Back Door Snow Scene (with Prisma filter)

Well, it snowed again last night, but this photo is from last week's snowstorm.  I am still catching up.  Today I adjusted the color and composition, and then added a Prisma filter.

Snow Scene with Yellow Garage (with Prisma Filter)

Here is another neighborhood snow scene from our last snowstorm (February 18th).  I used a Prisma filter on this one.

Neighborhood Snow Scene (with Prisma Filter)

I am catching up with some photos that I took back on February 18th, after a snow storm.  I didn't have to go far to get this photo. I cropped the original to get this combination, and then added a Prisma filter.  

Driving towards Vail (Acrylic Watermedia)

I have been working on this mountain landscape, and finally finished it yesterday.  This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," based on my memories of the Colorado Rockies.  This image was inspired by a photo that I took during a trip to Colorado last summer. (The photo is posted here, February 19.)  I had been making small changes on this painting over the weekend, but was running out of time.  On Sunday morning, I made one last adjustment to a line.  Then it was time to pack it up and deliver it to Galatea Fine Arts Gallery in Boston. This painting is going to shown in March,  included in the Whole Earth group show in the Artists' Alcove. If you want to know more about Galatea Fine Arts, follow this link: www.galateafineart.com

Driving towards Vail (Acrylic Watermedia) as of February 23, 2019

This is the painting I have been working on, as it looked at the end of the day yesterday.  This landscape is based on a photo that I took in Colorado last summer. (The reference photo is posted here February 18.) Yes, there really is snow on the mountains in the summer.  This is part of a series of "Mountain Daydreams", painted in acrylic on Aquaboard.  Yesterday I made many, many small revisions.  I adjusted the colors with washes to make them more subtle. Thinking of advise from Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba to "always finish your lines, " I tried to make sure that the strong diagonals went to the border.  When I start making so many small changes, that's a sign that the painting is almost finished.  In this case, it had to be, because  it was due to be dropped off at Galatea Fine Art* the following day.  But when I went to bed, I knew that there was at least one more line to fix in the morning.

*https://www.galateafineart.com/

Driving towards Vail (Acrylic Watermedia) as of February 22, 2019

Here is the painting I am working on as it looked yesterday, after I was finished painting for the day.  This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," inspired by my memories of the Rocky Mountains in my home state of Colorado.  For this painting, I have a photo reference, a picture that I took in Colorado last summer (posted here February 18).  Yesterday I worked on the sky, trying to get the color right.  I also added some washes to adjust the color of the blue in the center, and tried to add some light to the foreground. 

Driving towards Vail (Acrylic Watermedia) as of February 21, 2019

I am working on a mountain landscape, and this is how it looked yesterday when I finished painting.  This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," inspired by memories of the Colorado mountains.  In this case, I am working from a photo that I took in Colorado last summer, as we were driving to Vail.  Yesterday's focus was the foreground; I had started with a dark green that was heading towards teal.  I wanted to bring the color closer to a mid-range green and also wanted to add some light to the foreground. So I added some pale yellow washes, as well as a bit of brown in selected areas.  To be continued. . . .

Driving towards Vail (Acrylic Watermedia) as of Feb. 20, 2019

This is the painting I started a few days ago.  This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," inspired by memories of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  In this case, I am working from a photo that I took during a trip to Colorado last summer. (My reference photo is posted here on February 18.) This is how my painting looked after I worked on it yesterday.  I was concentrating on getting the shapes and angles right for the mountains in the distance. I used a blue-gray color to adjust the shapes of the snow patches on the mountains in the distance, and also adjusted the shapes of the dark blue area.  I am not trying for an exact replica of the photo, but am trying to capture the sweeping lines and shapes that made me want to take the picture in the first place.

Guest Artist David Fitterman: Mask

This is a metal mask by my cousin David Fitterman.  This piece is titled "Mondu Tordu" (Twisted World) and is going to be shown in the Art Students' League metal sculpture show in New York City, The show is up February 25 to March 2 and the opening is Monday, February 25th from 5:30 to 8 pm at the The Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, second floor of The Art Students League of New York, 215 W 57th St, 2nd fl., New York, NY 10019  Here is a link to the show

http://www.aslmetalsculpture.com/ and to David's piece: http://www.aslmetalsculpture.com/david-fitterman/.  If you are going to be in New York, I hope you will check it out. If you plan to attend the opening, please register on the website.

Driving towards Vail (Acrylic Watermedia) as of Feb. 19, 2019

This morning I started this new painting, based on a photo that I took last summer during a trip to Colorado (posted here yesterday).  My goal today was to establish the composition. These aren't the final colors. This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," mountain landscapes inspired by my memories of Colorado, and painted painted with acrylics used with water. To be continued. . . .

