Caryatid

"Caryatid," Acrylic on Panel, 30x40"

Here's the latest in my Boxed series.  I'm not sure this is as successful as the previous two, but I like the more limited palette.   Also, there's a nice sense of light in areas.  My goal is to do two paintings of each of the women who model for me.  I want to represent a variety of ethnicities, ages and body types.

Verge

"Verge," Acrylic of Board, 46x36"

I'm much happier with this second painting.  I love this pose - so evocative.

Graffiti Box

"Graffiti Box," Acrylic on Board, 40x30"

Here's the first entry in my new series.   I'm still refining by thinking, but here are the elements that are likely to end up in my eventual artist statement:

• women contained/constrained (by gender, by role, by environment, by culture...)
• the picture plane as a box (constraint) instead of a window

The model for this was the talented Jen Brown, who is a contortionist as well as an excellent figure model.

Flat

"Flat," Acrylic on Panel, 12x9"

I've been using myself as a guinea pig to practice skin tones in preparation for my new figurative series.  I think the face turned out pretty well on this one, though the neck got a bit muddy.  I titled it "Flat" because it looks like a mug shot.  Also, it's a good reflection of the way I feel right now, due to a cold.

I did two photo shoots this week to collect reference for my new series.  I got some great stuff & can't wait to start painting.  Expect to see the fledging paintings starting next week.

Memories of Dancing

"Memories of Dancing," Acrylic on Board, 24x36"

I had a great weekend in NYC visiting my sister and could hardly wait to get back to the studio.  This painting encompasses several of the things that I saw and found inspiring on my trip.

Wishing for Monet's Garden

"Wishing for Monet's Garden," Acrylic on Board, 36x24"

Here's a last painting to the end the month.  My sister was traveling this summer and took some fantastic photos while visiting Monet's garden.  It made me long for a place where I could cultivate my own inspiration.  I like how this ended up looking almost like a Tiffany window - good light.

I'm off to NYC on Thursday to visit my sister and to refuel creatively by touring the galleries and museums.  I suspect that it won't make my work NYC-caliber 'edgy', but it may be give me some new ideas.

Figure Study

"Figure Study," conte on paper

The model showed up yesterday - hooray.  I like this one quite a bit.  Once I added the background elements, it really started to pop.  The model is amazing too.  She's ~70 (?), blind and absolutely gorgeous.