A Mural In Progress

This mural is on my dining room wall. I want to assure any of those who are like myself when it comes to plagurism...I hate it. However, as a learning tool we all know that to learn from those you admire is a challenge and a gift. This painting is not for reproduction or for sale. Upon sale of my house we will paint over it (that is if we ever sell). I have learned a tremendous amount about scale, figurative expressionism, and color. These faces have been created almost entirely from the purple spectrum...a color I never would have associated with skin tone and now I can't get enough of. I have grown more in the few weeks I have been working on this mural than I have in the last year. I send my thanks to Juarez Machado and hope that he would be flattered with my attempts to learn at his canvas.

My Latest painting

It is finally finished. I started this painting about 8 weeks ago. Once I got the underpainting finished I couldn't for the life of me figure out what to do next. The imagery had no meaning for me. It was just a vase with (at the time)some very abstract flowers. After reading several other blogs by various artists I realized the problem: it HAS to have meaning for me. So I thought...and thought...and thought. Still nothing. Eventually I figured out that it wasn't about flowers at all but balance. Understanding that for all we focus on the outside, the inside needs the same attention.

I met a fellow in Fremont who saw even more than I did. For me, that equates success.

As for the painting challenges: as the painting evolved, my mother had the great idea of adding water. Well seven hours later I figured out how to paint a water drop that looks like water. 12 hours after that I figured out how to make a puddle...8 hours after that I figured out how paint reasonably realistic water inside the vase allowing for a greater recognition of depth. Bottom line, even if the painting doesn't go over well, I learned a lot. Isn't that the point after all?