Studio painting of Morning Sea and Sky

60cm x 80cm   Oil on canvas   Studio piece

How I work on my studio pieces

This is the way how I process my studio work. The emotion of the image is the key information to me. It doesn't work with photos. I don't mind if both of the plein air and studio work aren't look exactly the same. Its the mood that I'm looking for again...

Studio painting of Sunlight

60cm x 80cm
Oil on canvas
Studio work
Base on my plein air studies, I began to do my studio pieces yesterday. This is the first one. It looks almost done but I'll stop and let it breath while I keep working on the other one. I maybe go back and do some retouches or any adjustments if I feel like to. I need to have at least 4 studio pieces of the size like this done end of May. 

Nude study with green scalf on shoulder

36cm x 46cm
Oil on canvas

Portrait of Venelina

45cm x 53cm
Oil on canvas
Although the color is still too cold but there's a bit improvement today and I'm happy with it. My sitter will pose for me regularly. I hope I'll get her skin tone correctly within 5 paintings' time. 

Nude study with purple head scalf

36cm x 46cm
Oil on canvas
I think this study is a bit overworked. I really like how it looked when I just worked for an hour. Too late! Well, besides the subject itself, I do like very much the back ground color. The shadow of the head makes it very interesting. 

Nude study with green pillow

36cm x 46cm
Oil on canvas
For my model, this is definitely a comfortable pose compared to the previous one. We spent 2 and half an hour on this study this morning. I think for the moment I enjoy keeping those big chunk of colors on my canvas. Have to flow with my feelings!

Nude study with head scalf

36cm x 46cm
Oil on canvas
When we began to set the pose this morning, I didn't know my sitter has bad back. Well, the first hour was the longest pose we had then she needed to take constant breaks. I felt so sorry for her. I told her that tomorrow we'll choose a comfortable pose otherwise not only she suffers, I couldn't work either... : ( While I was painting, my sitter tended to lin to her right shoulder. I didn't want to correct her because I could see that she was trying so hard. So, I repainted and tried to follow her pose... You know what, I can tell you now that this is really not a good idea to follow! Too much headache! And, I'm so sorry, my dear sitter, I made you suffer like this!

Nude study with black boa

36cm x 46cm
Oil on canvas
This is a two hours work done this morning. My sitter took 2 more pics of my working progress. Please see the following...

After 1 and half hours...

This is how it looks after 1 hour working.

Portrait of Venelina in progress

45cm x 53cm
Oil on canvas
This is a three hours work done this afternoon. And I'll need about two more hours to finish it. My sitter Venelina and I ran into each other while I was doing plein air at Buttonwood Bay last month. There's a sense of serenity when she talks. She is so calm with every thing. I wish I could be like that too!!! I'm too emotional...: )

Nude study with standing pose

Oil on canvas
This is a three hours study I did this morning. Sometimes, or most of the times I struggle to put down my brush. I feel like the work will always need a little extra effort. Then, very often I regre what I did after. It's a constant struggle. Like this study, I really like how it looks now but somehow I'm not very happy with some details thought that I can do better. Should I move on? Or, should I continue?

Portrait of Jenko

45cm x 53cm
Oil on canvas
This is a four hours work.
While painting my sitter, Jenko, we were talking about weakness. I think my biggest problem is that I'm not bold enough to use COLORS. I'm so careful that I almost scared myself out of canvas. I'm making progress but I'm not sure it's efficiency enough. Well, this is the second portrait of Jenko. I told him that this one definitely is better than the last one that I painted last year. I'll do another portrait of Jenko in about 2 months time. I should remember to add good colors so I can get  closer to his skin tone.

Nude Study 418

33cm x 45.5cm
Oil on canvas

Nude study 418 in progress

33cm x 45.5cm
Oil on canvas
We spent 2 hours on this study this morning. Tomorrow my sitter comes back and we will work for another 2 to 3 hours. Hopefully it will come out the way I want!

Portrait Katrina still in progress

45cm x 53cm
Oil on canvas
This is a 6 hour's work. Its skin tone is much more closer to my sitter's. I think in general, I tend to paint too light the skin color. It looks ok now but it needs more warmer color. It is not finished yet. I want to add maybe 1 to 2 more hours to have more details. It's a steady progress I feel it. 

