Well, folks, can you believe that Christmas is going to be here in a matter of days? I sure the hell can’t. I am hardly prepared. Not just in the usual: I haven’t-got-all-the-Christmas-gifts-together sort of way, but also in the: I-am-so-not-ready-to-submit-my-applications kind of way. Alright, that’s not totally true. I have been busting my butt getting this statement of purpose/intent together, while still working in the studio almost every single day. I have four paintings that I plan on completing so I at least have the option of submitting them in my application portfolio. I need to photograph them before I can leave to spend some holiday time with my fiance’s family in PA. Ahhhh! SO MUCH TO DOOOOOO!
Today, I focused on this painting:
The light hitting the canvas was pretty yellow when I took the picture 
I am pretty sure it’s 99.9% completed. I let it hang out for a while literally on the shelf in my studio so I could glance at it from time to time. I think I will give myself half an hour in the morning tomorrow to do any final work and write it off to the *Done* pile!
Ironically, this little bird has been my biggest challenge in the entire composition! I can’t seem to get it quite right. I’m so close, now… so close…
Working on this painting has been an interesting experience. I have done drawings of my niece before, but this was the first painting I have done with her as a model that is included in my main theme and focus — meaning it’s not just a figure study.
I have notoriously avoided portraits. Mainly because I didn’t want to deal with the annoyance of needing to create a work of art that gave a likeness of someone specific. Also, because I didn’t want to offend anyone if I made a drawing/painting/print of ‘them’ that they didn’t like. Who wants to be that person? Not me! Since I have been working with images of myself and my niece (and fiance, for that matter!), I have had to deal with my own issues with portraying a likeness and considering the impact of the person modeling for the work on the subject matter I am attempting to deal with.
When the drawing is wrong, sometimes you have to literally scratch out your right eye.
Self-portraiture is something I am pretty used to (when I was taking figure drawing classes, I was my own personal, free model for homework assignments!) However, it’s still kind of new and scary to be dealing with these issues literally through representations of myself. I guess that’s a good thing. If new things don’t scare you at least a little bit, you’re doing something wrong.
Again, the light is pretty yellow here. Bummer.
I am happy to be working with floral pattern. Yay! And also to continue dealing with this whole captured-bird-symbol thing in an interior space.
