"Whole Piece #41"

"Whole Piece #41"
5" by 7"
Oils on Panel

This feels like quite the throw back at the moment, though really it wasn't that long ago that I painted it. Today I finished Whole Piece #79 and got well into #80. I wanted to dash off this quick post with a painting I already had photographed before taking a holiday from painting for the 4th with family. It shall be lovely to relax, but all the while I'll be yearning to get back to #80 as it has been great fun so far. I'll be back soon. :-)

P.S. If your new here visit this post to read about the Whole Piece Series.

"Whole Piece #41"
Side View

"Whole Piece #36"

"Whole Piece #36"
4" by 4"
Oils on Panel

"Oh, I do love to extemporize with color..."

This is a bit of a throwback by now in the series, but I felt it was a good time to share it now. The skin tone in this painting was a joy to play with. All the warm analogous colors from varying shades of orange to deep muted red brown (and, of course, I snuck in some bits of other color to help show off in contrast the orange family). I wish I had taken a picture of my palette as it was rich vibrant and inviting. Today's painting was such a contrast to this one, with a focus on a cool palette. I'll be sharing "Whole Piece #64" tomorrow and it'll be nice to see these two paintings next to one another to see how much variety in hue from warm to cool can be shown in human skin (and hair).

For now I'm stopping myself from writing anymore. I'm too tired to share my mental rambling any further.  More painting and blogging tomorrow. 'Tis an exciting prospect. Night.

"Whole Piece #47"

"Whole Piece #47"
4" by 4"
Oils on Panel
Side View

Looking Close

Georgia O'Keefe
"Red Hills with the Pedernel"
1936 Oils on Linen

Painting these closely cropped images of a most familiar subject matter, the human face, has allowed me to think about and revel in the varied form of any face. I immerse myself in the curves and plains, then carefully reproduce the vault of a nostril or overhang of an eyelid. When else would I allow myself to stare so unabashedly? Here there was so much a sense of rounded volume at play. I couldn't help but be reminded of desert landscapes and Georgia O'Keefe paintings.

"Whole Piece #47"
In Process
Initial Oil Sketch

Foundation

I've managed to speed my process again of late by being strict with myself at the beginning of a painting. I had sometimes fallen away from good foundation habits in painting as I was producing so many small pieces, and while sometimes that goes off without a hitch it can also lead to more backtracking to fix what wasn't laid out well in the underpainting. So I have been consistent of late about toning the surface before painting and I've been a bit more careful about my quick line or value sketch I make with thinned oil paint.

Next

I'm starting to run low on my Whole Piece Series reference again. So perhaps another trip to Grossmont to find some generous souls willing to support my painting with their faces. Also! I would dearly love to paint a pet bunny for free to include in my pet portrait portfolio! If you know someone with a rabbit, or you have one let me know! 

"Whole Piece #47"
4" by 4"
Oils on Panel
(Sadly I fought with glare and lost. Perhaps after this dries
further I can get a good picture of is straight on to share.)

"Whole Piece #17"

"Whole Piece #17"
5" by 7"
Oils on Panel

I'm Drawn to Noses

There is something about painting a nose that makes me think of a person's strength or pride. Perhaps it is that a nose boldly sits in the middle of a face buttressed by an internal structure allowing it to strongly project itself into the world. If I am not careful I could easily be drawn into making this a series of noses. :D Here I enjoyed bringing out the personality of this nose by slightly exaggerating it's lines (There is a bit more of a curve to the bridge of the painted nose than in real life.) and by pushing the color into a vibrant range.

Progression of a Series

Looking back at this particular part of the Whole Piece Series from last Fall and a couple of others I haven't posted yet makes me want to get back to this vibrant color range in more of the series. Though I still want the palette of these individual pieces to reflect what works best for each individual. 'Tis an interesting challenge in cohesion.

Next

Well, I haven't painted since thursday afternoon because I threw out my back while painting. :P So! I believe I am almost ready to venture in my painting world again. :)


P.S. You can have your facial feature painted too. Join in here.

