Commission Progress

I  have made progress on this large commission.  As you will see below, I have done quite alot of work on Bob.  I was working pretty diligently on his face and realized I need to stop and add color to his shirt so that I could get the skin color values correct.  The shirt is just blocked in and will get alot more work in terms of folds in the fabric.

I have not done much work on Barbara, just laying in some first layers.

"Gunslinger" completion

I'm calling him finished. This one I plan to frame and hang in my home 

Gunslinger continued

I really think this is close to completion. I want to do a bit more work on his hair but I don't see too many other things to work on 

My first commission!

I'm doing this portrait of one of my dearest friends and her hubby. It is 24 by 36 on stretched canvas. Got the drawing done this morning and will begin the painting process in the next couple days. 

Gunslinger....so far

More work on "the gunslinger"

Decided I'd give this a tongue-in-cheek title. Did some work on the shirt, shoe, hair and shorts.  Gotta decide on a background, although I do want it to be subtle. Having fun with this one. Sort of painting itself. Maybe because I'm so familiar with it after so many versions!  Lol!!

I know, I know.....

I've done paintings and drawings of this photo a lot...seems like a zillion times. Never the whole figure though and never in oil.  This is my son and has always been one of my favorites of him.  He just turned 45 years old. Yikes!  How did that happen!?   One of the things that has meaning now is the little toy pistol stuck in the waistband of his shorts. He grew up to be a law enforcement officer, you see. One of the good ones. I'm very proud of him. So this is the start. I'm trying to do a more painterly style with thicker paint and strokes. Taking a tiny break from the geisha at the moment. Time for that one to rest a bit.

Captivated!

That is the word that most expresses how I feel about this child's photo. I found it in a box of old family photos, just a tiny scrap of a photo that had been folded and quite damaged over the years, as though a parent or relative carried it around in a wallet. Sadly, I have no idea who it is. My mom would have known but she's been gone for a few years. I did a watercolor sketch of the photo some time back and did this oil version yesterday.  I don't even know the gender, could be either male or female. 

More work, more color

Added more color to the face,  hair and the gold Obi.  I'm really taking my time with this although I seem to be working on it daily.  I was pretty intimidated to do something this large but I have to say that I actually like working large.  Nice to work on an area and move to another area when the first area is a bit too wet to continue.  In the photo, she is sitting on a bench so that will probably get started soon.  Also have to work on the skin of her hand, which is resting on the bench.  Actually lots of areas to continue working on.  More to come!