Here is my latest painting. "Dance School" is a mix media painting of pastel over watercolor. I love the story , who is the woman in the window? It's a little haunting and mysterious. I think the dark ceiling adds to the drama.

The color palette is limited to shades of orange to browns with touches of mauve and blue. There is a strong architectural element to the building and the window.

What I'm trying to decide is if I will use this as the sketch for an oil. For sure if I do this in oil I won't be changing anything but the lettering on the sign. I would be very careful with the perspective on the lettering.

I am using paint to tell a story. It's up to you to fill in the characters and story line.

Here is my completed painting. The background was muted to give some aerial perspective. I had to take out the ashtray and the cigarette pack. I could not get the ashtray to sit on the table. Yes, painting 3D in a 2D media at times can be difficult, or in this case impossible. I thought that the clothes were a little boring, so I added some color to them, picking up the red of the table and some lighter blue for high lights. I could go on painting this forever, but I've reached that point where I don't think I can paint it any better. As a life long learner, there will always be room for improvement. But, I am happier with these faces and hands. So yippie for that. Now it has to get frame and then get started on a new painting. I have an idea for a new "voyeur painting", so it's back to watercolor to get the idea out of my head and on to paper.

I am really starting to like this painting although I am my worst critic. As a hobby painter I see what the professional artist are doing and think maybe I should get some lessons somewhere. But, when I look at all the paintings I've done I see that they have a distinctive style. What I like about this painting is that the faces and hands are more believable. Faces and hands have always been a nightmare for me. Now it's the cigarette pack and the ashtray I can't get the perspective right so they aren't sitting on the table correctly. I am almost ready to take them out of the painting. If it doesn't work in my next painting session...out they go. I have much more work to do and it does have to dry before the WRAP show. Well, I better get going.

Cafe Intervention

This is the start of the painting. Here is where I start to change how this painting will look. The background is too vivid which doesn't show aerial perspective of distance. I will change this to blue/gray hues. Your eye goes directly to the tire on the truck. The main focus should be on the people. Next, the color of her dress is too garish and gaudy, this happened because I did follow one of my basic rules, limit the colors and blend them. Well I am on my way with this painting. It will be exciting to see how it will change tomorrow.

Cafe Intervention

Here is the original sketch, it was put on with permanent marker and then covered with two coats of white gesso. Through trial and error I found that the sketch has to been coated or it will show through and require a lot paint to stop it. But if you are like me and need to see your sketch for awhile this is really nice. The marker sketch will be completely covered usually by the time the underpainting is done.

Cafe Intervention

Necessity or procrastination, could be the motivation for what might be my "Manic Panic" phase of painting. Not having a current painting to show for critique night at the monthly meeting of the Waukesha Creative Art League (WCAL) I went into this phase and produced "Cafe Intervention". This is a 22 by 30 inch watercolor on Arches 400 lb cold press paper.

This watercolor is the sketch for an oil painting entry into this year's Wisconsin Regional Art Program (WRAP). So far I've sketched this painting onto canvas (36 by 48 inches) and the underpainting is done. This is where I start to change the color composition. I will be posting the progress of this oil painting, which should help to keep me on track. I already do not like the color of her dress and the vividness of the background scene. The dress color wasn't a mix from the color palette I use and it really looks garish. Some aerial perspective is needed for the background to make the street scene appear to be distant. We will see where this goes, it will be interesting to see how much it changes before it's completed. I will be posting photos of the progress.