Last post on painting

This is my last post on portrait painting. In an earlier post I said I would share some self-portraits, so this is it.

The multiple portrait was done over 30 years ago. It was first a drawing done by looking into a round mirror. Then I took the drawing, copied it with a zerox machine and added the color in by hand.

The brown self portrait was also done by looking into a mirror. It was done in oil and was more a portrait of how I was feeling, than of how I actually looked. I did it in school while my students were working. They all were aghast at how unlike me it looked. (Notice one brown and one green eye..... my eyes are blue!)

The last portrait was done during a four day class at Savannah College of Art and Design. (Oh how I loved those teacher week long workshops.) We sat in front of full length mirrors while painting and I stressed over my portrait. (At least someone at the reception recognized it as me. Success!) The assistant to the professor (who looked like a kid himself. Darn everyone looks like a kid anymore) told me that I was a violent painter. Huh? The favorite part of this painting was my neck. It is almost like an abstract painting. (Funny though, I don't like those abstract line in my real neck.)

Anyway, these are the last of my paintings (this is a metal clay post after all!) Just thought I'd share. Now, onto more metal clay. I'm back to the studio tomorrow and have some ideas. Thanks for looking.

More class paintings

The portrait painting class is over (for me any way.) I had to come back home. This is something that I hadn't done in a long, long, long time (get the picture?) It was really fun and I know that if I took more classes and worked on it I would get better. (But that is my goal for metal clay, not painting.)

In the next to the last class, we did a painting from a live model. Mine was looking pretty good until I got to the eyes. Since her eyes were difficult for me to see, I ended up making stylized eyes. (Exactly what I tried to keep my students from doing all those years.) But, it did look somewhat like her.

The last class was spent practicing hair and another portrait from a magazine. There was only an hour left when I started my magazine portrait and I was pretty happy with it. It was the best one so far. Unfortunately I ran out of time and won't be finishing it, since I would be stylizing the rest of the portrait if I did it from memory. (What memory?)

Oh, and I threw in a picture of a little girl I did when I was in high school. (Can't imagine that I kept it all these years and that I could actually find it.) See what I mean about my painting ability being high school level?

If you are ever on Pine Island, Florida, stop in to visit the Pine Island Art Association. They have a building on Matlacha where they meet and teach classes. Dianna Willman was the instructor for my portrait class. She is a very sweet lady, a good teacher and a patient person. (I just loved listening to her soft voice.) (I should practice speaking softly. Nah, too many years of trying to be heard in a noisy classroom. Why change now?)