Hey gang!

Been busy with work which is a good. We’ve got mouths to feed and backs to clothe so this guy’s gotta stay busy. Between work and the child rearing it doesnโ€™t leave a whole lot of time for personal experimentation, but thatโ€™s ok. They’re worth it. Also, time has taught me how things ebb and flow, so Iโ€™m sure there will be a point where I have too much time on my hands, and I’ll be pining for those good old days of getting all frustrated because I had no time to do anything.

Did manage to start this painting of our sweet Margot recently. Started it directly with no underdrawing, which is a bit different from how Iโ€™ve been starting paintings these past few years. It was fun painting with no net. I find itโ€™s much easier to make drastic changes when you arenโ€™t concerned with losing the drawing. Tried to keep it fairly loose and play with edges more, stippling a lot of the background with a soft brush and also doing a decent amount of broken dry brushed application. Itโ€™s not done, but Iโ€™m kind of paused on it at the moment. Sometimes itโ€™s helpful to just put something aside for a while until the answer materializes. here are some step by step pics

On the flipside, here are a couple of little charcoal self portraits from recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m33a9d0rTlI

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN2Vyv3yQMk

Pretty straightforward with these two. Drew the first one while I was kind of hairy, then got my Hair cut and drew myself again. Kind of a fun exercise to see how differently they went. Used 100 grit sandpaper to soften and unify things and then went in and picked out my highlights with a kneaded eraser. Think I like the hairy one better. Self portraits are always fun to tackle because your sitter will sit for as long as you need and they usually donโ€™t complain too much.

Also been learning a different form of art these past few months. PIZZAS! We bought a little pizza oven a little while back, and Iโ€™ve been working diligently to get the techniques down. Itโ€™s definitely more of an art than a science, which makes it SO satisfying when they turn out looking like pizzas. Itโ€™s hard to explain the thrill I get throwing a pie in and watching it cook to a delicious golden brown. The kids love it because they get to add the toppings they like and itโ€™s nice to get them involved in the process. I used to totally suck at cooking, but I think parenthood unlocked something within me to where I really enjoy it now. Thanks, parenthood!