elaine O's warm-up 12" x 9"

Elaine O. got the strangest reference of the lot but, to her credit, she didn't flip to a different page. She got both subjects but didn't have time for the stormy background. 

All in all, it was fun and a great warm-up. We're going to do it again!

Alan trying fall trees

 Here’s a watercolor on 140 that I was not really happy with. 

I like the far shore and the yellows but I’m not happy about the reds. 

The next is also on cold press.  I spent more time on the individual leaves.

I liked it better especially the little branch sprouting out of the broken branch.

It was a helluva fall  

Old Town House/Girl and her Dog

 We often park in front of this house on Menomonee. Very welcoming entrance. A lot went wrong, so I treated it as a recovery process. The girl is from a FB screenshot of a friend’s granddaughter. Why didn’t I just bury the entire hand in the dog’s fur?  Too involved in being true to the reference pic.