December 12, 2009 - Day 124

Acrylic on 275lb Acquerello Italia watercolor paper

Since there are only 14 days until Christmas day all my paintings until then will have a Christmas theme.

That is all I have to say for today's blog.

December 11, 2009 - Day 123

Acrylic on 275lb Acquerello Italia watercolor paper

Something festive for the holiday season! I just wish that I had more time to create paintings to sell. Right now, there I have 4 paintings half finished and many more that I would like to create but I just don't have the time.

It is also frustrating that I have been unable to sell the paintings that I do have completed. People are more careful with their money right now and aren't splurging on art purchases. Thank God I have a job that pays the bills otherwise I would be a basket case right now!

December 10, 2009 - Day 122

Acrylic on 275lb Acquerello Italia watercolor paper

I was too tired tonight to attempt painting another dog so I decided to paint a still life. I find it easier to create still life paintings of fruits, vegetables and hard objects like spoons, bowls, etc than to paint a living subject.

Wow, I am too tired to write the blog tonight. My mind just won't form coherent sentences. Since the painting is completed and posted I think that I will quit for tonight and write again tomorrow morning.

December 11, 2009

Now that I had a good night's sleep and a couple cups of coffee I think I can actually write complete sentences (smile).

For the majority of this project I have been pushing my limits by challenging myself to paint subjects that I find difficult. Still life paintings are by far the easiest for me to complete because the form of the object is easier to see and the light and shadow are more pronounced.

With living subjects like animals, people and even plants there are so many angles and planes that make up the form that if anyone of those is off the whole painting is ruined.

Compare today's painting of an orange to the painting of a dog on December 6, 2009. The dog in that painting doesn't look "real" because there is something wrong with the shading and highlight around the eyes. The orange in today's painting isn't really the correct color but because the shape and shading is right you can tell it is an orange.

I have been using this blog as a means to improve my paintings by practicing things that are difficult for me but with the Christmas season approaching I need a break. So even though I would like to improve my dog paintings I will leave those for a time when I have more time and energy. For now, I am going to work on still life paintings which I find easier to do.

It's funny, even though I will still be completing a painting a day I feel like I am cheating myself and the people following my blog because I am not pushing myself to bigger and better things. Why do I feel that I am doing something wrong by creating paintings that are easy for me?

December 9, 2009 - Day 121

Acrylic on 275lb Acquerello Italia watercolor paper

I was very tired tonight and not really in the mood to paint so the painting did not flow easily. I re-painted the shadow areas on the dog at least 4 times. The first few times I had the shadow areas a dark blue/grey but it looked too harsh so I changed it to a grayish brown color which I like better. That is the wonderful thing about acrylics you can re-paint it as many times as you like without having to start from the beginning.

This dog series is the longest running series that I have ever had. I have completed 13 dog paintings (if you include the wolf and the coyote) and there are still more that I would like to paint.

December 8, 2009 - Day 120

Acrylic on 275lb Acquerello Italia watercolor paper

Wow! It has been 3 months since I started this project and I have not missed a day. One of my main excuses in the past for not being a successful artist was that I wasn't a prolific painter and I didn't have enough paintings to sell. Well this blog has blown that limiting belief right out of the water.

In the past 3 months I have painted 158 paintings. Some days I find it so hard to believe that I was capable of that. Last year I painted 25 paintings and felt that there was no way I could paint much more than that unless I quit my job and painted full time. Well here I am a year later still working 30+ hours/week and some how I found the time, energy and motivation to paint.

December 7, 2009 - Day 119

Acrylic on 275lb Acquerello Italia watercolor paper

For this painting I started with the highlight areas and then added the shadows which the reverse of how I usually paint. By painting the highlight areas first I think I was able to see the form better. I also think that having a lighter background really helps bring out the shadow areas as well.

December 6, 2009 - Day 118

Acrylic on 200lb Multimedia Aquarelle watercolor paper

Another frustrating day painting today. I just couldn't "see" the angles and planes of the face. I think I re-painted this 4 or 5 times but still couldn't achieve the correct form.

I have never been one to sketch or draw but I think that I might have to start making thumbnail sketches. These are quick small sketches with very little detail that can be done in color or black and white. The purpose of thumbnail sketches is to experiment with different aspects of the painting before committing anything to canvas.

I don't use thumbnail sketches mainly because I am the impatient type and I don't want to "waste" my time on a preliminary sketch/color sketch when I could be spending that time painting the "real" painting. Although, the theory is, if I did thumbnail sketches it would take less time and energy to paint the "real" painting because I would have already figured out the problem areas.

I would like to say that I am going to use thumbnail sketches in the future but in reality I have a lot of resistance to it and probably will continue on without them.