Study: Girl With Green Hat (16" x 20" Oil)

A few weeks back, I followed my painting teacher's advice: spend more time painting, less time on the initial drawing. Tried it again today.

In all honesty, I prefer to begin with a more solid drawing ... that's just my comfort zone. But in Ismael's class, I'll follow his advice, to see where it leads.

"Harlan": Horse Portrait (16" x 20" Pastel)

A commissioned portrait of a very handsome (and well-loved) horse named Harlan. My process:

• Take and edit photos 
• Do pen and ink sketches, to work out pose and colors (see below). I liked some of the sketches, so I also turned them into notecards. 
• Decide on a favorite (the owner chose the tan background).

This was done as a Christmas present. On Christmas morning, here's the feedback I received:

"Your painting is a HUGE hit!!!!! Nicole loves it, and also loves the cards!"

That was the goal:) Merry Christmas, Nicole!

Study: Young Girl (18" x 24" Oil Portrait)

"Paint looser! Less detail! You're making a painting, not an architectural drawing ..."

Ismael Checo says this to me every week. So today, I tried to be more spontaneous ... something completely different for me.

A good exercise -- less accurate, more painterly? And ... completely out of my comfort zone.

Study: 'Susan' (Seated Nude): 18" x 24" Oil

In Dean Fisher's class, we draw the model to get the proportions right, on a neutral mid tone -- a cool gray-violet -- before we begin painting. I like the drawing, even though hands, feet, and arms still need work.

Re: skin tones, Dean says to paint the shadows cooler, so the lights read warmer. His advice helped to create a stronger painting!