Whole Piece #26

"Whole Piece #26"
5" by 7"
Oils on Panel

Where a Painting Diverges from the Photo Reference

There can be a particular joy in painting someone or something you know well. In this case I painted this facial feature from a photo a very good friend generously submitted to the project. When I paint a subject I know, I am painting with so much knowledge, I have seen so many moods on that feature, sometimes I have seen it in afternoon light, others in morning light, or in the harsh glow of fluorescent lights, I have an understanding, a belief, an opinion that has built up under so many variables that it has complexity and I am bringing that to the painting. 

In any painting I am attempting to paint more than what is visually in front of me. Often the changes are made to convey mood, or to emphasize an aspect that was subtle in the subject. Here the photo was taken in very warm yellow lighting and that color shifted the mood of the photograph regardless of what the facial expression conveyed. I used my personal knowledge of the subject to come up with the color palette for this painting which is wholly different than the photo and simply took the shape and shadows of the nose from the photograph. I was most pleased with the final use of light purple to tie the color palette together.

Familiar Faces in Pieces

"Whole Piece #26"
Side View

In the context of the larger Whole Piece series seeing familiar features becomes a different experience. I recently laid out all the dry paintings together on a flat surface. I wanted to see if I was achieving the visual impact I had hoped for and if the careful juxtaposition of very different features could make the collection more meaningful. (I was pleased with the result, but the photo of it isn't up to snuff, so I'll have to share a better photo sometime soon.) 

Since the Whole Piece Series was inspired by facial aphasia (in which one cannot put a whole face together but only see it as disparate elements) and the common human experience of miscommunication, misreading, and over reading other's facial expressions I found that taking these individual features from people I know, even though I can picture their original context, can still lend an ambiguity to the mood or emotion they are displaying. That ambiguity that leads to thoughtfulness was what I was hoping to achieve. As these images come together as a group I hope you all will see it too. (Here is how to join in too.)

Currently

I have made some progress on the experimental piece of book art. In fact I became a bit obsessed with it the other evening, spending hours cutting out bits of text with a fine pen like exacto knife. It's curious progress will be posted soon. Whew, sleepiness loosens my jaw allowing a stream to poor out. Time for bed! Night.

Whole Piece #31

"Whole Piece #31"
5" by 7"
Oils on Panel

"Whole Piece #31"
Side View

A Bold Endeavor  

(Well, bold in my life experience anyway. ;))

This is the first of many paintings in the Whole Piece Series that I'll be painting as a result of walking up to a perfect stranger and asking if I could take their picture. (Join in too.)

I had a plan: I would go to Grossmont College and bug strangers, I would be intrepid, I would communicate the human need for art and thus create a desire for these strangers to participate in creating art. (This would have had to have been with mental telepathy because eloquent words were not coming to me as I prepared.) 

What I actually did for quite a while was wander around looking at people intently not believing it was possible to just walk up to a stranger and ask a favor of them, and of course, I had the excuse of posting flyers about the series around the campus as I did. :P 

In the end I did it! Many people were quite generous and good natured about it (I may even do it again...). Of course I hit up several art students in the art area of campus, and that is where I met the subject of this painting. I hope she sees the painting and enjoys it. Thanks very much for collaborating with me! :) 

If anybody else from Grossmont is checking out the blog, I'll be painting randomly from the photos I took for the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out, and a hearty thanks.

Next

I'm dipping my toe into book art this evening rather than finishing off Whole Piece #32.  Hopefully there will be some progress worth posting about. :D Cheers!

Whole Piece #29

"Whole Piece #29"
5" by 7"
Oils on Panel

"Whole Piece #29"
This photo of my painting has a bit of glare, but it
displays the composition straight on without any
distortion from an angled shot, so I decided to share it.

Two Facial Features: One Whole Piece

This composition was a fun workaround for dealing with the desire to only display one facial feature while capturing nuanced angles or a peculiarity of an expression that can only be seen from an angle that includes more than one feature. Here I snuck in a full eye in addition to the focal point of the nose.  I think this counts as a painting of one feature because of the subtly of the eye, it is there more as a context for the nose than as its own element. I'll be sneaking in more secondary features as this series develops.

