Portrait Commission

Just to keep me on my toes:  thought a double portrait was quite a challenge, so it's interesting times with a three sibling portrait.  I'm playing with two different ideas at this stage, a single canvas of all three:

and a triptych:

I've also been playing with long tall Betty a bit:  all sorts of issues with her left eye (placed way too low in the first one, and then taking ages to get looking like she's a nice friendly camel and not, eyes rolling back in the head, about to bite you), but I think I've worked it through.

And this is the last of the 'At the River'  three: I'd wanted to get it finished to put into Studio 12 this saturday when I put the others in, but 'twas not to be.

Finally some Finishes, I think

Well the first two at least.  Have to say, I'm still tempted to do a little more with the lights on the shoes in the first one, and a bit gentling down the lights on the cheeks and eyes of the lad in the cap.  But enough.  They're signed and done.  yay.

 Had a bit of a torrid time with the girl at the river (the first one of this was also a bit of a struggle):  this one involved utterly stuffing it on saturday by over-zealous blending and removal of the green stripes on her singlet, and then trying to come back from that on sunday's session.  I think its better now, and am loath to do much more to it in case the same thing gremlins get busy, so it may be left as a sketch type one.
Quality of this photo's not great as I was finishing up long after dark on sunday so this is all a bit wobbly on a long exposure. Lucy's nearly done now too:  just a little bit more on her top lips and a few smuges to the sky and clouds.  I'll miss her when she's finished.

kiddie winks

Wanted to finish something today, as it seems a long time since I've done that.  It was a toss up between camels and kids and I decided to go with the kids, mainly because that's the group I want to hang at next month's change over at the gallery and I've sort of promised a client who missed out on one at the exhibition that there's stuff coming soon.  You'd think I'd be over kids, given that I spend most of week with them.  Clearly a glutton for punishment. 
And I'm not even sure if I did finish one:  the long one, Recess II, might be, but I need some time away to be sure.

little bits of progress

Only had the chance to paint on Sunday this weekend, and it took me a while to get into it:  must be the change of season or something (winter is officially here as we had our first fire of the year last night).

no ends but

The top one's part of the 'recess' series; kind of thought I'd enjoy painting this and have.  Bottom's part of the tree climbing narrative: the first of a series of small boards, but the problems I had with sky and leaves on this are still not resolved, so it might be the first and the last.  We'll see.  I'd hoped to do them alla prima, but clearly not to be, at least not with this one.

beginnings, middles and nearly an end

Big Camel Time

Big canvasses and in a big way.  Still quite a long way to go on both of these ladies (why does it always surprise me how much longer big pictures take  to get the paint down . . . ?) but really enjoying it all again after the hiatus.

Also thinking about a small series on boards of the tree climbing ones, which seems to have such a strong narrative as well as the compositional interest.