Painting and Practice and Studies

Here is something that I bet you didn't know I did; draw and paint portraits. Yet you will never see these included on my webpage or on the wall of my studio because they are my practices and studies.

I attend a portrait session once a week on Thursday evenings. Sometimes I draw and sometimes I paint. Most art teachers will tell you that figure drawing and portraits are the most demanding of painting subjects. And it's true. That is why I do it.

There is nothing like the practice portraits to hone observational skills, to immediately see what is wrong and to learn to handle criticisms rejection (that doesn't look like me...or that looks like me but I don't like it..) 

In my studio painting practice, I develop many preliminary sketches of my still lifes and laundry lines designs and I paint with oil on panel with my trusty (not rusty) pallet knife usually over the course of many many hours for one painting. Then there are Thursday nights; when I paint on un-stretched oil primed linen with brushes and alkyd fast drying oil paints with only 2 hours to catch an image. I consider this training and skill building. Much like a jazz musician will play warm up scales or a classic piece to keep up a skill level , I also go back to my observational training and pick up the brush for more classic studies; portraits and landscapes.

Out of the constraints of my studio, I do not feel so pressured to make a painting. I just pick up that brush and see what my hands will do. And the hands will do what the hands do. It's a good feeling.

PS - this weekend is tax free weekend in Massachusetts. That includes art! Buying a painting you love is a good feeling and not paying the sales tax is a cherry on top. Celebrate!