Sketch for "Lacy" (Codfish Project) as of April 17, 2024

For the past several years, I have participated in the "Cod Auction," to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.  Some 50 area artists decorate wooden cutouts of codfish, which are displayed in downtown Marblehead, and then auctioned off. This year,  I was inspired by the look of seafoam as rows of gentle ocean waves reach the shore.  So I decided to replace the markings of the fish with rows of lace (and so I decided to name my fish "Lacy". My original idea was to use collage with actual lace, or from doilies.  But a few  quick tries helped me decide to just paint the lace.  Why? Designing a pattern for a fish is complicated because the pattern needs to become become larger and wider to follow the shape of the fish. It is easier to do this with drawing rather than pasting pieces of lace).  Anyway, on April 17th, I traced my wooden codfish on a big sheet of paper, and sketched out the pattern.  To be continued. . . .

Mother's Day Flowers (with Prisma filter)

On Wednesday, I received this bouquet, an early delivery for Mother's Day from my family.  Such a beautiful arrangement, and of course, I took pictures.  Yesterday I chose one of the best of the photos and used the Prisma app on my phone to add a filter (Oleander).  I also used iPhoto to make a few adjustments. This is a nice souvenir of Mother's Day, 2024.

Flowers for Celina (Portrait)

Here is my portrait of Celina, finished on May 7th.  After a lot of checking and re-checking a lot of details, I was finally ready to sign this. Then I photographed it and send it off to Portugal as a digital file, to be printed off there.  I enjoyed painting the young Celina in a field of flowers. This was painted with love and gratitude.

Flowers for Celina (Portrait as of May 5, 2024)

Here is my portrait of Celina as it looked on May 5th.  I added som pale yellow highlights to indicate sunshine on the face and figure.  I re-worked the hat and the purse.  I checked the horizontal and diagonal lines to make sure they were straight and extended all the way to the edges.  At this point, I was ready to say that "this is the portrait,"  but even after I declare that a painting is done, I will still fix any mistakes or problems that I see.

Flowers for Celina (Portrait as of May 4, 2024)

Here is my portrait of Celina as it looked on May 4th.  I made a few small changes to the eyes, and at that point, was ready to say that I had a likeness.  Also, I was finally happy with the expression on Celina's face. I continued to make small changes and color corrections, adding color to the figure and muting the saturation of the background.  Just some details left to fix, but approaching the finish line.

Flowers for Celina (Portrait as of May 3, 2024)

Here is my portrait as it looked on May 3, 2024.  If you have been following the progress of this project, you will note quite a jump in dates since the last posted version.  This is for three reasons.  First, an unexpectedly derailed schedule prevented me  from doing too much with this painting for several days.  And second, as I began to apply color to the face, I "lost the likeness".  This can happen, and it is very frustrating.  I worked on this every day but I decided not to post again until I got the likeness back, which I would say is in this version, May 3rd. (I usually post my art daily, "mistakes and all", but not if I am making mistakes with someone's image.)  And third, I plan to post the final version soon, so I will cut to the chase. You can see while I was working on the face, I also made changes to the figure, corrected the color, and continued to paint hundreds of flowers for Celina.  To be continued. . . 

Flowers for Celina (Portrait as of April 17, 2024)

Here is my portrait of Celina as it looked on April 17th.  That day, I was making some changes to the figure, especially the shoulders, adding some color to the face, and working on the flowers.