The Machine

Work continues....my goal is to get this done by the end of the weekend. I'm pretty happy with how it's coming along. By the way, did you know pastels are forgiving? In other words it's possible to correct and change things as you go along (to some degree)...this is a very good thing!

Glimpses work continues....

The incredible photo above was taken by my good friend, Canace. If you examine it closely you may be able to figure out what this piece of machinery is. The minute I saw this photo I knew I wanted to paint it (and also get a copy to frame and give as a gift to my daughter).

I began work on the painting this morning. I'm laying in the darks first with many more layers to come. I suspect I won't be a slave to the original photo and take some artistic license in order to add unexpected swipes of colors here and there.

I realized this morning that I have about 8 weeks....count them - 8 weeks.....to get many paintings ready for the gallery show in March. I need to keep the pastels in hand and work at painting every day. I need to keep the meltdowns at bay by being diligent. Wish me luck!

This pastel painting is just about at the finished point. Hours....I'm telling you...hours were spent on it. While not entirely satisfied I am intrigued by this piece that forced me to stretch my artistic skills (beginner that they are). This piece might be the focal piece for that gallery show in March. We'll see....

Have I ever told you how much I love abstract art work? I must have mentioned it from time to time (grin). Anyway, last night I watched a video that I 'rented' from here. The video was "Acrylic Abstract Painting: The Evolving Image - Virginia Cobb". It amazed me as to how similiar my acrylic painting techniques are to hers...although Virginia is much more accomplished than me. I was inspired but instead of painting (it was late and I didn't want to clear off the paint table!) I grabbed a piece of breakdown printed cloth, some scraps and started the piece above. Nothing is stitched yet...but it will be.