Red Truck Revisited

Original (top image)

Update (bottom image)

Acrylic on Panel - 8 x 10 inches - sold

Here's another before/after post. I found this in the discard pile and thought I'd warm up the sunlight areas and fix a few other things. Again, like the last time I did something like this, I thought I was making big changes, and in the end it really didn't wind up looking all that different, but it is an improvement nonetheless.

Dairy Princesses

Acrylic on Panel - 8 x 10 inches - SOLD

I snapped this photo last year at the end of the 4th of July Parade in Sonoma. The dairy princesses vehicle had pulled off the road to cool off a bit. Damsels in distress for sure.

I dug up this reference photo to use for my submission to this week's Paint It White Challenge at Daily Paintworks. There's really a great crop of submission for this one, so be sure to check 'em out.

I rushed this one on purpose, to keep the paint a little wet and to try to not get bogged down in little details. Only the princess face gave me a bit of trouble and had to be touched up this morning.

In case it's not obvious, the red on their dresses is their official parade ribbons.

Corner Market

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches - SOLD

This is a quick rendering of a building in the neighborhood. I started with a completely black background and tried to let it peek through in places. 

Sachi

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - NFS

This is a friend of mine from the neighborhood, though this picture was taken in the park a while ago. I thought it would be an easy loose one to do for the Daily Paintorks' Paint Your Friend Challenge.

Well, the initial blocking in was easy enough, but I wasn't getting the face right. It was a nice loose image of "a girl" but it wasn't looking like Sachi. I could have left it at that, but I really wanted to figure out why it wasn't working.

You see, if been going to figure drawing classes lately, and I'm learning so much about the figure that I really should know better.

In any case I kept at it. I took pictures in progress, brought them into Photoshop and compared them and kept reworking the face. The really weird part was, if I made an adjustment to the lips, it wound up looking more like her sister. If I changed the eye, it would look like her mother.

Finally, after much hair pulling (mine, obviously) I got as close as I'm gonna get, and it looks like her. I really didn't mind all the tricks I had to pull out to make this work, because I learned A LOT in the process.

Landscapes are so much easier than portraiture, but then you knew that.

Market

Acrylic on Panel - 8 x 10 inches - SOLD

Carol Marine's concept of a sunny farmer's market intrigued me, but last Sunday when I went to our farmer's market, yes, in San Francisco, it was far from sunny. Fortunately, it was still purdy.

This is my submission for the Daily Paintworks' Farmer's Market Challenge. I will endeavor to paint a sunnier version soon. It's only April in SF, and our real sunny Summer isn't until September.

Field House

Acrylic on Panel - 8 x 10 inches - Click Here to Bid

It's been pretty wet and yucky here this week, but I managed to get out and go to the Marina during a dry spell. This is one of the many military buildings that dot the Presidio and the Marina, and I chose this scene for the Daily Paintworks "Plein Air" Challenge.

I took lots of photos, so I'll probably be doing a bunch more of these.

Front Porch 2 (revisited)

Original (top image)

Update (bottom image)

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Click Here to Bid

I found this one lying about in the back hallway and though I liked it, something wasn't quite right. I thought I'd try to learn what it was by "fixing" it. The changes are subtle, but I think it works a bit better. Other may disagree. Give me ten minutes and I might disagree myself.

Spring Comes to the Vineyard

Acrylic on Panel - 6 x 4 inches - Click Here to Bid

The Daily Paintworks "The Meaning of Spring" challenge has got to be one of the best attended challenges yet. It's only Thursday and there's already over 70 paintings there. Go have a look.

I guess Spring really resonates with artists. Either that or everyone's on Spring break.

I based this on a photo I took last year, while wandering around Sonoma on my way to Easter at my parent's place. I can't believe it, but it's Easter again. 

Fridge

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches Ω

Here's my submission for the Daily Paintworks "What's inYour Fridge" Challenge.  I thought about composing the contents of my refrigerator, but then I was afraid I'd be there all day rearranging things with the door open. Instead I went for my first honest glimpse and took a photo.

I used more black in my mixing than usual, and I don't mind a bit.

N and J

Acrylic on Panel - 11 x 14 inches - NFS

Catching up with Daily Paintworks, the timing was great. I had this photo of some small people I know and I wanted to try just doing a value study of it. It just so happens that this week's challenge, the Monochrome Challenge, was to paint in a monochrome fashion using just three levels or values. I think I actually wound up closer to four: black, white, dark grey and light grey.

It's been a while since I've painted and this is a big panel and something I cared about, so I was afraid I'd choke up and get all nit-picky, but I got luck and stayed nice and loose.