You're way off!

That's what Rodney Dangerfield said he would hear when he asked for directions. It bears true with my painting. Got a lot done but unfortunately it's in the wrong spot. I couldn't figure out what was wrong so I did a side by side with a grid overlay. I knew the eyes were off but I didn't realize how much, but it's fixable. The lips and the nose need work too. Have a look.

I did this in GIMP. It's a free photo editing software downloadable off the web. if you click on the image and then right click and hit view image it will be clear how bad I was off. Oh well, live and learn.

That wasn't easy

For a minute or two I thought I might have a promising career in Gorilla and Pig portraits. Painting a nose is not the easiest thing I've ever tried. In fact I'm finding it very tricky. I wiped it off twice and partially a third time and I'm still not happy with it but I think it is workable from here. I'm used to the Bob Ross method where you could drop in a happy tree anywhere you want. Let me tell you, it doesn't work that way with nostrils! Or anything else in portrait painting. But I still enjoy the challenge. Here's where I'm at.

Free Portrait Video Learning Series

I just watched a great video series by realism artist  Duffy Sheridan. His portrait work is superb. The videos are free and definitely worth a watch. Enjoy!

My latest endeavor and first portrait attempt

This is a portrait from a black and white photo that was resurrected by my niece in photoshop. It was slightly colorized and that's the way I want it to look. This is where I am at with this. I am blending as I go as I tend to paint in spurts when time allows and do not want anything to dry before I get to blend it.
This is my reference photo

This is what I've accomplished so far

It's coming along okay. I may have to go in and darken some around the eyes but I will wait until I have the whole thing painted before I start changing anything. If it comes out balanced I may just leave it alone.

Return of the Ballerina

I really butchered this attempt at a painting and wanted to come back to it (for a year now). Whenever I looked at it I kept envisioning an impressionistic touch. I had some leftover paint on my pallet and figured what the heck. I have never attempted anything of an impressionistic style so here goes my experiment. It also marks a first for a painting with a human figure in it.
This is where I left off.

This is where I'm at now.

 I will let it dry for now before attempting to color in the ballerina. That I will try to keep of a realism style. Should be interesting as well as a challenge to say the least.

Finally finished

Started this and stopped it several times over the last year. Many things took place that interrupted this painting. Death in the family and started a new job to name a couple. Just glad it's finally done.

Another link to a talented artist

Another artist I found on twitter. Check out her work. Abstract charcoal and pastel. Very different.

Monique Sevenans