Newest, Nicholas R.

This is Nicholas. It was a real challenge to get a good photograph of him. He had such a sweet disposition and was very content playing with his trains. He wasn't at all interested in having his pictures taken. The toy trains in the portrait seemed to be his favorites. We settled on this photo but his body was in an awkward position so I put the body from another photo with this face and used a different background. His mother said it captured him perfectly. I wanted to capture him the way he is now for years to come - and I think I have done so.

Any difference?

I am finished now. I darkened the lower corner areas to draw the eye higher. I also pushed the orchid back a bit. I din't want to eliminate the table legs completely since it is her grandmother's. I also worked on the hands and shadows a bit and softened some lines in her skirt. These are small changes but I think it helps. Now that I look at the photo, I might take back the flower a bit more. I used a glaze so it might just be a reflection that makes it look lighter.

Two more in Portrait Society of Atlanta Juried Fall Exhibition

Both of these paintings, "Amanda with Violin" and "Syah", have won previous awards. They have just been chosen as finalists in the Portrait Society of Atlanta Juried Fall Exhibition. The juror for the show is Edward Jonas, an internationally known artist and sculptor. I will post more on this later - I'm tired.

Blairsville Plein Air Paintings

Here are the plein air paintings that I did last week in Blairsville. Anita Louise West did a workshop for Atlanta Fine Arts League in the beautiful North Georgia mountains. West is a wonderful landscape painter who lives in Sante Fe with her husband, Albert Handell, another well respected artist. It was a wonderful and beautiful week to spend with a fun group of artists. I paint a lot of portraits and I absolutely love plein air painting. It's so nice to go out with my easel and come home with a painting. These paintings were done at Meeks Park and Vogel State Park and one was painted on a rainy day at a Crane Creek Vineyard.

Almost there

This is a portrait I have been working on for  while. I signed it today but now I see some things I will change. I will post it again when I make the changes so you can see the difference. These are the children of a dear friend of mine, Alexis Vear, a gifted singer/ songwriter. Many things in the portrait signify things that are important to her and her family. Her mother grows beautiful orchids, the piano represents her music, the picture in the background was her grandmother's, as well as the table. I added the box and the shell on the table for composition - the shell represents renewal. BTW, if you would like to know more about Alexis' music visit www.AlexisVear.com.