A first step on an old painting. I was able to get to this stage of the painting without experiencing anxiousness, something I’ve been feeling for at least the last six or seven months.

My good friend and artist Nancy got me out of the house and over to a drawing/sketch group up in the hills of Cave Creek (Beautiful, near a real creek) and once I started drawing life seemed to make sense (overly dramatic but what heck). I had forgotten how much I love drawing and especially working with a good model.

We spend most of our time looking at peoples faces. I wanted to place this subjects hands on his head but couldn’t fiqure out how to capture this using a mirror. I’ve asked my wife to take a photo of me with my hands on my head so that I can complete the painting.

The goal with this painting as I went along was to find a way to knit the painting together with a architecturally structure and to give more body to figures in the foreground. I’ve muted the colors by laying on a dull green wash, which gets rubbed out or painted into. What is not visible now is that I painted in 5 lines that run from the low left to high right of the painting with each area painted with a slightly different of yellow paint. Right now they are just guides.

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As with the early version, I just taking a new look every day and adding more stuff to the painting.

Both and the good and the bad about making stuff up is that you are making it up. I’ve got no clue as to what the end should look like.

2nd pass

First run at new painting

In this type of painting it is necessary to keep making changes, adjusting shapes and color. The trick is to feature out when to stop.

I am just about half way through on this painting and looking for ways to add some punch.