I have got some more work done on this today, I added more wrinkles and it looks like I got a bit carried away with that so I might take some out when it is dry enough.  I have still only been adding shadow and highlight in raw umber and white to the hand but I have started to added colour to the grapes.  I have started off with cadium yellow mixed really thinly with stand oil  and then blended white in too.  I will then start to add layers of sap green, also thinned right down with stand oil and, hopefully, they will start to look like grapes. 

I have just renewed the picture because that last one really wasn't as it should be.  I did add some more sap green paint to the grapes, they are starting to take shape

 

Had to start another because the other one isn't dry enough to work on (well I put a couple of white blobs of paint on it but that was all).  I dont know if you can tell what this one is going to be, I know because I'm doing it.  This is just the underpainting and, with this one, I did roughly sketch in the details. 

How did I come up with this one?  It was an accident, I was sitting there looking at a blank canvas wondering what to do and I decided I fancied a grape so I picked them up to pull one off ( or two, or three) and this is what I saw.  A wrinkled old hand holding a bunch of lovely smooth grapes.  I am hoping that I can keep the light right in the middle there where it is at the moment.  The only colours on here at the moment are raw umber and titanium white (there is a small amount of black in there too but it wasn't supposed to be, I stick my brush in the wrong bit of the pallette).

 

This is the work that I have managed to get done today, started this yesterday but all I had done was a bit of a sketch with the paint.  I dont actually know if you can call what I do sketching but I dont really know what else to call it.  Originally I started this is raw umber and white but I decided that it would be better to use lamp black and white.  That means it will take a month of Sundays to dry before I can do some more on it.  I have found a little trick though and that is I use the fast drying white and that does seem to speed all the paints drying time if you mix it with it.  I dont know if you can tell who it's going to be yet,  you will be able to, hopefully, when it's finished though. 

 

What's happening?  Sorry I haven't been on here for a few days, there's a very good reason for that too.  I couldn't paint, no motivation and I dont know why.  I have almost ruined the last one that I put on here but today I managed to pull it back a little and will have another go at it tomorrow.  I had to start this new one today so that I had a break from the other.  I have started it in much the same way as I started Samuel L.  You see the dark line right at the top of the canvas that was where it started.  I put that line there and then the other line going down the page.  I reached the eyebrow bit and then started to add some white in.  I have left the eyes blank at the moment as I dont have to do them just yet.  The nose it a bit odd again and is definately not the same as it is on my reference picture.  Hopefully I will be back in the swing of now and will be able to get loads done tomorrow and resume updates daily. 

 

OK I wasn't going to put this on tonight because I have mucked it up somewhat but, I did agree with myself, that I would be putting them on here daily warts and all from now on.  So here the "sorry devil" is.... I have messed up one of the eyes (the muddy one in the right hand corner) and the nose still isn't right (too fat in the middle).  Now it's got to dry again before I can attempt to put those things right.  Also I couldn't bear leaving the background white so I painted it in, perhaps I'll do that another day.  Tomorrows another day eh?

 Just realised I haven't loaded on the photo of today's work so will be back in a while........you can't get the staff you know!!

 

This is the second day of the painting that I started yesterday with that aweful sketch done in paint.  I have continued to block in the features and shape of the face using raw umber and titanium white.  I haven't done much with the eyes just added a couple of very light layers.  I have also started to add the hair to her starting at the top as you can see.  Her hair is auburn so I am going to make that really bright but blend it in to a black background (as usual).  The face is that shape because the hair is falling on to it and it should look ok once all that is on there.  That's all for now folks and I will not be putting any more on here until Tuesday as I am off to Torquay for a weekend. 

 

In all of the other paintings that I have put on here I dont think I have ever put a photo on of the very start of a portrait.  I probably shouldn't have put this one on either but "what the hell, go for it".  I sketch in paint, this is just using raw umber really thinned down and marking out where there is shadow.  Sometimes I do it the other way and wash raw umber all over the canvas then mark out the sketch with white.  From this sketch I can stand back and see whether I have the nose, mouth and eyes in the right place.  At the moment the nose looks too small but once I start adding the white paint that should be ok.  I have started to enlarge the eyes a bit too and, I think I will make them even bigger.  Hopefully the face will be recogniseable in the end. 

 

We had a brilliant holiday and, I am hoping, that we will return to that area of France next year because we didn't get to see everywhere we wanted to.  We were in the Languedoc/Roussillon area and it is full of artists. 

This painting was one that I started before I went and finished when I got home.  I think it speaks for itself, it's a red pepper.  There are about five layers of red paint on this with some raw umber and sage green.  I tried to put highlights of white on to the pepper but it didn't work so, instead, I put in lowlights.

Hope you are all well and thank you again for taking the time to look in my diary.