NYC Metro Card Kara Walker No. 1

One of my favorite artists:

NYC Metro Card Kara Walker No. 1
2" x 3.5" Oil on Metro Card
Available for purchase here.


Some close ups:

I went through many false starts and wipe offs before finally feeling good about this likeness - here some process shots of this bumpy ride:

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NYC Metro Card Andy Warhol

Process:

NYC Metro Card Andy Warhol No 1

2" x 3.5" Oil on NYC Metro Card

SOLD

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Oil Portrait Study " Peter" with Process

This final 5"x7" oil painting came to be after a lot of stops and starts, scrape downs and wipe offs, re-shapes and adjustments but I'm content with this result:

First steps were sketches in charcoal and some light washes :

Gradually building up layers:

I was pretty happy at this stage, since it was very loose and expressive:

 I revisited it the next day because I wanted more detail and also felt there wasn't enough volume to the head, the darks and highlights weren't quite right yet - I wiped down the forehead and neck/shoulders:

And then attempted to bring the shadows/highlights back in but it was still a mess:

I also felt the likeness was off - I was working from my own reference photo and knew it was off. I took this last pic of the painting into photoshop and compared it to my source and could see where the position of some of his features were off and the width of the face was wrong. Had to wipe elements away - that was scary but I knew instantly that it was the right thing to do:

As I re-worked the face, I could see it coming together - the head was more of a 3/4 turn (as it should be) whereas the first efforts had mistakenly flattened the face to the viewer:

And done:

"Peter Study"
5" x 7" Oil on wood panel

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The Night Shift Resurrection

I started this subway painting months ago but was promptly sidetracked by a family health situation (mom is on the mend) and only returned to finish it recently.

I had documented its earliest stages:

I'd been pretty pleased with the figure at this point - but her head was troubling me. 


I decided to simplify the background and got a nice shape going on with her head and haircut - for some reason I wiped out her legs and feet, ugh:

I should have left her head alone - now I felt like I disturbed that nice haircut, and her feet were not cooperating. It was at this stage, I think, that all hell broke loose in my mom's life (fell and broke a hip, oy!) and the painting sat for several months, staring at me:

I finally picked up the brushes again last month and finished:

Or so I thought! I continued to noodle it a bit (trim her hips and tinker with her legs - argh! Will update this later - but I have to get this blog back to life so up she goes.

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Portrait Progression

Ok, who doesn't like a portrait progression, right? Here's my next lady on a train. She seemed a bit awkward and stressed, clutching several bags and, of course, the ubiquitous iPhone.

Here we go - pencil sketch on the gessoed wood block, which is approximately 4 inches square:

Then a few blocks of color:

Followed by some big, splashy patches of more color:

You know, some of our NYC subway cars have bright orange or yellow seats, while others have those icy blues. Sometimes I choose which color to paint, regardless of the original scene -- creative license, I guess.

She had her knees clamped tightly shut but her feet splayed outwards. That was the most interesting part of her pose, so I spent some time getting those legs just right:

Then I toned down that high-keyed lemon yellow behind her head, and paid some more attention to the crumpled shopping bags in her lap. I think this was a good place to stop, don't you ?

NYC Subway No. 19

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Catching up with Tasha

Tasha No. 2
Ink and watercolor on paper
Print available here.


I'm putting this painting, Tasha No. 2, to rest. I last posted the original line drawing and the first stage of watercolor. I wasn't quite happy with where it was going, the color harmony seemed all wrong to me.

I've darkened the overall appearance, taken a step away from my usual bright and vivid colors. I think perhaps the expression on her face is more suited to somber colors.

Here's a look at the progression:

However................

I had drawn another version of Tasha and so I decided to begin another painting, using the complete opposite range of colors. This is just beginning so I've no idea where this one will end up.

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So I think Shara is done -- but Tasha is not....

This is another 12"x15" ink line drawing of a young girl, Tasha. I used a bamboo pen with india ink to draw the preliminary lines.

Now here is the first result of my adding watercolor washes to the ink. I'm not so certain about the harmony of the colors. I've used blues and purples in the shadow areas but may be adding more warm washes over her face to bring all the colors together. Not sure. And I don't know about that lime green for her shirt. Hmmm. Going to sit on this for a bit and get back to you!

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