Shadow

I'm pleased with the shadows cast across the face in this painting. I think I'll be exploring this further in the Whole Piece series (my other shadowy Whole Piece painting). Shadows can be a perfect trick of perception as Film Noir exploited. Who doesn't look mysterious with half their face in shadow, even if they are smiling? (Carravagio was clearly in on this too.) And as this series is partly about finding ambiguity in what we find most recognizable I'm down for pushing into this aspect further.

Rebecca (1940)
Film Noir

Next

Eleven panels are freshly coated in gesso. A day of photo taking is planned for next week as my stockpile of Whole Piece reference has dwindled due to copious painting (If you'd like a piece of your face painted read about it here). I might even finish the plein air painting that requires having perfect weather, that means no clouds or wind, for a 2 hour window of time in the morning on top of my roof. :P Oh! And I do plan on posting my backlog of paintings. 

Whole Piece #22, 23, & 24

"Whole Piece #23"
Oils on Panel
6" by 6"

"Whole Piece #22"
Oils on Panel
5" by 7"

More Pieces

These are the three latest additions to the Whole Piece series! (You can read more about the series here.) I've made quite a jump since I last shared Whole Piece #12, so I'll be sharing the interim paintings in the next few posts. I'm still collecting photos of faces to use for this series, so feel free to contact me if you'd like to participate. My goal is to complete a minimum of 100 paintings in this series.

Inspired 

I recently visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and of many images and ideas that inspired me I especially enjoyed seeing the glorious texture and depth that I could never see in prints. I took some detail shots of the texture and brushwork, so I'll have to share that as well. 

Plans

I'm bursting with visual inspiration and a desire to do a few playful experimental paintings to pull out ideas 

and techniques from all my recent experiences. So, I have 

much to make time for; wish me luck.

Whole Piece #24
Oils on Panel
4" by 4"

"Whole Piece 12," Daily Painting # 47

"Whole Piece 12," Available (click here)

5" by 7"

Oils on Panel

I made it! Thirty paintings in thirty days! 'Tis a relief to have accomplished my goal with a last marathon of three paintings in one day! Squeeeee!

If your interested in knowing more about this series visit here. Find out how you can get your facial feature painted here.

"Whole Piece 7," Daily Painting # 42

"Whole Piece 7," Available (click here)

4" by 4"

Oils on Panel

Whole Piece Series

Here is the much hyped second nose painting (It was completed yesterday, but the photo disappeared! :P). The relative of the first nose painting. Today you will be seeing at least one more Whole Piece painting of the corner of a mouth(It's almost done! :)). It is exciting to see how my own impression of the facial feature and expression it shares shifts the longer I look at the feature in isolation.  (Read about the Whole Piece Series here. Join the Whole Piece series here.)

Process

For this painting I played a lot with texture. I wanted to capture the feel of the skin texture and wrinkling without going into photo realism which could be tempting when focusing on one small area for awhile. I'm happy with the mood that texture conveys here.

"Whole Piece 6," Daily Painting # 41

"Whole Piece 6," Available (click here)

4" by 4"

Oils on Panel

30 Paintings in 30 Days! Yeeps.

I'm in the final stretch of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge I joined. I had a total of three days off over the last month which means I have to finish 5 paintings in the next three days. I've done one and a half paintings these last two days. Something has come up both days that has kept me just short of two paintings a day. This is the last push! I do not intend to be beaten. So there.

The Series

I have finally gotten to a new feature! So far for my Whole Piece series I had only done mouths and eyes, but I fully intend to show off every facial feature including important wrinkles and creases. (The Whole Piece series is explained here. To get involved read more here.) This is yesterday's painting and since then I've completed another nose. These two noses were a great opportunity to show similarity and difference between generations as they are of a mother and daughter with the same facial expression.

Next

Another nose as I mentioned. Then a corner of a mouth (Currently in progress!). Then, some forehead wrinkles. That's the plan. I think I shall close out this 30 days challenge with the Whole Piece series.