Woman drover

I have painted this woman in watercolor in the past. She is one of the drovers in the historic Fort Worth stockyards, where we have a longhorn cattle drive twice daily.  I started this a few weeks ago and then abandoned it.  I let it sit and dry and then decided to re-visit it and see what I could do to improve it.  I'm not entirely happy with it because it seems to be too smooth and blended. I am really trying to develop a style that is much looser and less blended. That is not the case with this piece but it is what it is.  

Brian

As you know, I am fortunate to have neighbors and friends of neighbors to occasionally come to my studio and sit for me. These sessions are normally 1 1/2 to 2 hours, during which I take lots of photos and also paint from life. Brian came over a couple weeks ago.  This is his painting, which I will give to him once it is dry.  

Ashley, work in progress

I started this yesterday and have pretty much finished the face but need to finish her hair.  It is basically at the block in stage here. I stopped so that the paint could dry a bit before I add more paint.  I want to be able to show the different shades of hair color without it looking too blended. 

Some recent work

I participate in a portrait group every Monday in a small town near Fort Worth. I am the only artist there who paints during our session with a live volunteer model. Others use charcoal or pastel. They give their completed work to the model at the end of our session. Since I am using oil paint, I complete the painting from photos taken during the session and give it to the model once it is complete and dry.  The following are two recents.

This is Dan, one of our fellow artists. I think he has a great face and presence.  A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure to be able to take several photos of him to use as reference material.  This was painted from one of those photos. 

This is Robert, a favorite model of the group.  He is able to hold a pose so perfectly and has a wonderful face and sweet attitude.  This was my first time to paint him and I enjoyed it so much.  This was about 90 minutes from life and finished in another hour or so in the studio from my photo of him.  

The next photo was taken during a break.  It shows Robert sitting and chatting with two of our other artists, Jerry on the left and Dan on the right.

Although I really love doing all these face studies, I have the desire to do a larger figurative piece.  Just have to find the correct reference that "grabs" me.