Bring on the Month of March

My crazy painting schedule continues and as February is now over, I am happy to say that the five paintings I needed to complete for the month were completed, in addition to a sixth painting mostly done and a seventh started. I am hoping to get a TON of work done this month, not just the five I previously had as a goal. I recently sold seven paintings in a span of seven days which is amazing and a world record for me, but as much as this feels great, it also means that I have to paint even more so that I can replace what was sold in these galleries. It's a horrible problem to have, right? I am finding that being an artist is a lot harder and demanding than I thought it would be. I am still loving what I do but I sure do wish there were more hours in the day!

Painting number seven was started today.

Painting number six: This is pretty much done. I need to add
some bright whites and super dark browns still.

Here's a close-up. The panel is 16"x20".

Color Boost

Taking pictures of my artwork isn't easy. Often times the whites photograph gray and the overall picture has a cool feel to it, while the paintings are quite warm in color in real life. In addition, the slightly yellow color and "texture" of the wax has not been easy to catch. I am often told that my paintings look better in person. While that is flattering to hear, my galleries have a harder time selling my paintings based on their photos (which many galleries do by posting images on their website and sending photos of new work to clients). I've had gallerist try to take the photos themselves and adjust the color in Photoshop. The color has never been right, and some have been way off.

After three years of playing with my images and trying to get them to look right in Photoshop (and then not being able to consistently recreate what I did with another image), I finally figured out how to make my photos looks warmer and more like the actual paintings. It was real simple and took hitting only one button. I'm not sure I never figured this out before. It was so easy! So what did I do? I used the "color boost" button in the effects section of iPhoto. Simple. I hit the button and VIOLA! A warmer photo. If I hit it twice, it gets even warmer. Any more than that and the image is too yellow. Here's what the new images look like: 

Original: This is what my photos originally look like without any effects. It's pretty
gray and has a "cool" feel to it.

Boost One: This with the color boost effect on 1. It's much warmer. I like this...but
 sometimes I wonder if the effect should be on 2.

Boost Two: This is with a color boost setting of 2. Do you think it looks TOO yellow? I can't decide.
Which one of these effects look more like my actual paintings? I need some opinions.

If you have any opinions, I'd like to hear them. Which one do you think best represents my work?

On another note, I finished the 5th painting of the month today. If you remember, I am on a crazy painting schedule of 5 paintings per month for the next 4 months. I managed to finish a little bit early for this month's deadlines. Fifteen more paintings (at least...although I probably actually need more) to go! Here are paintings number 4 and 5, without the wax:

"Row Boat" 30"x24"
You'll be able to find this painting at Lanoue Fine Art in March.

"Feeding Pigeons", 36"x36"
You will be able to find this painting at ArtHaus Gallery sometime next week.

Paintings #4 and #5

The marathon continues. I haven't had much time (or energy, really) to blog much, but I did want to post some progress on the next two pieces. The one with the women is a 36"x36" panel, a new size for me. I am really liking this size ad it may be a new standard for me...assuming I can get it into my tiny car once it is boxed and ready to ship. I haven't tried it out yet...keep your fingers crossed!

I'm guess this was before pigeons were considered "rats with wings".
I finished this underpainting today. 

And the eyes are starting to go...So much work left to do on this!

First Three Out of Twenty

The first three paintings out of the twenty I need done by the end of May have now been waxed. Please let me know what you think of them. I have been more than a little stressed and anxious about getting work done and I am contemplating not going to Portland this weekend in order to get work done. It's a four day weekend which means at least twenty hours of painting that I am giving up. I am such a work-aholic... but how else am I supposed to get everything done? Good thing I am still enjoying painting otherwise this would be torture!

"Hand Stand", 36" x 24", 2012

"The Secret", 30" x 24", 2012

"Three Sisters", 40"x30", 2012

Painting #2 and #3 Out of 20.

The marathon painting schedule continues. I managed to finish the under-paintings for two pieces today, painting #2 and #3 out of the 20 I need by the end of May.  Now if only I could do without sleep, food, and rest...

This is a 40"x30" panel. It was really hard to figure out the
details of the hands since the photo wasn't very clear. I can't tell
if the girls are holding hands or if the middle girl is doing something
weird with her hands. I am loving the shadows though...

This panel is 30"x 24". I'm liking the rectangular format lately...
I think I angled the camera because the proportions of her
head/ body looks weird, although it doesn't look like that on the
actual painting.

Here is a better image of the whole panel. 

