The saga continues. Here is exactly what I emailed to Lisa about it: “Why can I not notice that the wet paint shines until I put it in an email to you?? sigh. The shadows on the left side of the house are really darker, not shiny lighter! “In other news: 1. The sky is […]
Lisa’s Lake House 6
Lisa and I have been discussing the height of the horizon line. When I work from a combination of somewhat incomplete photos and a customer’s memory, there is a lot of explanation involved. It became necessary to thoroughly understand horizon lines and where they belong so that I could put this one in the right […]
Crazy Hard Pencil Commission – DONE!
Remember that crazy hard pencil commission of those two miniature fuzzy faces? (You can see it in the October 2 blog post.) The customer/friend asked me to make an adjustment to the boy’s cheek because his face was more narrow than round in real life (couldn’t prove it by me or by that photo). Adjustment […]
Lisa’s Lake House #5
As I was painting on this fifth pass over the canvas, the phone rang. I was between colors and just staring at the canvas, so contrary to my normal phone habits while painting, I answered. The caller identified herself, and I was completely blank mentally. Completely. I realized that I was concentrating so much on […]
Commissioned Pencil Drawing of Wilsonia Cabin
This is a completed drawing of a Wilsonia cabin. I couldn’t decide if this post belonged here on my normal blog, or if it belongs on The Cabins of Wilsonia. The drawing won’t be in the book. Those pages are already designed, and this cabin has its front door represented in the chapter of Park […]
Lisa’s Lake House #4
Nope, not the fourth lake house of Lisa; it is the 4th pass across the canvas. In my opinion, the sky, clouds, lake and trees are finished. However, my opinion is subject to change, and if I see something to improve, pass the paint brushes and step aside! The roof, the porch and steps all […]
Lisa’s Lake House, 3
Lisa is enjoying watching her painting develop as this California (cabin) artist paints a Minnesota (lake) house. Apparently she isn’t squeamish. Because there is no one photo that says it all, she needs to be involved. For example, in most photos that she provided, the trees look very thick. But, she wants to see the […]
A Good Challenge (Or a Crazy-Hard Pencil Commission)
A wise colored pencil artist taught me to NEVER draw a face smaller than an egg. I’ve passed that on to my drawing students. It is tricky enough to capture a likeness correctly with photos or people that you can actually see and measure. Try doing it when you can’t see the details. Worse, try […]
Lisa’s Lake House, a Commissioned Oil Painting
Lisa’s family has a lake house in Minnesota, somewhere northern and treed and lakey and gorgeous. She asked me to paint it. After briefly considering a request to be flown there to see it with my own eyes, I came to my senses and said “Yes, of course I can work from your photos.” (I […]
Responding to the Voices in My Head
That’s a scary title, is it not? When I paint, I listen to lots of things. There is music, podcasts, talk radio, books on tape, and voices in my head, including my own. An aside: Someone said we should talk to ourselves the way we talk to our best friends. You know how sometimes you […]