Self Portrait on a Hot and Humid Day

It is very hot in the house today and I started to paint. I gave myself one hour to paint my general image and finished just under the hour. I always feel uncomfortable to show myself in portraits. They seem to always come out rough and I tend to look angry or harsh...I guess that is my concentration face...poor sitters if that is what they see when I paint them!

It was a good exercise to paint so quickly but I want a more finished self portrait. One day, I would like to put 5 hours into it like I did on the previous post of my son...I will let this one stand as is. Ok, I lied. I could not let it stand. I took it down.

James in Newport

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Today's painting is of my son, James. We took a couple of days off together and we went to Newport. I think that this is the first time, other than visiting him up in Boston, that we vacationed together without his sister. We saw a mystery play, went window shopping, he got fudge and we had a very nice time. He is twenty now and no longer my little boy. I am very proud of him. (Does it show in the painting?)

Hacker Street

Before I went for a walk with my sister, Maureen I had just under an hour to kill so I painted the view at the end of her street. The wind off the water was pretty cold but there were people wading in the water anyway. I wish that I had more time to paint this one.

Bammi and Miami

Alexandra went to Miami with me and Steve to meet his family. She was not feeling well but she ended up being a good sport and she really enjoyed the boat show.

I seem to enjoy the challenge of painting these little tiny portraits. Her face is just over an inch wide and when I was almost done, the panel fell onto my palette and I had to scrape off globs of paint!! All part of the experience!

Robert

Today, I spent some time making a new and improved pochade box and I bought Michael Graham paints in Boston last weekend when I went to visit my son James. I wanted to test both the paints and the box tonight and I did this while watching The Soloist so Robert Downey, Jr became the subject of tonight's study. The box worked fine and it is the smallest painting box I have made yet. The M. Graham paints are amazing. I really didn't think that it could make such a difference but they are hand ground pigments mixed only with walnut oil and I used walnut oil as a thinner...no turpentine and no fumes. I painted in my living room and there is no smell of paint. I will post photos of the new box on my other blog. My thanks to Mr. Downey.

Sizing the Engagement Ring

I had my engagement ring sized at Ustinov Jewelers by the owner, Randy. I became instantly attached to this ring as soon as Steve offered it to me on March 23rd so it was a little difficult to hand it over to be sized. Randy did a beautiful job, talked with me the whole time he worked on it and now I have no fear of it falling off! Thank you, Randy!
















This is a two inch square compossition sketch in my Moleskine pad.

5.9 X 5.9 inches Oil on Board

If you wold like to purchase this daily painting, please send your bid by e-mail . Start price is 150.00 US Dollars. The bidding will end in one week, April 9, 2010 at 8PM US Eastern Time. Please see Terms of Sale for details.

Hix Bridge and a Boat

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This is the Hix Bridge. I travel across it every time I drive home from my physical therapy appointments. PT is always relaxing so I travel over this bridge relaxed enough to appreciate the view. Just over the bridge, there is a place to park and put your boat in the water. This is where I came across this little boat. Though I wanted to paint the bridge, this boat begged me to paint it and so I did. It is still too cold for me to be out on the water but the boat seems to promise warmer days to come.

This painting is no longer available.

Alex, Ana and Olivia

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Here is the my painting of the day, or should I say month! This one was very hard to do on a 15cm x 15cm panel. I loved the challenge, though! I find that I really like painting baby Olivia in her Mother's arms. She looks so comfortable there! I also like the way Alex holds up his pants to keep them from getting too wet! I really like this one!

This painting is no longer available.