"200 Faces, No. 147"

5 x 5"

oil on panel
sold

To catch up - my show's reception, this past Friday night at the Anne Irwin Fine Art Gallery, was great.  A good crowd, I met people who have followed my blog for years and many new admirers.  And I sold three.  Yay.  If you want to look over the paintings in the grouping, please click here.  Thanks to all who took the time to come by.  

I also was invited, as a guest artist, in a group show with a gallery I greatly admire, that takes place in June.  They gave the artists three words as the theme, which I've been pondering all weekend.  Oh the possibilities....

Getting back to warming up today, a new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"Goodness"

5 x 5"

oil on panel
sold

I needed a sweet, positive image to paint today and this darling woman just embodies goodness.

From Atlanta, Georgia.

"200 Faces, No. 145"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"200 Faces, No. 142"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A warm-up that turned into a portrait I really love.  And a new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"200 Faces, No. 129"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED, paintings inspired from mugshots.

I honestly did not think I could pull off the hair on this young man, which is why I considered this portrait a big challenge.  It took some patience and experimenting with old brushes and a palette knife.  I love the end result, which is more evident in the real painting than the image - it has some wonderful texture.

"200 Faces, No. 125"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"200 Faces, No. 123"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

After starting back with painting, I realized I needed some warming up. 

This is a new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED. 

~ and a Happy Summer to ya'll

"200 Faces, No. 122"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

I had just a little bit of paint left of my palette and wanted to ease up and paint something quick and loose.   Part of my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"200 Faces, No. 121"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A new painting included in my ongoing series BUST-ED.   I thought it was time for a smile.

"200 Faces, No. 119"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"200 Faces, No. 117"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

Oh happy day when painting comes easy.  The one before this, I spent about 4 hours on, didn't quite finish, went to bed, came back to it the next morning, spent another 2ish hours on it then wiped it off in total frustration.  I was so sure it was a winner and poof, it was gone.  Every day is a learning process.

Part of my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"200 Faces, No. 116"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

I really do enjoy painting these portraits, I learn something every single time.  Part of my ongoing series BUST-ED.

Happy Spring ~

"100+ Faces, No. 112"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

This is No. 112 of my ongoing series BUST-ED, 100+ Faces painted from police mugshots.  In case you didn't know, I have a blog devoted to the series and a book featuring the first 100 faces.

"H Street"

8 x 8"

oil on panel

sold

Last visit to Washington DC, after drooling over the art in the National Portrait Gallery, we took a walk around the neighborhood and I stopped in my tracks across from this old, painted-brick building on H Street.  The wall was a perfect backdrop for seeing figures clearly.  Love it. This gentleman was standing in front of that old building on H Street.

It also was a good lesson in how to paint a brick wall.  I usually avoid it.  This time I tried a hint at it, with thick paint behind him, put on with a palette knife and carved in loose grooves.  It's cool in person.  And a good solution I think

"200 Faces, No. 108"

4 x 4"
oil on masonite
sold

A great face to paint.

"Bench Warmer"

5 x 7"
oil on masonite
sold

Here's a little guy I spotted on the outskirts of Central Park - an addition to my ongoing series ATL to NYC & Back. I hope to do a larger painting of him, wanted to do a small study first.

"200 Faces, No. 107"

4 x 4"
oil on masonite
sold

I can't read without glasses and I've always been against wearing them when painting. Aside from squinting the entire time I'm working, the extra blur keeps me loose. But.... recently, there came a point when I caved. Just too much strain I guess. Then, the trick was NOT to get nit-pickyitis and just focus on the strokes. Not the details. I'm getting used to it day by day.

My warm-up this morning, an addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"Shopping for Fleas"

5 x 10"
oil on masonite
sold

I've spent the last five days working on paintings for an upcoming show in October - one took me two days, the other three. Yikes. So unlike me. Time to take a break and loosen up - and continuing on with my series ATL to NYC & Back - a woman I spotted at our first stop on that bright, sunny, Saturday morning - at a flea market in Hell's Kitchen.

"100 Faces, No. 104"

4 x 4"
oil on masonite
sold

"100 Faces, No. 100"

4 x 4"
oil on masonite
sold

I'm smiling too. This has been a lot of fun. And it always feels good when we meet a goal, doesn't it? The fact that they were pre-sold to one of my favorite collectors certainly motivated me - but more than that, the enthusiasm and interest from all of you out there who cheered me on, from start to finish - well that just propelled me. And I thank you for that.

What I know is this ..... the last three months, for me, was completely distracting. I knew I would have very little time to sit down and paint. I could have stopped altogether, to get the job done - but I feared I would really be rusty, come February. These small, quick, studies kept me sane - and kept me painting. So my shout-out to you is to find a subject, anything you've been interested in but usually don't paint and make it your goal to do 50. Or 100. Paint it all different ways, with all different brushes, with all different ground colors. You'll find yourself exploring, experiencing. If you've got an hour of Zen, paint. Your best teacher is you.

I've got a surprise. I just looked over my brand new book of 100 Faces. It's very cool. And it's now officially available on Blurb. Yay. Here's some info:

- the book is 6-3/4" square
- you have a choice of the soft-cover or hard-cover
- it includes 103 pages with each painting devoted to one page
- the images measure 5-1/8" square
- the quality is fabulous
- Blurb takes care of the shipping world-wide

I'm so excited. I think you'll really love the book. And yes, I'm continuing the series.

~ thanks to all, Karin J