"Lacy" (Codfish Project)

This is my codfish project, completed on May 2nd.  Over the preceding few days, I modified the bottom row of the pattern, allowing more light blue to continue the scallop pattern.  I sanded, smoothed edges, painted and signed the back, looked for small errors, and generally obsessed.  Two days later, I delivered Lacy to Marblehead, for the auction which will go live tomorrow, May 31.  Lacy has been photographed and now has an auction web page: https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/item.action?id=343081110

Lacy (Codfish Project) as of April 28, 2024

Here is my codfish project as it looked on April 28, 2024.  In the intervening days, I worked on this project, straightening lines, making sure all areas were covered, etc.  However, those changes would be hardly perceptible on screen, so I decided not to post all that. However, on April 28th, I painted the head, tail, and fins, and that was a big change.  This painted codfish is for annual Cod Auction to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.  This auction takes place on line and people can bid from anywhere.  The auction goes live on May 31st.  Watch this space.

Dad at Place de La Concorde (Posterized): Edited version

I posted this in 2020 on Memorial Day, and  decided to post this again. Here is what I wrote four years ago: "On Memorial Day we honor soldiers who did not come back from war. But I saw this quotation today (by Ronald Reagan, posted by Al Franken) : 'They gave up two lives. The one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. . .'.  Those words made me think of my father, who did come back from World War II. It makes me think about everything he was risking. But unlike many others, he did return, and did go on to be a father and grandfather.  My own life, my own family, resulted from that fact. So today I am posting this picture of my dad in Paris. The image began with a small snapshot in a wallet-sized album that my dad carried during the war. This album was among my father's photos, sent to me last year by my cousin Rori. In it are snapshots of my mom and my father's brothers and sisters, along with his military ID and his military discharge card. Today I transferred the snapshot into the computer, where I cropped it, cleaned it up, and added some color with Painter.  Nothing was written on the back of the snapshot, but as I worked, I used a search engine to try to learn more. I searched for an obelisk in Paris and found the matching image at Place de la Concorde.  It took me longer to identify the balustrade, but the photo matches Pont de la Concorde, connecting the Palais Bourbon with Place de La Concorde. So I was able to figure out where he was.  And when? This picture must have been taken after the liberation.  The nearby Hotel de Crillon had been occupied by the Nazis, but he's not worrying about nearby Nazis in this photo. The Place de La Concorde was the cite of a victory parade for the liberation of Paris, though, as I learned, although the Nazis had abandoned Paris when liberation was celebrated, some active snipers were still around. Maybe that's why my dad is wearing a helmet.  In any case, he seems relaxed in the photo, maybe relieved that the worst was over, maybe thinking about going home. I have said before that my father was a peaceful man.  He told me himself that he had been afraid during the war.  He had married my mother shortly before shipping out to Europe. He had a wife waiting and a life to get back to. But he did his bit to fight the Nazis. I owe it to him to follow his example and stand up to tyranny and prejudice whenever I can.  We owe it to all those who lost their lives to remember not to take our freedom, our democracy, or our lives for granted. "

Lacy (Codfish Project) as of April 24, 2024

Here is Lacy, my codfish project as of April 24, 2024.  I am decorating a wooden codfish form for the Cod Auction, an anual event to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.  Each year, a group of area artists are given identical wooden fish forms to decorate.  The decorated codfish are then displayed and auctioned. The auction takes place on line, and people can bid from anywhere. This year, my inspiration was something I often see at the beach: as gentle waves come on shore, the seafoam makes a pattern that looks like lace.  So I  replaced the fish markings with a wavy pattern that looks like lace.  On April 24rd, I finished applying the first pass at all the colors in the pattern, using Sharpie markers and  acrylic paint.   To be continued. . . .

Lacy (Codfish Project) as of April 23, 2024

Here is my codfish project as it looked on April 23, 2024.  This is for the cod auction.  Some 50 area artists are given identical wooden fish forms to decorate.  This are then displayed and auctioned to benefit Marblehead Festival of Arts. This year, I was inspired by the pattern that seafoam makes when waves roll onto the beach.  So I decided replace the fish markings with a pattern that looks like lace.  On April 23rd, I began applying color, starting with Sharpie markers.  I did enough to make sure this was going to work.  To be continued. . . .

Lacy (Codfish Project) as of April 20 2024

Here is my codfish "Lacy" again.  On April 20th, I decided to revise and simplify my design.  I wanted to make it easier to perceive the pattern.  Every year I swear that I will not do this! It makes a big mess to erase pencil drawn over gesso. (In fact, it made such a big mess that I had to "clean up" this image digitally with Painter before posting it.  But anyway, the revision had to be done, and I was happier with the design when I was finished. This is for the annual Cod Auction, to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.  This will be an online auction, and people can bid from anywhere.

Lacy (Codfish Project) as of April 19, 2024

This is how Lacy, my decorated codfish, looked as of April 19th.  I am creating this for the annual "Cod Auction", an event I have participated in for the past several years.  Some 50 area artists are given a wooden codfish form to decorate. These decorated codfish are then displayed in downtown stores, and  auctioned to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art. (The auction is online and people can bid from anywhere.) On April 19, I began to work on the actual wooden form. Following the design I had worked out on paper.  I used pencil to draw the design over a light coat of gesso.  I took this photo in the evening, hence the strange shadows, but I kind of like the effect.

Sketch for "Lacy" (Codfish Project) as of April 18, 2024

On April 18th, I was working on my sketch for "Lacy," the wooden decorated codfish for the annual "Cod Auction" to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.  This year, I was inspired by the way seafoam looks like lace when gentle waves hit the beach.  So I decided to substitute a wavy pattern of lace for the markings of the fish.  At this point, I was still working on paper; trying my ideas out on an outline of the wooden form.  The day before, I had drawn the basic design with pencil on paper, and on the 18th, I was trying to work out the color scheme. To be continued. ..

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.

Flowers for Celina (Portrait as of April 16, 2024)

Here is my portrait of Celina as it looked on April 16th. The biggest change I made was to the position of the left arm, which had been bothering me.  I used the reference photo to measure the spaces between her torso and her arm and made coreections on the canvas.  I also worked on the face, mostly the eyes.  To be continued. . . .