Yet another small painting

Another small painting (13 x 18 cm) on pastel mat.

After all this work, I get to eat my subjects...;-)

Another small painting

This is another small (13 x 18 cm) painting, on Pastelmat.

I love to do these - instant gratification. They take only a few hours, and they are great for sharpening the eye and the skills.
Plus, if they don't turn out right, no great loss... :-)

Commissioned Work

This pastel painting is called "The Four Guardians of Kung Fu" and was commissioned by a gentleman with a passion for martial arts. The animals' colours and respective positions are fixed, which made the composition challenging. The symbols in the center represent the name of his dojo.

Painted on specially prepared board, 60cm x 60cm. Private collection.

The Joy of Daily Painting

In October 2011 I attended a workshop by Gaye Adams called "The Joy of Daily Painting".

The idea is to do small paintings in a couple of hours, to sharpen your skills and keep you "fluid".

Gaye is a great teacher and an accomplished painter, and has worked extensively in pastels. She lives in B.C., Canada.

These are the results of my efforts. Three small paintings measuring 18 x 13cm each. The painting with the limes is in a private collection.

Series (continuation)

Here is Portales de Chascomus #2.
Also painted on sanded paper mounted on foam core, measuring 30 x 40 cm.

Series

Painting a "series" is fun and interesting.
On my last trip to Argentina I visited a town called Chascomus, with a very interesting history and old colonial architecture. I became fascintated with the old buildings, particularly the doors, so I took a lot of photos.
I will paint a series of doors and portals of Chascomus, hoping to capture their unique style and the mystery behind them.
Here is the first one, called Portals of Chascomus #1.
Painted on sandpaper mounted on foam board 30 x 45 cm.

Italian Town

This is my first "big" painting, the largest I have worked on so far.

I have a fondness for medieval towns, they feel so "organic" to me. Spontaneous and unplanned, they grow out of the hillsides at a very human scale, that excludes cars and other modern contraptions. The narrow winding roads, made for people, carts, horses (and the occasional herd of sheep), and the houses that give them shape growing out of the ground at angles that make drawing perspective a nightmare.

I created this painting on PastelMat, using soft pastels. It measures 0.5m x 0.7m.

Girl with Orange Hat - portraiture workshop

In mid February I attended a workshop on Portraiture with Dianna Ponting, and here is the result.
It was a very interesting class, with great people and a super teacher. Lots of learning, at many levels.

I can't take full credit for this painting as Dianna helped quite a bit, her intent being to send you home with something you co-created that can be used as reference material for future works.

A great class, I recommend it to anyone. I wish I was going with Dianna to Europe (specially Greece) for her workshops on plain-aire painting...

It is painted on suede board with soft pastels and measures 0.41 x 0.51m

The Funny Farm keeps growing

Meet Rosie, the newest addition to the funny farm.

It is painted on PastelMat with soft pastels and measures 0.3 x 0.24m

More fun with complementary colours

Meet Harry, a Pig with a Purpose.
He is part of my growing "funny farm" which includes so far 3 sheep and this pig.
Watch for coming attractions: goats, chickens, ducks, pigs. All in fabulous and fashionable complementary colours.
Art doesn't have to be so serious; some fun is allowed and encouraged.

It is painted on PastelMat with soft pastels and measures 0.3 x 0.24m