Picking an Image to Paint

I started my "Forgotten Memories" series at the beginning of 2009. In the past three years that I have been painting from old photographs, I have had some pieces turn out nice and others that have turned out not as nice. It has taken me two and a half years to finally figure out which photographs will translate as a good painting and which won't.

Most of this process was trial and error. I would pick an image that looked great on the photo, but for some reason, the painting looked flat and the person looked "cartoony". There were other images that I thought just wouldn't work; I didn't like the pose, the image seemed too weird, etc. Sometimes I was right and the painting looked horrible. Other times, the painting would unexpectedly be one of my best pieces. As I said, it took me a long time to figure out what would work and why. Here is what I have found:

This image didn't have much contrast
and because of it, her face looks flat.

1. Contrast: Since I don't work in color, subtlities are lost, especially in the face. I find that if a face does not have much contrast, the person ends up looking flat and "cartoony". The same is true for the rest of the body. High contrast is very important when working in black (or in my case, raw umber) and white.

This image had great contrast and shadows.
 It's one of my favorite paintings that I have done.

2. Shadows: Good, strong shadows make for a more interesting painting. As I said previously, contrast is important and nothing says contrast better than some good shadows. If part of the face or body is covered in shadow or if there are cast shadows from limbs or the background, then the image has more of a narrative. The people look more realistic in these cases. The more realistic the image, the greater chance of a viewer connecting with the work.

This image is a good one for a couple
of reason: it's not a generic pose and the
girl on top is partially cropped out
of the photo.

3. Interest: Posed photos are less interesting than snapshots when the subject is unaware of the camera. There are a TON of posed, generic photos but when you find one that is a random snapshot AND has contrast with shadow, then you've hit the jackpot. These aren't as easy to find though.

Also, interesting crops, which I can contribute to when I compose my painting, give way to better negative space. The negative space is just as important as the image itself and can make or break a composition. Sometimes it's hard to image the figures without the background, especially if it is a busy one.

These are the basics of what makes a good painting. Now sometimes it's hard to tell, even with all three components, if the painting will be a "winner". Case in point: my current painting. I didn't think it would make a good piece although it had all the requirements for one. I just couldn't "see" what the painting would look like, mostly because the background seemed to be getting in the way. I drew the image and then let it sit in my studio for awhile before I even attempted to paint it. Turns out, I LOVE this piece. I was so inspired by it that the underpainting only took 4 hours to finish. I am still working on it but I think when it's done, it will probably be one of my better paintings.

This is where I left it after working on it today...

When Panic Sets In

I recently figured out that due to upcoming shows and deadlines, I would need to paint an average of 5 paintings per month for the next four months. Now for those of you who don't paint and don't understand what this means, it's a SHIT-LOAD OF PAINTINGS to get done. I am going to be chained to my easel for awhile.

I got this underpainting done in about four hours.
The panel is 36"x24". I didn't think I would like
this image much, but I'm really liking it now. By taking
the background out, it really made the image stronger.

I was in a panic. How would I get this all done? When would I have time to paint? What am I going to paint? It took a large bag of bar-b-que chips and a Hagen Daz ice cream bar before I was able to calm myself down a little and be able to get some sleep. I was still slightly panicky the next day. Reminding myself to breathe, I can do this, and breathe some more, helped. More than one person told me to "take it one painting at a time". That's all you can do, really, one painting at a time. Letting panic take over and paralyze you isn't going to help. So when I finally calmed down, I went to work.

This seems to be my norm. I realize I have a ton of paintings to get done in a short amount of time. I panic. I get over panic. I go into my studio and get to work, kick some painting ass, and get it all done in time. Next batch of deadlines comes up and I start all over again. Knowing that I've done this before doesn't seem to stop the panic from setting in. I guess it's just something I have to go through and then get over before I can really hunker down and really get to work. It's happened often enough that I finally can see this is my pattern. Is it a fun pattern to go through? Hell no, but it's apparently the way I'm wired.  Fortunately my husband already knew this was a pattern and knows what to do before full-blown panic attack sets in. (Thanks babe for the chips and ice cream!)

Now that I am past my panic mode and I am in work mode, I had a GREAT painting day yesterday. It was one of those days where everything seemed to be going right. I finished the underpainting of my latest piece in about 4 hours and it looked great! I was on fire! I am hoping the next four months goes this way because if it does, twenty paintings in four months should be no problem.

I finished this piece and it is now ready to wax. The panel
is 24"x24".