Alla Prima Portrait: Nurse Linda (Oil 20 x 16)

Today at Punta Gorda's portrait studio there were two models. They were sisters Linda and Cher. Linda is a nurse and Cher a teacher. I happened to have set up at the site for Linda when they showed up.

Croquis Cafe -- A Useful Tool for You to Train Yourself in Drawing

If you are interesting in portrait or figure painting/drawing, Croquis Cafe is a very useful tool to you (http://www.onairvideo.com/Croquis_Cafe.html). It is On Air Company's product published online every week. If you click the subscribe button, they will notify you each week. Otherwise, you have to go online to get it. On each video clip, a nude model, varying in gender and age, will pose several 1-minute postures, a 2-minute one, and a 5-minute one. During intervals they will adviertise their art supplies products and ask for donations. Of course, it's up to you.

The one I worked with today is their Week 98 video clip with a model named Tamara. Tamara is a middle-aged woman and a little age-appropriately chubby. As a matter of fact, I love to work on models in their natural state no matter if they are tall or short, heavy or lean. How many people look like Cindy Crawford in real life? 

For me, 1-minute pose is for training myself to grasp the image with a few simple lines. 2-minute poses allow you to show some relationships. Today, I tried ink-wash for the 5-minute pose. I am sure I could do better if I practice more. 

In self-training, a wooden figure mannequin will help.

1-min.

2-min.

2-min.

2-min.

5-min.

En Plein Air: Driving All the Way to the Sea (Oil 10 x 10)

This morning I went to Fort Myers Beach. After leaving my car on the Art Association parking lot, I crossed the street to the beach. My original purpose was to find some sun bathing people lying there and paint figures in the sun. When I recalled, I realize the idea was subconsciously influenced by the Joaquin Sorolla Y Bastida exhibition which I watched in New York. I was so impressed by his plein air studies on the beach. Very few masters in art history have ever worked like him on beach. Unfortunately, I saw many people walking on the beach but not a single sun bathers there. Maybe it was too early or kind of chilly. At the same time, I was so surprised that Coconut RV was packed full. There were RVs parked almost on the beach. Therefore, I decided to paint the scene I saw there.

Ink Wash: Foxtrot

En Plein Air: Red-Roof House (Oil 10 x 16)

I have known the house for quite a while because it is on my bike route. Also, I have harbored this idea of painting it for long. The house is located on a secluded corner of Louis Ave., very quiet for its one side is on the canal. Very little traffic. the whole view gives people a bucolic feeling even though it is not quite in the country. Yesterday, when I was riding my bike, I noticed it looked beautiful in the setting sun. That is why I went there in the afternoon. By the time I set up, it was past 3:30 PM, so basically I was painting into the effect. It took about two hours.

It belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Walters, who were very friendly and came over to watch me paint it.

Alla Prima Portrait: Becky

Today, There was only one model at VAC, Punta Gorda. She was new to me. Her name is Becky, who lives in Punta Gorda. I got a corner position. It was almost a profile.

En Plein Air: The Hut Tropical Garden and Artist Lori at Work

Yesterday afternoon when I was deciding where I should go the next day, I received a message from Penny who planned to teach her class at the Hut Tropical Garden and asked me if I was interested in joining them. That, of course, made my decision-making easier. However, I remembered the wrong time and arrived at the Hut earlier than scheduled, so I told myself "why not simply do a quick sketch?" Even though I painted the bridge before, it looked different this morning. I did it really quick, only an hour and a half.

When I finished the painting, Penny's group had already started their class. By the time I moved to their site, there was only an hour left before lunch time. After setting up, I got only a half hour. I decided to paint Lori because she was in the sun. Painting a figure in the sun was what was on my mind. I barely laid the outline and blocked in large chunks of color when lunch time came. We ate at the Hut restaurant. The food was good, but the lunch took a little too long. By the time we went back to the site, there was, again, one hour left before critique time. So I was really rushing it and, as you can tell, it was a second quick sketch of the day. I left the umbrella blank. I don't plan to finish it for I like the way it is.