Ballet dancer

I will be working from this photo that I isolated from a video I previously filmed using the "Print Screen" button, then in "Accessories," "Paint," then "Paste". I was able to crop the photo before I saved it. So Hi-Tech!!!

Using only a black and white print of the picture from my laser printer, I sketched out the form. Oh, and I'm working on this OLD canvas that has many layers of paintings under it. When I don't like something, I clean off my palette over it and use it for a later painting. I don't want to pass on and have my UGLY stuff saved...

I broke out a new color I bought ,Gamblin Radiant Blue, thinned it with Mineral Spirits, and scratched it over the yukky background with a house paint brush. That brand of paint really goes far!!!!

I tried out my new Gamblin Pthalo Green, which is also strong. The canvas seems too wide and I wanted the figure to pop out in her solid parts, so I added some green behind the torso. Too green for the final, but it makes the figure turn pink even though I haven't added any color on it! I want to paint MOTION!

Is the dark too dark????

Hmmmm....

New Testament Series

For the last few years, I've been whipping out these nativity pictures to put in our front yard. They weren't meant to be real paintings, and I did them very fast. They were just to be 'decorations', but I like them. I decided to try and paint real paintings with the same quick, no pressure attitude.

I started a series of paintings of the life of Christ. I have to have something to look at to paint, so I am using a kids book that our church puts out. Hopefully, these will be a departure from that. So far I have 11 started, and make a rule that I can only work on them 15 minutes at a time. Then I switch to another picture. I don't paint every day, but I paint every day that I can - just a bit. None of these paintings have had much time put into them.
 All of the series is painted on masonite board coated with neutral grey gesso, which makes for a smooth, neutral surface that I usually like for doing portraits. I'm trying out new brands of oil paint: Classico, Gamblin, and Williamsburg. All the rest are a cheaper brand by Windsor Newton, Winton.
Painting action figures is new to me, so bear with my learning and experimentation.
I'm enjoying expressing my religious beliefs, and if I am successful, the south is a great place to market paintings of the Savior!!!
Enjoy my success, as well as my failure. This is a gamble!

Poster Background

I painted this in about 3 hours using Acrylics, for a poster background for my church. It was fun and had meaning for me.

Christ Healing

Added some detail aroung the faces. Next time I need to change the highlight on the back of the man's head to a color that contrasts with the light.

I bought some new oil paint that I had to try out everywhere. Here I added Gamblin Radiant Blue to the shoulder. Just had to!

I really want to finish one of these pictures! This one is the most promising. Tonight I worked on Christ's face - a challenge!!! How do you show that much love?

I added more details to the fabric and hair. Then I added some green to the background right by Christ's face to make the pink on his profile sizzle. I also put brown between his fingers. Do you just see 4 fingers here? Ahhh!!! And I thought I was finished...

4 fingers!!! I'll add a better version of the final when the light is right.

Done!!!

Anyone want to buy it?

...Not done. I lightened the shadow on the left.

Christ, Mary and Martha

I scratched on some color, more detail in highlights and just a few shadows on the figures. Then I blurred it all with a big clean brush.

Today I added a bit of detail to Mary and some darker darks around her and Martha. It doesn't take much!

Worked on Christ's robe and a bit of the 2 women. As I look at this, I see a small fire burniing on the floor behind Christ.

Disaster: So, I wanted to use this painting, so I finished it. Some parts were shiny and some dull (from using medium with my paint sometimes), so I sprayed it, while wet, with re-touch varnish. So that dust would not accumulate as much, I sat the painting on it's side. (Yes, that was dumb!)

All the new paint ran down in rivulets!!!!!!!!!!

Luckily, I saw it and wiped it off. But now, there are very shiny and very dull spots and the painting is not done. Obviously, I did not get to display this painting in public! Still working on it...

I had to photograph this sidways in a shadowy place, so you can see the painting without glare. Sorry.

I worked and re-worked the faces of the women and NOW, they look like sisters. I stopped looking at the photo, and painted what I wanted. I'm really starting to like them more. It was probably a good thing that the paint ran and I had to wipe them off - right?

The women had to come out more in the dark. But this photo has more contrast than the actual painting. Still working on it...

Christ and the Nets

I think this is my favorite of the series. It has drama. I added orange highlights for more drama.

I added more white and a bit of brown detail on the face.

I got some new paint tubes and had to try them out on everything I could find. I added Gamblin Radiant Blue and a bit of Gamblin Naples Yellow Hue. WOW! Those paints are so much denser than anything I've ever used. I think I'll stick with expensive brands from now on!!!
Can you see the little spots of Naples Yellow hiding in there? Adding yellow to sky is a secret way to make it glow.

Added a few details, especially on the fishermen.

Added more dark browns to the men, and whites to Christ's robe, which started scaring me, so I stopped.

I want to finish this!

I added a few more details to the man on the right. Can you find them?

Two different shots of the same stage of the picture. You can see how lighting affects what you are perceiving! The BIG change is that I glazed the whole Christ with orange. It was so scary to do it and then I got super busy and, well, now he's orange. I hope I like it. Do you?

I balanced it by adding more oranges.

Thank you

I forgot to photograph this painting the 2 times I worked on it before this - sorry!

First I sketched it in, much like I did the others. The second time I added the darks, especially the brown that the the kneeling person is wearing. But it wasn't very dark. So, I got the notion to lighten the sky to make the darks darker. It worked. Then I brought some of the extra sky paint onto Christ's robe. The distant mountain needed to be more like the sky, so I added some blue to it and spread some of the extra blue around the bottom too, for balance. 

Next time, the mountain needs to be even lighter. 

I'm liking it so far!

I've actually worked on this several times without posting - sorry! It's coming along.

Again, I worked on this several times. Not sure it is done yet, but it's close! The part that made it pop was to put yellow/orange on the Christ's sleeve.

Christ in Window

I started on a Masonite Board that I bought at Home Depot and sawed up.

I took all the smaller boards and coated them with Gesso mixed with black acrylic paint. It makes a nice smooth surface that I usually use to paint portraits.

I drew this painting on with a brush and burnt umber oil paint mixed with paint thinner. The background is Cerulean blue.

This time I thinned the paint with a just bit of medium to make it flow. Still working on the underpainting...

I glazed burnt sienna over the figure to warm it up, then added a touch of dark blue to the deep shadows.

Added some shocking highlights and then toned them down by adding some of the medium tones on the skin. Looking at this picture, I think I need to go back and blend it all a bit before it dries!

I worked on this when it was dark outside, under my natural light flourescent light, which is way too bright. So, I painted over the face and made it too dark in regular light. Sigh....

Then, in the morning I dreamed up this brainstorm that I should change the picture from the one I am copying, so I added more sky to make it an outdoor setting. Now the figure is definitely too dark!!!!

This may be a struggle to make this painting work!

Christ Teaching near Trees

It's good to paint landscapes from back to front, so I scribbled on some varieties of green. I think I may define some of the leaves a bit later. As you can see, I wiped my brush on some of the other parts to bring the same colors into the rest of the painting. Not sure I like the new colors better!

I glazed  blue over the green to tone it down, however, in this photo it looks brighter. First I tried alizarin crimson to tone it down, but that actually made it brassier - odd since it is the opposite color.

Added some browns. Crowds are hard to do!