Portrait Jenko in Progress

45cm x 53cm
Oil on canvas
Time is limited. This is the first two hours' work. Jenko is one of my early sitters last year at my 100 portrait studies project. I'm glad that he agrees to come back to pose for me. I felt a little sleepy at the beginning of the session since I didn't sleep well last night but soon, I felt energetic. Guess, I love all of my sitters and I enjoy enormously working with them. The conversation was fantastic and most of the times I made myself laugh too. The portrait came out well. I expect to add some high light and have more warmer color at our next session. I just have to remind myself to not to overwork!

Portrait Diana still in progress...

45cm x 53cm
Oil on canvas
I hesitate to upload this work but guess I want to and I have to because it is the way should be no matter what. Its all about the process. I told my sitter that I'll have to start over and do another portrait of her in couple months time. It's the third session and I still can't finish it. Maybe I wasn't concentrating. We talked a lot and I really enjoy having her accompany. If I should find an excuse for it, that would be the one. I talked too much and wasn't paying attention to my progress. Sometimes, I struggle. I struggle on making decision whether I should stop(I don't want to use the words"give up") this work and move on or keep working on it until I'm satisfied.  Maybe I'm running out of my patience. This time,  I choose to move on because (another excuse??) I did learn something from it and I believe I will do better the next one. No matter what outcome, I just have to move on and keep working! Oh! Friend of mine send me a music video called Soldier of Love by Sade. I can change the name to "Soldier of Art"! Yes. It fits perfectly. Be Brave! Soldier! ; )

Afternoon air

15.5cm x 22.5cm
Oil on panel
The color of this plein air picture looks brighter than my original work. Usually I take picture of my work with natural light because my studio light tends to make my pictures bluish. The color of cloud, sky part looks closer to my original color but the bottom sea looks too green. And if you compare to the picture I took from the painting scene. You find that the line that separates the sea and sky is pretty dark. I don't like it at all. It feels like a paper cut to me. So I make them melt into each other. Is it a right thing to do? I don't know? There's no rules and I just like it this way! And by the time I almost half way finished this work, the cloud didn't look the same anymore. What you see isn't exactly what you get! Unless you paint with a picture but I won't suggest you to copy a picture because you need to feel the movement of the cloud, the atmosphere, the sun light...etc...

Nude study with green and white

35.5cm x 46cm
Oil on panel
This is a three hours' study. I told my friend sitter that I really love to just paint what I see and how I feel. Its very painful to constant think about the right skin tone and the result mostly makes me feel frustrated. It means that the work comes out bad and it's too stressful. This morning, I did this study without thinking too much of everything and I felt much more relaxed. Although the skin tone isn't very right but I like it. Feeling great this morning! And I hope this wonderful feeling extended to this afternoon's work!

Under the Trees

17.5cm x 25.5cm
Oil on panel

Portrait Katrina in Progress

45cm x 53cm
Oil on canvas
This is the work of first three hours. I need another three additional hours and I know it will come out nicely. I love very much the facial structure of my sitter, Katrina. It's very sculptural to me. You will see her very often.

Buttonwood Bay

17.5cm x 25.5cm
Oil in panel
It was a pleasant afternoon when I was painting there. A friend of mine with her younger daughter drove by and said hello. A passerby stopped and told me that he fishes often here and that I won't believe that he once caught a large fish size like me. I said, "Wow, really!" He seemed like a happy man and then he rode his bike away. Another visitor came. He first asked me if I didn't mind that he watching me work. "I don't mind at all. Please do so." I replied. Since I sit on a flate rock working, I notice that he made him self comfortable by sitting on the floor next to me. And he began to ask me all sort of questions such like how do I know to paint this color or paint this shape...etc. He said that he loves art. Great people, great scenery! That's one of the reasons that I love plein air!

Portrait Diana still in progress

45cm x 53cm
Oil on canvas

Morning Mangroves and River

22cm x 27cm
Oil on panel
Here is my favorite mangroves to paint. I haven't painted here for almost two months. I do miss the mystery and dreamlike of them. 

