I am almost done with my new painting - a portrait. I used a combination of palette knife and brush. Although I've used this mix before, I've never done it on a portrait. I used my photo for the pose, and a vague idea of the mood of the subject. Then, I just let the image develop over time.
I don't like painting wet on wet because it muddies the colors, so I wait until it dries, then paint some more. The palette knife allows me to be more free with my strokes and has even infected my use of the paint brush. The results are very encouraging. The image below has already undergone some changes on the eyes and the background but you can see that the brush strokes are more obvious here than in my other pieces. The title I have for this is "Worries".
Worries
Blue Eyeshadow
The Red Boat
Nature's Tapestry (Sold)
The above paintings are three of my recent pieces, all done in oil on canvas. To see more, here's a link to my website: http://paintingsbycynthia.com/
Well, I got my groove back! Two weekends ago, I took an old self-portrait (12" x 12") which I never could finish and reworked it. It came out quite differently - no longer a self-portrait but a more interesting piece. It is more relaxed and free than my usual style. I can't wait for it to dry so I can take a photo and post it.
Last weekend, I painted over an old still-life (9" x 12") and started another painting based on a photo I took in India a few months ago. I put it aside to dry, took another old painting and covered it with grayish-white paint to get it ready for a landscape. Quite a productive weekend, I must say!
