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 doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for personal experimentation, but that’s ok. They’re worth it. Also, time has taught me how things ebb and flow, so I’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 I’ve been starting paintings these past few years. It was fun painting with no net. I find it’s much easier to make drastic changes when you aren’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. It’s not done, but I’m kind of paused on it at the moment. Sometimes it’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 don’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 I’ve been working diligently to get the techniques down. It’s definitely more of an art than a science, which makes it SO satisfying when they turn out looking like pizzas. It’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 it’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!