New watercolor painting(s): Morning Stroll

Two paintings of the same guy. What's up with that? As it turns out, I needed to do a painting demo during a watercolor workshop. I had the top one started but it was too far along to use for the demo. So I drew up another one to use for the workshop. They were both off to a good start, so I just ended up painting on both of them simultaneously.

These are the first in a series of "Chinatown" portraits. Right now I have three series of paintings going: Telling Stories, a series on the elderly, Chinatown, a series of the residents of San Francisco's Chinatown and Women Revealed, a series for an upcoming show on the female form. They seem to be different in context but they tend to overlap, with the elderly being the common thread.

Top: Morning Stroll, 24 x 18", watercolor.
Bottom: Morning Stroll 1, watercolor, 20 x 17", watercolor

Judith Carducci workshop

There is nothing quite as exhilarating for an artist than to spend an entire weekend absorbed in drawing and painting from life. Judith Carducci's portrait workshop was that...and more. As with most workshops, we watched Judy draw and paint from a model, then were set loose to work on our own. Even though Judy works in pastels, the great thing about this particular workshop was that it focused on portraiture and was left wide open to work in any medium.

After struggling the first day with a myriad of excuses about why my watercolor painting was so crappy, I came back the second day, as masochists tend to do, for more torture. To my surprise, the content of day one and two gelled in a way that made sense without being overwhelming. The result was a much more relaxed attitude and an ability to work more quickly without laboring over details.


These photos are from the demo on day one. Judy completed a value study in charcoal. We discussed anatomy, values, the necessity of careful observation, as well as other art-related issues. Judy is generous with her knowledge and time. Besides that, she is wickedly funny.



 Sam, Judy and the completed value study.





 



This was my painting on day two, a study from life in watercolor of our lovely model, Vanessa.

Protect Your Art from Thieves!!!

People are unbelievable sometimes. An artist named Brazen Edwards-Hager (Christine Edwards) from BC, Canada, has taken one of my copyrighted images and was listing it as her own on her Etsy page and on ArtFire. This painting was a commissioned portrait of a friend's child and they would have been upset to know that it was being misused. I contacted both sites and I am hoping they pull her off. Ironically, she uses the name Brazen and states that she has a former background in Criminology! Double irony, she posted my image right above her copyright notice! Thankfully, someone e-mailed me to let me know or it would still be there.

Luckily, I headed the advice of a fellow artist to start copyrighting my images. It is an inconvenience to copyright each painting but, at $35 per image, it is relatively inexpensive. The nice part is, if you have a series of paintings, you can copyright them all as one series. It is easy enough to do online, so please consider it. Here is the link to the copyright office.