i know i've been awol.....

Wow, it has been several months since I've posted anything here.....I can't believe how time flies.  

Well, many new thing have been happening since I've last written.  My art is downtown at cimos, Raleigh. I'm taking classes from the super talented JJ Chiang and learning a LOT.

I wanted to talk about my two styles of portraiture.  I'm leaning towards one style, but I'm addicted to my original style.  My original style has a very smooth, baby soft skin tone.  The ONLY way to accomplish this style is to layer very light layers, VERY slowly, babysitting each wash.  Here's an example of my latest portrait in this style.

I painted this little one from a facebook photo (not the best quality to paint from) for some friends who live in China. Sometimes you can't have the "perfect" photo to work from, so you have to do your best with what you have.  

So, this was the picture that I got off of facebook.  Super cute!  Great close up shot and the best one of the bunch, so it was what I went with.  

Since babies have such marvelously smooth skin, I wanted to paint the smooth style of skin tone on her. I started in the upper right hand corner, wet on dry, changing colors as I went.  I ever-so-gradually built up the skin washes.

Here's the finished product.

I wish that I'd had more time to work on it, but my husband needed it done in two days before he left!  Hopefully, it makes it through the TSA....lol

So, the other skin tone wash that I'm wanting to perfect is much more impressionistic in style.  I've only successfully done one painting in this style, so it's obviously something that I need to work on.  

This little one was a child that was at Fisherman's Cove in Jamaica when we were there.  I'm not quite sure if it's a boy or a girl.  I'm leaning towards girl.....it's funny b/c when we were in Vietnam and Jamaica, people have no regard for "girl" or "boy" clothing.  They just dress their kids in whatever is on hand at the time.  Methinks it's more necessity than anything. 

Here it is:

So, here I'm simply touching in colors here and there, softening some strokes and leaving others.  It's VERY difficult for me to leave the edges on my strokes.  Sometimes I have to grit my teeth and leave it....ha.

I also think that dark skin tones work better with this style of painting.  Anyhow, if you're interested in exactly what colors and blah, blah, blah, just email me.  I won't bore you.

Ciao for now.