I have been so busy painting that I have forgotten to post. So to catch up (and show people I haven’t disappeared from the face of the planet) here are some finished larger works from the first few months of 2023, with a few notes on each.
Dadcore
Here is the source photo for this one, so you can see how I cropped it down.
This is an almost full sheet (20×30) so rather large for me. But I felt the amount of detail I wanted to include required more room.
I loved the shadow on the tree, and the high contrast of the image. Also, this man just made me smile. I just loved his attire and his stance as he leaned against this tree, watching his child compete at a local school race.
Chain Reaction
I worked primarily from a black and white image for this, so I thought it best to share that reference. Again, I really wanted to highlight the sunlight and contrast of the image. As well, I just loved their expressions.
The Grass Is Always Greener
Here is the source photo for this one. I loved the diagonal of the fence, and the symbolism behind what “a white picket fence” represents. My primary goal was to give her a little more “glow” and leave the open space leading down into the side of face.
She was accepted into the 2023 GWS National Show, so I will be framing her shortly and sending her off down south.
The Road Ahead
I show the reference here, so everyone can see how I cropped the image. I am working more on including landscape imagery in my backgrounds, to tell a story. As you can tell, I removed a lot of the details and moved them around to achieve a better design.
