February 2022: Best of January's Challenge

I participated in a Sktchy 30 Faces/30 Days challenge all of last month. The focus was on graphite and ink, alternating days. I occasionally went rogue, either switching mediums or using a preferred reference photo. It was a lot of fun though it did leave me chafing at the bit to resume slinging paint (two canvases are already on the easels as I write this on February 5th).

Happy New Year 2022

Or, as some of us have it, 2020.3 …. hoping all who read this are healthy and managing ok. I have started the new year with participating in all all-new 30 Faces/30 Days challenge.
In the meantime, my last oil painting of 2020, Inna’s Mom, saw me make major changes to my palette. My previous standard had been developed for the landscapes I had painted for many years:. The delicacy of this reference photo brought out how color mixes suitable for harsh daylight would not serve me well. I came up with a soft red violet of pthalo blue with madder lake, a soft bright blue for the background, and instead of using cadmium yellow in my skin tone mix I made a blend of hansa yello and Naples yellow. Here’s to continued playing with color!
I have added some new work to the Oils and Mixed Media pages. In February look for lots of new drawings!

December 2021: New Mixed Media Works

My new page of Mixed Media work is up! These are collage and paint on canvas; so far the four I have done are collage, then tinted acrylic mediums for underpainting, then water soluble oils on top. Currently on the easel are a couple that are collage plus layers of translucent acrylic glazes - look for those in January.
I have also added a couple of new portraits to the Graphite page.