Cinder is finished - I think

Cinder is finished - I think. In this last session, I was looking at what kind of feeling her portrait conveyed. The feeling I got from her, intuitively and from her photos, was a feeling of relaxation. Yet, looking at the portrait, some of my trusted feedback-givers and I were getting the sense that, rather than being relaxed, she was about to jump up - coming out of that relaxed state into an on-alert state, watchful and ready for action. Thinking about where that feeling might be coming from, my husband suggested that her shoulders were a bit raised; I noticed, also, that I had the angle of her elbow more vertical than it should be. So I changed that angle, lowered and smoothed her topline, and shifted the stresses in her shoulders. I believe that it worked.

I also worked more on her eyes, especially that less-finished left eye (remember, to us viewers it's the right-side eye, but it's HER left), and on her face; darkened her left ear a bit and brightened the top of Foofer, behind her ear.

Finally - I signed and dated this painting. Yay! I may still see some little things that I want to tweak or bring out, but essentially, I feel like I've reached my goal.


Here's a detail of her face. I really like the way her face and head have taken shape and taken on color.

Cinder: more work on her head - WIP #14

Today's work on Cinder: more detail and filling in, on her head; a lot of work on the blanket fringe; and some refining on her right elbow (front leg) and hind knee. It's getting very close. A bit more work needed on her eyes. Her left eye is still not as developed as her right. I think the fringe needs a little more detail, too, but maybe not much. I might work some more on her hind toes; not sure about that right now.

Then it will be time to turn my back to the painting, close my eyes, and spin around fast to look at it; do some squinting; and anything else I can think of, to get a sense of what last things it needs, for balance and aliveness.


Here's a detail of her face.

Cinder: working on her head - WIP #13

Recent work has been mainly on Cinder's head, and sometimes it seems to go very slowly, and be very subtle. But I feel like her eyes are coming to life, and her nose is looking good. I did some work on the fringe, as well.

It's coming, it's coming... (Did I ever mention my - favorite - art teacher, in high school summer school, who said that to me every day for six weeks? "It's coming, it's coming..." I wanted to yell, "Yeah, but when's it going to BE there - be done???")


Here's a closeup of Cinder's head. Work on eyes, ears, nose. I have started to fill in the dark areas around her right eye (on our left, looking at it), but not much on her left eye yet.

Cinder: WIP #12

Okay. Work on Cinder's face today, as well as smoothing out her chest, shoulders and right foreleg; and some work on Foofer. Also worked some more on Cinder's hind toes, and her hind feet are approaching finished.


Here's a closer look at Cinder's face, and Foofer. When I started on her eyes, she looked like some red-eyed were-dog; now, with a little detail, they're starting to look more like sweet dog's eyes. I've been modeling the head shape, refining her muzzle, and shaping her ears. Foofer's looking pretty finished, and seems to have a velvety look. I'm not sure how that happened, though of course I'm happy about it; I just hope it's not because my photography today is not totally in focus. I added just a glimpse of Cinder's blue collar. I like the way the shape and colors of her head are looking, and I think the end is in sight. It seems to be very helpful to be able to look at photos of the painting, onscreen; it gives me a better sense of how well the painting holds up as a whole.

One of the major parts of this still to be done is the fringe of the blanket. But aside from that, it's getting close.

Cinder: getting ready to work on her head - WIP #11

Yesterday I did a few touches - cleaning up some window frames; enhancing some highlights, including along Cinder's back; some work on her right hind foot and leg, including highlights, and making her toes bigger - ah, those feet! Nothing like dog paws... And a bit of underlighting in her haunch.

Mostly, though, I spent my time yesterday getting ready to get down to business on Cinder's face. I pulled out all the photos I have of her; for months I have been looking at just the one I'm using in this portrait, but now I need some of the information in those others, especially a better look at her eyes. I picked the one with the clearest view of her eyes; I also decided I'd like to have a clearer view of her head from my main photo, so I scanned it, enlarged it, and messed with it in Photoshop, and likewise with that photo of her eyes, and printed out copies. In the process, I discovered Photoshop's dodge and burn tools...



This is the good photo of Cinder's eyes. What a lovely forehead! This also gives me a good look at her nose...







This is the Photoshopped detail of Cinder's head from the main photo. It's still kinda funky, but at least seeable, and will be very helpful. Now I feel ready to really work on Cinder's face, especially that crucial component, her eyes.

I think my painting may look brighter in this post; if so, that's not a change in the painting, but the result of my deciding to take a chance on the change Photoshop makes to my photo when I use the Auto-Levels feature. I'm not sure if this gives a more accurate color cast, contrast and range, or not, but I'm giving it a try.

Well, on to work...

