my art

Painting for September 19

| emmapittson
september19
Face study no.11 – acrylic on panel, 6″ x 8″

I swear to you that I set out to produce something fast, loosey-goosey, and sketchy… and I crumbled and started smoothing things out again (which was actually pretty difficult to do over all that paint).

I also realized that I’m STARVING for colour, so… Barbie Pink backgrounds for everyone!

May have to re-work this piece.  It looks fine large, but as a thumbnail, well, I find that the errors are more apparent.

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Painting for September 18

| emmapittson
september18
Face study no. 10 – acrylic on panel, 6″ x 8″

Yes, I’m a bit behind in the “30 in 30” challenge, but I have a solid excuse: I came down with the flu on Friday, and haven’t had the energy to paint since then.

Actually, that’s not entirely true.  I did start a painting on Friday, but I was a) too sick to finish it, and b) so wrapped up in the details that I felt it deserved to be done properly.  I even tried to finish it Saturday night, but there’s still so much work to be done.  You can see a WIP of it on my Instagram feed.

This also highlights a particular problem I’m having with the “30 in 30” challenge: when given the opportunity, I will always hone in on the details.  But of course, a finished portrait has to take more into account than eyelashes or the shine on the lips.  You have to pay attention to the Big Picture.  Also, each painting ends up taking WAY too long!

For today’s painting, I forced myself to keep a more loose and “sketchy” look.  I still haven’t achieved it to my satisfaction, but I’m getting there!

What works for me:

  • the limited colour palette
  • the “patchier”, less refined paint strokes
  • her blue hair, just because

What doesn’t work for me:

  • the brush strokes of the hair, but then, you know how I hate dealing with hair…

What I learned with this painting:

  • Ultra Matte Medium is great, but maybe what I really need is Ultra Matte Gel?

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Painting for September 15

| emmapittson
september15
Face Study no.9 – acrylic on panel, 6″ x 8″

Aaaannd we’re back!  After a brief dalliance with oils, I went back to acrylics, and man, did I ever miss their optimistic and plastic-y aroma!

And I got all wound up in doing the details of her face and now I’m too tired to do the rest of the painting.  G’night, folks!

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Painting for September 14

| emmapittson
september14
Face Study no.8 – oil on panel, 6″ x 8″

I think I’ve come to the end of my very brief love affair with oil paints.  I feel like we were pressured into dating by well-meaning mutual friends, had an astonishingly great second date, and then the whole thing just fell apart soon afterwards and we realized we were better off as friends (I think you still owe me money, though).  I wonder if acrylics will take me back…

In all seriousness, it’s not as if I don’t like this painting (poor photography aside – fresh oils are a bitch to photograph).  It’s just… lacking in oomph.  And maybe it’s a little overcooked.