Landon
Cedar January 31st, 2007
Yet another commission done! This one is of the adorably sweet Landon Warren, when she was 5 years old. (She is 10 now.)
The reference photo:
The painting:
Archive for January, 2007
Kenna
Cedar January 26th, 2007
Here’s another portrait: Kenna. This one was challenging at times, but I think I’m pleased with it.
The reference photo:
The painting:
This painting is 16″ x 12″. I’ve been doing smaller portraits lately. (Which is probably a good thing, since I was getting out of hand, painting enormous heads on enormous canvases. In one of my portraits, the person’s face was 27″ tall. Sheesh.) But to go along with my shift towards sanity in portrait-painting, I had to get some tiny paintbrushes, of course. I have 5 new paintbrushes with nearly microscopic bristles, and I’m really excited about them.
My friend and mentor Ron Ogle, who has generously given me guidance for years, sent me this advice in an email:
Have you considered TONING your white canvases - with, say, 2 parts yellow ochre and one part ‘light red?’ -thereby, as did Rembrandt, establishing middle flesh tones - before painting- which helps one get an even skin tone and, with practice, makes for more efficient painting. [[As if you need to paint faster…]] Where the toned canvas is close enough to desired flesh color it is left unpainted…. [ SEE REMBRANDT. FOREVER LOOK TO REMBRANDT. ]
In the past, I have experimented with toning my canvas before painting, and with portraits especially, I have noticed that it can be helpful. I think I’m going to do that from now on, and I was thinking that if I could figure out a persons average skin tone and use that as my starting point, it’d help even more. Then I wouldn’t have to continually mix the same color.
I’m pretty good at color mixing, but even so, it’s can be really hard to get skin tones exactly right. People have all kinds of weird colors in their skin that you wouldn’t expect…lime green, neon blue, all shades of purple, yellow, cool gray, warm gray, you name it. If you take it just a little too far with one of these intense colors, you end up with mayhem: an otherwise beautiful woman with a bright orange blotch on her cheek, or an unsightly green moustache, or a sickly pallor to her skin. But if you get it just right, with that vivid color incorporated in a subtle way, you get magic. Like realism but just a little better.
I’ve been thinking that toning my canvas might allow me to incorporate such colors while still keeping them in check, as I’d have that nice even skin tone to compare other colors with as I paint.
So I’m painting my next portrait on a toned canvas:
People have expressed interest in seeing more photos of my studio. It is after all, where I spend most of my life lately, so I figured I would share this lovely view of the wall that holds my excellent shelves. They have been invaluable in helping me stay organized, and it it’s possible to feel something as strong as love for a shelf, I would say that I love them.
Notice also my lucky bamboo. It makes me happy daily. I am finding that simple little things like this incorporated in my studio make it a much nicer work environment.
New Painting: Katrina
Cedar January 17th, 2007
I finished a painting today: “Katrina”
It’s 20″ x 20″, Acrylic on Canvas.
The reference photo:
The painting:
Mad Props to Micah Lee
Cedar January 16th, 2007
I have learned tons about web design and code and become much more Internet-savvy since first setting up my website a couple of years ago.
But without the expertise of my brother Micah, who provided me with all the code for the very first version of my site (and has helped me out countless times since then,) I’d be lost. Not completely lost, but considerably more lost than I am. Thanks Micah!
Check him out: www.MicahLeeDesigns.com.
Painting on Stage & Spring Fever, Already?
Cedar January 16th, 2007
The Poets & Painters event on Saturday night was a success! I met a few other working painters in my area and made some new friends and valuable contacts. It was a night of poetry and music, and my senses were overloaded even during the parts when I was not painting on stage.
As for the painting part, I felt like I really had no idea what I was doing, but on the upside, this freed me to experiment. At times it was really challenging—how do you take a piece of music that is going so fast you can’t keep track of the lyrics, or a poem that covers very abstract ideas, and use that input as inspiration for a painting, as you are listening to it?
Me, listening hard:
Some of the time, visuals popped into my head as I listened to the performers, and I just went with that, attempting to paint what I saw in my head. Whenever I drew a blank, I just tried to paint how I was feeling, by use of certain colors or brushstrokes (for example, frenetic vs. calm energy, passion vs. sadness, etc.) I was working under time constraints—the rules said I had to start a new painting every time a new poem or song began, and this gave me literally less than 5 minutes to work on most of the paintings. This yielded some interesting results—some paintings that were very uncharacteristic of my usual style, and some that felt more like doodles to me than completed artworks.
