Painting: Stage Three

I've worked on her more--worked thru the place where I thought "Ugh. I ruined her." Now I can see that I didn't.

Some Work In Progress

Been experimenting with doing an underpainting before I do my faces--makes a difference, especially since the Golden Fluid Acrylics and Golden Open Acrylics that I use are (mostly) translucent. The most opaque paints I use are the cheap craft acrylics, and even those aren't completely opaque...

I started this yesterday, from a sketch done last year. I'll post more as I work today.

I've also been experimenting with using Shiva Oil Paintsticks for doing faces--I'll try to scan those this morning, too.

So Much Going On!

Things have been hopping around here! Last Friday afternoon, my dad came for a kind of spur-of-the-moment visit all the way from Michigan! He's 83, and lost his hearing completely several years ago (his hearing had never been even close to good, as he's been legally deaf my entire life)--he hasn't been here since then (I think he thought he'd be a bother), and are we ever glad to have him! He has a white board that we can write on, and he can talk just fine (which, as my children have pointed out, is really the only important thing, since Papa tells the greatest stories...) Jenny said it best last year when we were trying to get him to come for a visit: "I don't care if he can hear me--I just want to love him."

So, big thanks to my sister, who not only convinced him to come for an extended stay, but also accompanied him to Phoenix and got him on the airplane to Bakersfield before turning around and heading back to Michigan herself. It certainly made for a long day for her, and we all appreciate it.

Last Friday night, we went to see Joel's football team win their second playoff game--having won the first playoff game in the school's one-hundred years of football history the week before! My dad went to the game and got to watch Joel play, which made for an even more special win. Tomorrow night we'll be heading into the mountains to Tehachapi (brrr!) for the Valley Semifinals.

Katie's season on the Freshman Basketball team has also started, and we all went to her first game the other night. She's home sick today, so she and my dad are sitting watching CNN and playing cards together.

I'm making a commitment to myself to really work on the business side of my art during this coming year. I need to move some of these canvases I've got stacked up and start earning an income--The talented and Knowledgeable Tammy Vitale is going to 'coach' me after the new year.

Of course, I'm always looking for ideas and help--the first assignment that Tammy gave me was to think about a number--a goal for my earnings in 2010. I told her, the first thought that came into my head was "Oh, well I can't pick a BIG number!" And then I thought, "Why can't I pick a BIG number? Who would I possibly offend with my presumptuous-ness?"

So I'm thinking, planning, and goal-setting...