Welcome back! The "Monica Lee" (tentative title but looking for another) is taking form very slowly. I am getting ready for Silicon Valley Open Studio days beginning May 3, I only have a little time now and then to paint. Ah, the artist's life! Still a few hours' work to go here I think, adding some more working parts to the fishing gear on this craft. Thanks for stopping by, Carol

Hi, Studio Visitor, This image depicts the painting after several hours more work. Close to my idea but needing more shadow definition. Also worried that my camera lens is blurred even after careful cleaning, an effect I see in the last few photos. Now comes the time to make hard choices, what to include, what to omit, to express my original concept. Thanks for stopping by, Carol

Hi, Does this picture look like it was painted with mercurichrome? Does anyone even use that stuff anymore (for little skin scrapes and scratches)? It's a little embarrassing to post these intermediate stages here for the world to laugh at.  (Or at least those special folks who check into this blog regularly.) But I know others are curious. I know I am always fascinated by watching others paint. Anyhow, we are at that "how did I go so wrong?" stage: it happens every time, no matter the final outcome. If anyone has any questions or comments, you can post them here without registering or joining anything. Just click on "comments" below. Thanks for stopping by, Carol

Welcome to my studio blog! I am getting excited about this painting. The sketch has been done on the watercolor paper, shown in the photo. I hope to make this painting very warm in color and lots of contrasting value. It means turning a mid-day lighting situation into the low light of evening, when the longer, redder rays of sunlight are dominant. Keep checking in for new developments! Carol

Welcome to my studio! Here is a reference photo I took about two months ago when I visited the fishing port in Eureka, CA. I loved the complementary shapes of massed darks and lights in this image. Can you see them too? The darks are mainly in the right side plus lower left area. The light area is smaller, covering mainly the upper left area extending somewhat into the lower right. Now I am in the process of working out my composition and making notes about aspects of the image that I want to emphasize or change.

 As in this photo, I often crop and define my basic composition with the camera view finder. Seeing the world through the camera has helped me "see pictures" much better than I used to. I used a paper view finder then, but not nearly as often as I use my camera now. Once you have your painting skills developed, identifying your artistic  strengths and weaknesses becomes important to becoming a better painter. Once known, they can be worked with consciously.

Anyway I am very excited about expressing my delight with this intriguing fishing craft! Check back here for the next stage soon. Thanks for stopping by, Carol