But the crowd was really excited to see me paint—I got lots of applause, which made my heart flutter! I sold 2 of the pieces I made that night, and all-in-all, it was a lot of fun. I will probably do it again.
I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed this week. My husband has a cold, and I’ve been trying to keep him supplied with medicine, juice, soup and hugs. My dog threw up everything she ate yesterday and hasn’t eaten yet today, and I’m worried about her. I’ve got a huge pile of paperwork waiting on my desk, and I’m trying to keep up with getting orders for posters out quickly. I have 10 portrait commissions lined up at the moment, for which I am so truly grateful, but as you must know if you too are a busy person, being swamped with business sometimes makes you feel frazzled!
I am looking forward to the springtime—I just can’t get it off my mind. I’m probably affected by spring fever more than anyone I know…I get it bad, starting at the beginning of winter, and lasting all through spring almost until summer. My dreams lately are filled with things like long days spent outdoors, warm breezes, twittering birds, and healthy little buds and shoots popping out of trees and dirt. Every year, the springtime jump-starts my creative energy, filling my mind with imagery and great ideas for paintings.
Every year, I never even realize quite how dead I was feeling all winter, until the springtime makes me feel like I’m coming back to life. Maybe you can relate? Maybe I’m just being melodramatic. *sigh* (Silly melodramatic artists!)
Here is a peek at what’s going on in my studio today:
Easy access to my blog
Cedar January 12th, 2007
If you want to keep up with my blog updates, you can bookmark this page or add it to your favorites so it’s easy to come back here regularly.
But there’s now an even easier way. Every time I post an update to my blog, you can get it in your email that night, so you won’t miss any of my updates. These emails are automatically sent only on days that I update, so you won’t get any clutter in your inbox.
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Poets & Painters Showcase
Cedar January 10th, 2007
This weekend I will be trying something new and scary: painting live on stage! I will be a part of a monthly performance called “Poets & Painters.” Here is a description:
“It’s the place where truth tellers and truth seekers convene for the ultimate display of ancient arts. As a poet takes the stage, the painter creates a visual interpretation of the performance. Blending this into perfect synergy is a live band, and feature vocalists. With a lineup of professional independent artists, as well as unknown newcomers all on one stage, it is an exercise in artistic improvisation and a collaborative showcase never before seen. It is truly the best of the best!”
Needless to say, I am a little bit nervous about the idea of coming up with a completed painting in the time it takes someone to recite a poem, and having that painting be relevant to the content of the poem, and doing all this in front of a live audience watching my every move. I’m also really excited about it. Let’s see what I can do, eh?
This event will take place on Saturday, January 13th (as well as the 2nd Saturday of every month) at Mayorga Coffee Factory in the heart of the downtown Silver Spring, MD arts district.
Address: 8040 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910
It’s $15 at the door, and the show starts at 8pm.
Step-By-Step
Cedar January 5th, 2007
People sometimes ask me about my painting techniques. With portraits, I usually start with a pencil drawing on the canvas to guide me. Then…I just paint. There is really no secret to how it works…I mix the paint with my brush, sometimes on the palette and sometimes directly on the canvas, and bit by bit I apply color, look, and adjust until it’s right. I vary the size of the brush depending on the area I’m covering and how much detail I want. Sometimes I start by blocking out big areas of color immediately then gradually making the details more specific. Lately I have been jumping right into the details from the beginning, starting with the eyes. I feel like the eyes are hard to get just right, and they’re also the most important part of a person’s face…so if I can nail the eyes at the beginning then it’s all downhill from there. The eyes, in my opinion, truly make or break a portrait.
Here are some photos of a recent portrait, “Chad,” in progress from start to finish. This will hopefully give you a visual understanding of my process.
The drawing:
Got the eyes pretty much down:
Then the nose:
The mouth:
Filled in larger blocks of color in the forehead, cheek, and neck:
Started on the hair:
More hair:
The face and head are now basically done:
Except for some punched-up shadows and highlights (for dramatic effect!):
Then I did the shirt and some finishing touches, signed it, and voila:
I hope you enjoyed this!
Welcome to my blog!
Cedar January 4th, 2007
I plan to post many wonderful things here, in the hope that this will become a place of great interest to my readers.
