What I've been up to...

I haven't had time to paint lately because I had a table at a Fine Arts and Crafts Show over this weekend (at the Shania Twain Center) and it took me a couple of weeks to prepare for it. It was a great chance to meet the public again and get my paintings seen. I didn't sell any paintings but lots of reproductions, cards, calendars and hand-painted bookmarks. Now that this show is finished I can finish putting up Christmas decorations, hold a couple of Christmas parties, go to a few more parties and then get back to painting. So it will be a little break before I get back to posting painting progress. Thanks for being patient.

Contemplation Finished

I darkened the skin tones almost everywhere, added more defined values on the hands and feet without adding a lot of detail (I don't want them being the focus), and added a warm wash over the background. I'm calling this one finally finished this and I'll get it framed this afternoon.

Contemplation step 7

I have continued correcting values (darker and darker) and skin tones over the whole painting. Once the figure is correct, I'll go back and add a wash or two over the background.

Contemplation step 6

I finally got back to this after working nightshift all weekend and starting to prepare for a Christmas Craft Show next week.

I worked all around the painting darkening values again and I am finally getting close to the correct shades. Lots more work to be done especially on the hands and feet but it is getting closer.

Contemplation step 5

I continued to darken the darker values in the skin tones. I also tried a new technique to blend the areas in shadow into the background. I added a wash of warm brown to the background but extended it over the darker skin tones to make them fade into the background. I have to do a lot more work on the face yet, this is just a rough indications of features right now. And there are still lots of washes to go all over the body. I'll have to start working on the hands and feet as well.

Contemplation step 4

I darkened the background with another wash because I was having trouble getting the darks on the skin tones dark enough without the background to compare it to. The background will end up a warm brown at the end. I worked all over the sking tones gradually darkening them and starting to bring out the shapes.

Contemplation step 3

I have continued to work on the skin tones building up the darks. A long way to go yet to get the depth I want.