Just Getting Out There

Here is my first plain air of the year.  So far this spring, if it wasn't raining, it was too windy.  A part from forgetting a few items the day went well.  The important thing I thought was to just get out there and get in the habit of getting out there.  I spent too much time finding the "perfect setting" so I stopped where I was and did the best that I saw was available.



Here is how my easel set up was.

Catching Up Again

First is this detail bit of a painting by Bouguereau.  The local museum has this and I'll compare the two later on.  His edges are so soft that I am having difficulty matching them.



Next is this second pass on a picture of Elliot Lewis, old time radio personality.  I'd be happy if I could regularly get to this level on the second coat.

Finished with this Ingrid Series

I've declared this done.  I'm still not 100% that it's Ingrid Bergman though.

Finished with this Duveneck Series

Some Color Works

First up is this 5th pass on the painting by Frank Duveneck.  I tried to refine details as much as I could and pull the background together.



And next is this Bouguereau that I have been attempting.  The local museum also has this up and I'll compare them later, but Bouguereau has really soft edges and I'm not entirely sure where anything goes.

Catching Up

Hello All.  Here are two black and white projects.  Fist up is this third pass on a Lefebvre reference photograph.  Not bad, but I think I could have got to this level in two tries.



Next is this one who I think plays the "manic guy" on the Burns and Allen radio show.  I'm not sure, as the character has no name, so I can't look up who payed the part.  A name in the credits of another character who has similar voice patterns makes me think it's this guy.

Saturnight

Yeah.  I did it at night... so it's Saturnight.  This is the 4th pass on Cobina here.  The new stand oil mix was just fantastic and allowed me to work all over.  I shifted the nose and mouth around a little.  Maybe one more time to work on her hair.

Saturday

Hi All.  I mixed a new batch of 25% stand oil mix medium and it performed wonderfully.  The last batch was from February and was on it's last legs.  That's why the paint closed up on me so fat the last few sessions; not today though.  Unfortunately the sun disappeared.  So you win some, you lose lose some.  Here's the 4th pass on this Duveneck.  I'll do one more and then take it to the local museum and compare the two side by side.

And Yet Another Two

Both of these I've been a bit reluctant to continue with due to their larger size.  The first by the British painter Gunn, putting in that flower pattern on the dress and mottled background was a challenge.



And next is this b&w of Ingrid Bergman.  On this too, I worked on the clothing.  Unfortunately it had pin stripes in a check pattern which was also out of focus which presented a bigger challenge.

And These Two

The third pass on this Duveneck.  One of the last things I did was with a stand oil medium and it dried really fast, so I thought I would try a walnut oil medium on this and it dried very slow.  Never mind it was a different painting with a different texture surface.



And next is this second pass on this very French Lefebvre.  Any less vowels and it could almost be Czech.

Experimenting with Acrylics

Airline restrictions will limit traveling with oil painting mediums, so I thought I'd play around with these open acrylic paints to see what I could do with them.  They sure dry fast.  I've bought some slow drying mediums and the acrylic paint... still dries fast.  And I seem to have to scrub the paint into the surface. So I've got a lot of playing around before I figure them out.

First is this Duveneck painting which was already there from an earlier session, so I did that.







And I thought I'd try a landscape.  This stuff just dries so fast.

Two for Tuesday

First up is this third pass on Cobina Wright Jr.  The medium dried very quickly on me and started to close up in about an hour.  Next time, walnut oil.



Second is a reference photograph used by Jules Lefebvre in one of his paintings.  I tried this one before, pre blog, so I was curious to measure my progress.

From Monday

Today I have the second pass on this painting by Frank Duveneck.  It's a section, not the full painting.  Anyway, it's at the local museum and I hope to finish this quickly so I can compare it with the original.

Cobina Wright Jr

Here's the second pass on this head study.  When I put the thumb nails in this blog I see mistakes that I didn't notice earlier.

And Two More

First up is another Duveneck painting, which is at the local museum.  I'll do a post op comparison later.



Next is the second pass on this painting by James Herbert Gunn.  It's 12 x 18" and I was attempting it as a logistical challenge that I could handle.

Spencer Series

Here is the series from a Spencer study.  I was thinking of him in a dark space where a light source would just hit his face.  Again, even though the glasses were askew in the original, it doesn't seem to work in a painting at all.  In other words, always paint glasses straight.

Finished with this Frank Duveneck Series

Not bad for three passes.  While painting the last session I thought it might be nice to compare my efforts with the original.  So I'll try to paint something that the local museums have.  I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier.  Maybe I wasn't at a performance level where I thought a comparison was possible.

Finished with this Unknown Series

I can't recall why I was interested in this in the first place.  But what ever it was, it is done with now.

From Sunday

First up is this study of Ingrid Bergman, I think.  It's the third pass where I finally have all the paint up.  At this 12 x 18" size it's still tough for me to get all the paint up in one sitting.



And next is this painting by Herbert James Gunn.  Another 12 x 18" which is a lot of space to get paint up on.  I think this the second go.  Plus my standard medium closed up pretty fast on me.

Clearing Out the Backlog

First is this 9 x 12" b&w of Cobina Wright Jr.  I was listening to a Burns and Allen radio show and they announced her as the guest star.  Having not recalled ever hearing that name before; I Googled it.  I had to.  It isn't often to run across a chick with a "Junior" added to her name.  And while searching I came across this old photo which had some shadows for me to work with.  So here's the first pass, which I think looks a little too like Lauren Bacall.  But it's a faint Laura Bacall.



Next is the first two goes on this painting by Frank Duveneck, local boy.  I was going to try something opaque, but I'm still way too transparent.  The local museum has this one, I think.  So I'll investigate it in person on some later rainy day.