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"

Mostly a Painting Day (Back in the Saddle Again...)

Here I am, at my easel,  about to start hours of painting.

I've got so many paintings to share, including another Whole Piece painting that was started and finished today. So, I will be sharing some new paintings in the next few days. Oh, AND, I visited the Met recently. That is the Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC! Hee! There was so much inspiration there. I'll be sharing some detail photos of incredible paint texture soon too. For now to bed, with thoughts of painting in my mind.