I got the photo from a trip we took to upstate NY, visiting her family and revisiting places and homes where she, her family and other relatives had lived.  I forget what this location was, but I don’t think she lived there.

Painting over and over the background, I built up an interesting texture.  I tried to keep paint effects, and not go too glossy and polished.

Portrait of Pat Wolff | Detail

I did a major color switch on the background.  I wanted to go cool with it, replacing the warm orangey yellow that had been there.

I think it’s the right track.  I want to buffer down the blueness on the next pass.  It’s too strong.

Here’s my current favorite CD.

Peggy Lee 'Love Held Lightly'

Back to work today, and my goal is to wrap up loose ends.  My last three paintings are not quite finished, so it’s time to take care of that.

First I varnished the portrait of Walt.  I don’t think it needs any additional painting, but I’ll let the varnish dry and then evaluate.

Then I worked on pooch portrait.  The left side floor area had been bothering me, so I went radical and applied dark earth green, covering the ocher/brown tones.  Then I repainted the couch to try to both unify the shape and help the canine separate from the background.

I then turned attention to the portrait of my sister.  Something about it just didn’t gel.  In addition, my mom didn’t think it looked like her.  I think my use of orange/red tones was a factor.

If someone’s mom doesn’t like a portrait of their kid, it demands attention.

I started by darkening the background, to try to achieve better separation between foreground and background. I stuck with the warm tones, but am not convinced it’s the right way to go.  Next session, I’ll probably try to cool off the background.

I think just darkening the value is helping, but does not quite do the trick.

This may be as done as this painting gets.  I’ll look at it tomorrow.

I applied coats of paint to just about all of the surface.  Adding a bit of earth green to unbleached titanium, I repainted the couch.  Also worked Chester, adding globs of white, and trying out some blue notes.  Not sure about those.

I think it’s starting to come together.  The eyes/nose/face area needs a ton of work.

Today's palette

Today's palette.

I applied layers of white, unbleached titanium mixed with Indian yellow and terra rosa, orange and naples yellows.

I think I saw glimmers of this piece coming together.  The surface is still pretty raw, but parts are starting to look like something.

My son gave me this cool little book for xmas. It was published in the 1940s, and is a reader’s digest of the famous symphonies.  It struck me that I’d like to adopt the blurb on the top of the cover for my blog:

“Factual, Sympathetic, Unsentimental”

It’s a quote from composer Deems Taylor about the book.  It’s a good goal for a portrait, too!

Chester sketch

I want to do a small (8″ x 10″) painting, and am preparing the surface by applying layers of undiluted Utrecht gesso, then sanding.  I used to thin the stuff with water, but want to try to go for a more textured surface.  Without over doing it.

My studio's north wall.

Portrait of Walt Lyons

Back to the studio today.  First I tried to finish organizing the colored paper and tissue that I took out of my now departed flat files.

Then I turned back to the portrait.  I started with the background, adding opaque earth green mix over the glaze I put on last week.  I needed to have some help re-shaping the top of the head, and the green created the new boundaries.

I focused on the plate of spaghetti, adding layers of browns and yellows.

Stepping back, I realized the background was not dark (value) enough when compared to the figure, so I took it down a few notches.

I then added shading to the top of the head, and worked the shading under eyes, nose and lips.

I think it’s just about done.  Time to put aside and start something else.

Below is a montage of my studio view from my easel.  Apologies to David Hockney.

The view from the easel

Portrait of Walt Lyons | in progress

More Walt work yesterday.  I’m trying to finalize the head by adding glazes to the shadowed areas. I think I need to work on the forehead and upper head areas a bit more to get the proper roundness.

I added an earth green glaze over the background, but I’m not sure if it even shows up.  I’ll try a few layers of it and see if it makes a difference.

Also worked on the shirt, adding more whites and green glaze from the background.

And I also concentrated on the plate of food, trying to build the mass and texture of the spaghetti.  It’s going to need at least one more session to look good.

Portrait of Walt Lyons | Detail