African man/woman...?!

My husband and I are having a debate about the gender of this person. I have had the photo for awhile, and always thought it was a man. He instantly thought it was a woman... So please vote! I am still having trouble getting the photos I'd like. I think I need to get a piece of plywood or other stiff board painted a neutral color so I can take the paintings outside for the natural light but not get reflections from the white.

Anyway, he/she is done! This was done with just the 5 warm grays, no mixing. I only used white at the very end, on the head wrap.

An oldie but a goodie...

I did this pencil drawing 20 years ago, one of the very last things I did before my premature retirement! We call him "the Man." It's always interesting to hear who people think it is - a surprising number have asked me if were God (uh...no), or Moses. But you can see the reason I love tonal painting...it's how I drew! This is done with an ebony pencil, kneaded eraser and drawing paper.

More time in a week!

I haven't been able to spend any more time on the painting I started this week. I went to the coast to pick my son up from camp, and wasn't planning to come back until today, but he wanted to come home, so I now have a "found" day. So maybe...today... I shall post if I do, indeed, get some work done!

A Work in Progress...

I started this last night. It's just, as Dominic would say, in stage 1. I've got the basics laid in, and I'm going to take advantage of not having to finish in one day to let the oils dry a bit before going in and making the darks darker, etc. I did it upside down for about an hour, then right side up for another 20 min to fix the placement of the right eye and lips. I'm using just the warm greys of the palette, even for the parts of the photo that are in color. They are very different than the cool grays which I used for the "Joseph" portrait.

Upside down painting...

I did both the portraits in the workshop 90% upside down. I think I got a much better likeness that way... the people who did it the "right" way tended to put things in the painting that weren't in the photo, like eyebrows on the woman. Interesting, no?

Final day of painting at Dominic Vignola's workshop

What a humbling day... This painting was REALLY HARD. The good news was that everyone in the class struggled with it. Some people left even after 6 hours with no face. It was exhausting! But I figure that I came away with 4 paintings, and I like 3 of them very much, so that's ok! It really was a great workshop.

Again, mine is the one in the foreground. The flash really washed everything out when taken head-on. I think it's cartoony looking... but for my first color portrait ever, I guess it's OK!

Painting workshop

I am having THE BEST TIME at this workshop!!! I wish someone had taught me this years ago - I would have been so happy! I don't have any good pictures yet. My flash really washed out the stuff I took in the class, and I haven't had time to work with it since getting home today (and the oils are still wet!). But here's the first shot out of the box, and I'll post some better views as I get them. Suffice it to say that I think Dominic Vignola is AWESOME!
This is the photo and the painting, from Velasquez's "Joseph's Bloody Coat".
Landscape (my first ever). This picture isn't that great...
Here's the class. My painting is the one in the foreground. There are about 16 of us in the class, and everyone is doing a great job!