Man with the Hand

First figure painting. We had a model early in the semester, but I don't have a photo of it. Actually I think it would be a good thing to post because there's a huge difference between that painting (2nd class I think) and this one.

This photo doesn't show the shadows accurately - too light.

Ok - self critique time - what I like - I captured the pose and his relaxed hand, I like his left jean leg and the folds, also his boot, curve of the chair arm. I overworked this because I finished it in the studio without the model. I did it because I wanted to try different things with the skin tones and I learned a lot doing that.

Dislike - it's overworked :). I think it would be fine as an illustration, but that isn't what I am shooting for - the overall feel is too stiff.

But I just signed up for a summer Life Painting class at the MFA - this isn't through the school, but through the museum. The artist who's teaching it does some great work - Samuel Gareginyan - and I am looking forward to it. I hope the studio is air-conditioned because the last few classes at the SMFA were uncomfortably warm.

Amaryllis

I started an oil painting class at the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) in Boston in January 09. It was a great class and I got so much out of it. My teacher, Abby Zonies is a fantastic teacher. I had done one oil painting years ago, before my son was born, in one of my attempts to get back to art but I really didn't know what I was doing.

I can't say enough good things about Abby's teaching - she is positive, but gives solid critique and teaches the basics really well. She has a good sense of how much each student can really take in, and tailors her individual comments to the student's level.

This is the first painting I did in my studio after my first class. I really thought it was terrible the day I did it, but when I looked at it again a few weeks later I saw things that I liked.

I've discovered that I do this with almost every painting. After about 3 hours I start getting frustrated and think that what I'm doing is a piece of crap. Sometimes it is, but most of the time if I just walk away and come back the next day I can see it more realistically. There have been times when I don't do that, and then I either over work it, or get so aggravated that I destroy it with big sweeping paint strokes.

The background on this painting is a problem - but I like the vase and some parts of the flower.