Afternoon Sea and Sky

17.5cm x 25.5cm
Oil on panel
This small plein air took me two hours. If it wasn't because I had to pick up my girls from school, I might keep working on it. I didn't know what'd happened to me but I just kept scrapping off the color I just put on the panel. I was very frustrated from the beginning. Now that I'm looking at the photo of it. It doesn't look too bad at all. I start to like it...

Portrait Diana in Progress

45cm x 53cm
Oil on canvas
I ran into Diana at the opening night of the exhibition of Woman in Art and I'm grateful that she immediately agreed to pose for me. After our first session this morning, I have to say that Diana is a beautiful woman from inside out! As for my work, I need maybe 2 more hours to finish this portrait. It took a little longer than I planed but it is the way how I work with portraits. I never know how they will come out until the last minute. Some maybe come out easlier than others. But that's the reason why I love to do portrait too. Full of surprises and challenges too! Oh! A little correction though, I think this is the way how I work with my art all the time! Guess, I love to be challenged by my work. Haaa!... it sounds like I amuse to be tortured by my own work. Do I sound a little sick??? I think I just have to laugh at my self at some points! 

Gray Raining Sea

17.5cm x 25.5cm
Oil on panel
This is the second plein air I did this afternoon except I did it inside of the gym of Princess Hotel. As I have mentioned at my last post that I was mad at the rain because I still wanted to paint. So I went to the Hotel's gym where had a perfect view of thus gray raining sea. Maybe it's because the atmosphere, I had to say that it felt totally different than actually working outdoor. There's less connection with the scenery I paint. And, yes, despite the sun, wind or drizzling, I still prefer to work outdoor. I need to feel it closely so I could creat a better work. To me, it's a sense of satisfaction!

Afternoon Rain

17.5cm x 25.5cm
Oil on panel
It was rough when I was painting this plein air.  As usual, I headed out to do my afternoon work around 1pm. It was drizzling when I just starting to paint but never though it would rain really hard. Well, yes, the water poured down with wind. I tried to work under my sweet umbrella but soon, it was impossible to continue. I had to stop and rushed back to my car... I was even a little mad at the weather... why couldn't you rain later when I finish my work??!! Since it wasn't finished at all, I continued to work on it back to my studio. Call me a stubborn person. It looks ok now but it isn't the same scenery anymore! 

Nude study with white sofa in progress

45cm x 53cm
Oil on canvas
The whole composition is a little too low. I need to repaint it. Well, I was awared about it but I didn't take it seriously. So, now, I have to spend more time to fix it. My fault and it's a very bad habit. I thought that I can ignore it or fix it by adding something else... I'd better be honest with myself next time. Guess, I'll change the position of my sitter's legs and add a white drapery up high on the back of the wall. Although it's not finished yet but I think I did make a little progress on her skin tone.

The Sea and the Shadow of Coconaut tree

25.5cm x 17.5cm
Oil on panel
Two hours on this afternoon work. This sunny sea looked completely different than this morning's gray color. Luckily, I was working under the shade because the mid day sun was fierce, not even an ant was crawling there!

Portrait Stephanie D.

45.5cm x 53.5cm
Oil on canvas
This is my second work this morning. This photo looks brighter compared to the actual image. Despite the technical problem I really like how it turned out in 3 hours. It doesn't need further work. It looks just fine. This is her face expression after I put the music of Bijork. She looked serious....and that, again I forgot to take a photo of her and the portrait! She is a young talented lady with great personality! Love her smile!

Gray Sea and Sky

25.5cm x 17.5cm
Oil on panel
This morning I thought I had the whole morning for my plein air but my sitter called and asking why I didn't show up to pick her up.... Oh....my...Well, so, I spent only  20 minutes on this Gray Sea and Sky then rushed to my next subject. I wished I had more time for this small plein air because the scene of this morning was phenomenon....and, again, I totally forgot to take a picture. You would love it too!

Sketch at Easter Concert

8.9cm x 12.7cm
Pencil on paper
I did couples of sketches at the Easter Concert last night at the Wesley Church. In order to spend time with my kids, I haven't work seriously during this Easter holidays. Tomorrow is Monday. All of schools resume their classes tomorrow. Feeling excited already, finally I can go out and do one or two of plein air tomorrow. Then, the the rest of the weekdays I have to work indoor. Models are coming to my studio and most of them are new faces. I cannot wait to start to work everyday again!