Denise at the Firehouse

I did this of Denise on a canvas I had gessoed over an old painting. The surface was a little slick and their was texture from the painting underneath. The slickness and the texture made me less shy about thicker paint and I worked in many layers and with opaque and transparent sections. I could have gone further but ran out of time. Karen

Denise, Deborah, and The Feather Boa

Every time I look at this painting I think of the wild west. Our model Denise brought a dress she formerly used to deliver singing telegrams. Diana set her up against a bright red background (it was a some fabric hanging from the foldable screen). Costumes aren't my thing, but even I have to admit the effect was dramatic, and it was a welcome change in our routine. I manipulated the background to make it more interesting, shortened the wall and added Deborah, who always draws these incredible portraits in pencil. In this 16 x 20" acrylic, what works is the clear emphasis on the model: saturated vs muted, warm vs cold, sharp vs soft, more detail vs less detail.

Joaquin at the Firehouse

I did not like the way I had done Joaquin at the first session. And the composition wasn't right. At the second session I added two new figures and worked on the surface quality adding the text. It improved but I want to experiment with a variety of mediums and additives for the acrylics. Karen

Becca at the Firehouse

Becca was late for both sessions at the Firehouse. The best part was when she saw a spider and slammed her shoe against the wall (while in the pose) and I thought a gun had gone off. But she had a sweet, sad quality and I feel like the painting reflects that. It is 16" by 20" in acrylic on canvas.

Karen

Painting Solvieg

This week we are painting a young women named Becca. But I am still working on the paintings from our last model Solvieg. I photographed it after the two sessions with her and again today after working on it for hours. I think this might be the last version but maybe not. Hope you can tell which is the latest version.

Karen