Transparent Darks, Opaque Lights

I find that the application of the dark undertones first - in this case a mix of ultramarine blue and transparent red oxide - in a thin wash, and then an overlay of cerulean and white for the lighter areas works wonders in creating the look of sun-washed skin.  I see that the symmetry is off a bit in the eyes and nostrils, but rather than muck with the transparencies I will move on to another painting.

Endless days of heat and sun and projects to do has left little time for making headway in the painting game, but I find myself curiously looking forward to winter.  That's a first!

Faces Old and Young

Ron 7x7 oil

Aging gracefully in the south of France, still dapper after all these years, still the bon vivant, the wit at dinner parties, the tap dancer, fine cook, flatterer of young and old.  We can always learn lessons from those among us living well.

Austin 7x7 oil

It was just yesterday that Austin was a young boy, eager and innocent, studying dinosaurs.  Now he is  headed off to college and life as a grownup.  But to his parents, he will always be their little boy, probably about this age, nine or so.  It is the curse and the blessing of parenthood: to retain that youth in our hearts no matter what Time may do to us all.

Plein Air Event

In honor of the local plein air event going on right now, I tried my hand at a couple of landscapes, the first in oils, the second in acrylic, and I see that I need to take the plunge and just buy some real oil paints and stop trying to work with these water-soluble oils that are too sticky and hard to clean up.  I see other oil painters who just leave their brushes in some solution or other and don't waste time cleaning and cleaning.  I've been worried about making my studio space (commandeered from a library/entertainment space) proper and undamaged.  Maybe I can figure out a way to keep the solvents from ruining everything.