Cinder again, WIP #10

End of the day today. I've been smoothing out her back, doing more work on her toes - I love how those dog feet are starting to feel three-dimensional; working on the sun and shadow and the highlights on her back leg... There's starting to be a clear distinction between sunlit and shadowed areas, clearest in her back half, but still needing to make more visual sense.




Here's her hind foot, with her toes taking shape. I enjoy catching the feel of her pads...



Here's a closer look at her tail - a much better curve now, and fully rounded. Above her back, I've defined the window frame, and darkened the background a bit to bring out her sunlit back. I think this darkening also makes the window look more reflective.

So that's it for today.

Cinder again, WIP #9

This is yesterday's work, and some of today's. Cinder's tail is taking shape, her feet are emerging, and I've done more work on her hind legs. I've also started doing the fringe of the blanket.

I photographed Cinder twice today, partly because, after some work, I was unsure what to do next, and also because I felt like being able to see the painting in a photo, as if it were someone else's, would help me see it, and what it needed, more clearly.

Cinder again

Latest work on Cinder: more work on the blanket, the pillow and Foofer, and work on Cinder's second stuffed animal; and more work on the view out the window, and the window frame. I've also improved the curve of her tail tip, and added a reflection in the window.

Brillante Weblog Award - a hoax, and meaningful, at the same time

So, my internet friend and fellow artist, Dean H. of Deano's Den, has nominated me for this award, the Brillante Weblog Premio! I am so excited - thank you, Dean!!

It is true, I have since found out that there is no such award; but you know what? I'm STILL excited!

First of all, Dean, whose work I love and admire, picked me; I looked at his other six picks, and feel like I'm in very good company. Hoax or not, to be chosen by Dean feels like a special honor. As Dean says, "This is very much like Tag. It helps us to become familiar with previously undiscovered blogs." (There's a good post about this on Michele's blog With Heart and Hands, a Quilting Journey; she suggests we use it in fun or don't use it at all.) So, I know there will be no Award, only nominations; but the artists I've picked are all people whose work I admire, and whose blogs I enjoy. Maggie and Duane in particular just fill me with awe, and the others amaze me as well - so check 'em out! It is my great pleasure to link to Dean's blog, and to the seven below.

By the way, I have one more artist I would love to nominate, if she had a Blog; her paintings are some of my all-time favorites, and kind of guiding lights for the direction I want to go; so here she is: Alexandra Eldridge

The rules are that if the person receiving the award decides to participate, they must:

1. Put the logo on their blog
2. Add a link to the person who gave them the award
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Add links to those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on each of the blogs nominated.

MY rules (I feel I can make my own, since there's no real award) are: participate if you'd like to; nominate as many or as few other blogs as you'd like, and link to them if you're willing; and leaving a message on their blogs seems like a good idea. And how can you do this without putting the logo in? But you don't have to.

My nominees are:

1. Greywaren Art: Maggie Stiefvater. Maggie is magnificent, amazing, extraordinarily productive, and tremendously helpful and sharing with other artists and writers. Her blog includes not just nearly daily art, but also long written posts, entertaining or informative or BOTH. Besides drawing and painting, and keeping her blog up, she has written a published novel, about to be released; she writes about the processes of art and writing, and, in detail, about the business of getting published, showing art, and so on. AND she has two toddlers, and I'm sure she's a wonderful mom - how does the woman do it all???

2. Duane Keiser. The original daily painter - or one of them - and the king of them all, as far as I'm concerned. When I first started looking at the Daily Painters website, and thinking of trying to join them, Duane's work was so awesome I was almost too intimidated to try. Wow!

3. Grainne O'Reilly's A Daily Painting. She hasn't posted much lately, but I still like her work a lot, especially the abstracts, which I don't see much of among the daily painters.

4. Robert Pauly. Some of the sweetest, most beautiful cats I've seen, in lovely juicy strokes; especially his Maine Coon Cat, Izzy.

5. A Painting a Day by Laura Wamsgans. I enjoy both her landscapes and her people, paintings full of sunshine and a playful spirit.

6. Painted Plums: Cheryl Pass. This is another blog I enjoy for Cheryl's writing as well as her paintings. Right now she has a gorgeous, scrumptuous painting of a Jack Russell terrier and a red oriental rug.

7. Daily Paintings, by Dustin Boutwell. He also hasn't posted in a while - is everyone on vacation? - but I do enjoy his style. ALMOST as intimidating to me as Duane Keiser (it was Duane's Luna Moth that really knocked me for a loop).

So check 'em out, if you haven't before!

Artwork in my dining room

Here's a set of framed pieces hanging in my dining room; I love this group, the combination of pieces with their matting and framing, the way the shapes and colors go together. The middle one is, of course, The Break in the Forest. The top piece is a linocut called August Spots, and the bottom one is a linocut hand colored with colored pencil, called The Young Unicorn Addressed by the Quizbird.