Working my way thru some Portraits

"Girl with the Russet Hair" is an acrylic painting of one of our models in the Independent Painters group. It was delightful painting her. The position of her hands and arms had me stumped for a while, and many concentrated hours of work in my studio finally got me through it. 

Laguna

This is a painting I worked on in tandem  with the prior painting above it. This is a model I have painted often, actually a favorite of mine. I always feel inspired painting her. This time she was wearing yellow pants that ballooned out at the legs. I eventually changed that to be a skirt. It's color, however, was delightful to work from. Through my process, it sometimes became bright clear yellow, and sometimes became more yellow orange, always in a response to what was happening in the other parts of the painting. In its early stages, the painting exhibited a beautiful blue background. While developing the piece, I was immersed in work by the Impressionist painters, especially their painted gardens. At the same time I had downloaded a wonderful app of all of John Singer Sargent's paintings, among them, wonderful fountains an sculpture in parks. These brought to mind a visit to Austin Texas, where my daughter-in-law, took us to a wonderful old magestic house and property where weddings are sometimes held. Not able to remain there to paint it that day, I contented myself with taking photos. All of that came to mind as a setting for my model, with the tall trees, distant water, and blues, greens, and lavenders become the perfect backdrop for this portrait. Again, my progress came slowly, tormented by her hand in her lap, and foreshortened arm. After a struggle during which other things were reworked as necessary to accommodate colors as they found themselves, I feel like I finally resolved the work to my liking.