Driving towards Vail (Reference for Painting)

It's time to paint more mountains.  This is a photo that I took last summer during our trip to Colorado.  Today I printed it out to use as a reference for my next painting.

The Power of Roses (Digital Woodcut)

The other day, at my daughter's place, I took some quick photos of a bouquet of roses.  Today I decided to use Painter to simplify the background, so I started drawing into the image with digital pastel.  Then I added posterizing and woodcut effects to emphasize the strong lines and shapes of the flowers. 

Special Commission (Portrait in Pencil) framed

Here is my double portrait as it looked the day we left Nashville, framed and ready to be hung.  This was a special commission from my son, who asked me to draw this portrait, based on a selfie that he took with his girlfriend, as a Valentine gift.  Art is hard and portraits are harder, but this one was something special and I loved doing it.

Special Commission (Portrait in Pencil) as of Feb. 10, 2019

I drew this from a selfie that my son took with his girlfriend.  He commissioned me to do this double portrait as a Valentine surprise.  I started this at home in Massachusetts and finished it in Nashville during our trip. This is how my pencil portrait looked on February 10th, just about finished. As usual, towards the end of the process, I was making lots of small changes. 

Special Commission (Portrait in Pencil) as of Feb. 8, 2019

This double portrait was commissioned by my son, who called from Nashville to  ask me to draw a portrait based on a selfie he had taken with his girlfriend, for a Valentine's Day surprise. We had a trip to Nashville coming right up, so I started the portrait at home in Massachusetts, and took it along on the plane. Once we got to Nashville, I continued to work on this drawing a little bit every night.  Although it wasn't a surprise for long, I decided not to post it until it was finished. This is how it looked on February 8th.

Special Commission (Portrait in Pencil) as of Feb. 6, 2019

This is picture of a portrait in progress. This is a double portrait in pencil as it looked on February 6th, the day after I started working on it.  This project is a commission from my son, who asked me to draw this double portrait from a selfie he had taken with his girlfriend. We were getting ready to leave for Nashville to visit them, so I started it here in Boston and then took it along to finish during our trip. This is his Valentine's gift to his girlfriend. At first it was a surprise. (That didn't last long!) But anyway I decided to delay posting until the portrait was finished. 

Grasses, Fence, and Melting Ice (Digital Woodcut)

This image began with a photo that I took yesterday during our walk at the Cummings Center Pond here in Beverly, MA. Due to cold weather followed by a rapid warmup to around 60 degrees, the pond was a patchwork of ice and water.  I liked the contrast of the fence, the tall grasses, and the ice, so I took a picture. Today I edited the original and then used Painter to add the digital woodcut effect.

Special Commission (Portrait in Pencil) as of Feb. 5, 2019

This is the beginning of a special project that I started on about a week ago, a double portrait in pencil.  My son called to ask me to do a double portrait from a selfie he had taken with his girlfriend.  We were getting ready to leave for Nashville to visit them, so I started it right away and then took it along to finish on the road. This was to be a surprise for February 14, so I didn't start posting it right away. But by now it is done.  Here is how it looked the day I began, February 5th.

A Break in the Ice

Last week we were in a deep freeze, here north of Boston, and felt lucky to see temperatures over 10 degrees.  Today the afternoon temperature was around 60. This won't last so we took a walk at the pond at the Cummings Center.  It was interesting to see the pattern of ice and water on the pond, so I took some pictures.  Tonight I edited this one.

Dancers (Painting) as of Feb. 3, 2019

This morning, I did some more work on this portrait. I am still making modifications to the positions of the two figures. Today I marked several vertical lines on the photo print-out I am using as a reference as well as on the canvas,  and then made adjustments for accuracy. This is not easy because...foreshortening. I also rough in the lines of the floorboards just to see if those diagonals will help the composition. There are still mistakes I want to fix, and lots of work ahead, but I think this is going in the right direction. To be continued. . . .

Dancers (Painting) as of Feb. 2, 2019

I worked some more on this double portrait today.  I made a lot of small changes in the positions of the figures.  I am working in acrylic on canvas, and at the moment, and keeping the paint transparent, which makes it easier to make changes.

Dancers (Painting) as of Feb. 1, 2019

I stole a little time to work on this painting today.  I am working from a photo to create this double portrait.  I have been using a grid to get the figures in the same position as in the photo.  But the composition of the photo was looking more balanced to me than the composition of the painting.  I was considering moving the figures to the right but instead I made a few adjustments to the proportions of the figures.  That helped a bit. Then I sketched in diagonal lines of the background, positioning them as they are in the photo.  I decided that those diagonal lines make the photo look balanced and that they will do the same thing with the painting.  So I am going to leave the figures where the are because the faces and upper bodies are pretty much centered.