Just a Few Recent Photos

The boys have been interested in taking photographs recently. Brennan wanted a turn because Aydan has his own little digital camera (which he has been using a great deal this past week). This shot of Lulu is one of the best he took.
Here is one of Aydan's best shots. He's taken one like it before, and I was very effusive about its greatness, and he must have remembered this because he retook the shot, and the result was very similar to the original. I still love it: the reflection of the photographer blending in with the subject. Cool stuff.

While jumping on our trampoline (maybe 6 feet in diameter) Aydan threw a baseball (yes...it was my bad for letting them play with it instead of something softer)--as a pitch, mind you; not to be malicious--to/at his brother. I can just imagine him winging this concrete-hard sphere, overhand, full-force, at Brennan from no more than 3 feet away, and the errant pitch, of course, heads for the nearest eye socket. So Brennan had some frozen peas on his eye for a while, and this pretty shiner was the result. (I had the hardest time getting the lighting right to show the black eye.)

A bad photo, but a great picture. Another attempt to show the black eye. I love it.

Brennan turned 5 last week!! Hooray!! (Don't you love how the boys dressed to match each other that day? They're so stinkin' cute. And here Aydan graciously reads the birthday cards for his brother. Sometimes they're just too sweet.)

Aydan has recently developed this thing where he won't smile when a picture is taken. It works for him though, as he is gorgeously handsome, and the straight face shows off his ridiculously good looks. I wonder who he looks like? From where could he have gotten that beautiful face?

So for all you relatives and far-flung friends out there who haven't seen the fam in a while, there are some of the most recent and best pictures.

And now, if you'll excuse me, the children have fallen asleep and the studio is calling my name...

Fly Me to the Moon, or How I Spent My Day TODAY

The total hours painting this week has gone up to nearly 30. I finished the mural I was working on today. Total hours to complete project: 19 and 1/2. Overall, it turned out okay. Have a look-see.

Pipe Dream, or How I Spent My Day

Summer is officially here. In the past week, I have spent 21 hours painting. Half of that time was business, painting a mural for a friend of Heather. The other half--the longest stretch of time I have ever spent oil painting--was the summation of my day today. What follows is a brief pictorial account.



Okay, so here's the new set-up: beaver skull and pipe. At least I won't worry about it turning brown and spoiling, like the pear.

And here's the set up. The block in you see was done several days ago. (Detail below)

This block in was done only after spending several frustrating hours mixing paint (and never really getting quite the right color/value/tone), putting in an approximation of the painting itself or what I hoped might be undertones...only to realize the drawing itself was ridiculously wrong. So I scrapped the hours of work I'd done, scraped everything off and started over. This is that re-do.

A new block in--very off in regard to tone (that's what I'm calling it, though I'm not sure I'm using it right. I'm referring to warmth/coolness of colors). If you compare to the photograph of the set up you might notice. Still, values are close, and that's what I needed to make sure the "drawing" or block in was right. Also, there was a problem here with the surface on which the items sat being too light. Had to fix that.

I think at this point I was trying to take a picture every hour. Notice any changes?

There is a significant change here. After putting in value, I noticed that the "W" shape on the lower jaw was way too wide. I solved the problem by bringing the left side of the skull in significantly.

Even I don't know what changed during this hour. Frustrating to see so little progress over so much time.

What was I doing for this hour!??!!

I waited to take another shot until the pipe was complete. Hooray!! (Detail below)


Blocking in folds in the fabric behind.

And my bare feet feel like they're going to fall off so at this point I'm calling it done for the day.


I'll post more updates soon (I hope to finish the whole thing by Saturday). I'm also working on color charts to help with mixing colors. The Venitian Red, shown incomplete here, is now totally done. More to come soon!

So I've been freer recently...what with school out, and all...and yet strangely more busy. An empty space of time is luck a sucking vacuum and all manner of new commitments will inexplicably fall in. For instance, though I had 3 days free last week, I spent them all at school cleaning and organizing my new classroom (yes, I did inherit a room for next year. Also of interest, as it stands now I will be teaching 1 section of AP Art History, 2 sections of Electronic Media, and 3 sections of Draw II. This is significant because unless it changes, I'll not be teaching any Art I...meaning I will teach 3 classes I've never taught before.).

Anyway, I posted previously showing the pear on the far left (below), which is terrible. Recently I "finished" the one on the right (not totally complete, but as it got close Jon scraped it off and we started something new). If you're curious, the top middle pear is a 10 minute demo completed by Jon. The blue pear is a value and warmth relationship exercise I completed with Jon watching, and the pear on the right is a slightly more finished painting, taking several hours.

There is obvious improvement, as you might notice comparing the old pear with the new (detail, below). Still, it is like pulling teeth adjusting to a more colorful palette as well as still learning brush control and manipulating paint.

So here's to hoping I can force myself to paint more in coming days. I set a very ambitious goal of completing a new painting this week, but I've already had several obstacles pop up. I'll post progress photos as I can. Also, maybe some more musings and thoughts will come soon. "So much time, so little to do....wait! Strike that. Reverse it."