Spring...

Is awesome, I am so glad it's getting warmer and beautiful out. I love freshly sprouted flowers and warm air and sunshine, aghhh! I feel my mood lifting already. I'm back in oil painting mode and I think the break I took letting my oil paintings dry really helped me to understand the process I need to take with them. I'm starting to use and understand glazing, and letting them fully dry before I start on them again. Makes a HUGE difference. I'm so hard headed. I was painting impasto, but it's so frustrating!!

here is a work in progress, she is yet unnamed, but I started painting her in February, and I am very happy with her progress. She's painted on a raw cut piece of wood with the bark still intact, the wood was sanded a bit before i laid down some gesso, I then sanded the gesso, and I only used 2 light coatings, and then I started in with light washes of oil and built her up gradually. I think the biggest key to an oil painting for me is proportion, and shading, being very delicate with the paint, very sensitively adding washes of subtle color and blending the skin tones. Things can get very flat, very quick, and I get very impatient! At this point I just want to reach a level of depth and contrast that it really packs a punch, but is still soft and lovely.