I should name this one..hmm I've been calling it Boats but that seems a little strange, how about 'Boat harbor."  As it is an inlet cove protected from the elements, at least the open seas.  My brother Ted Haley took the photograph I used as a reference.  I started the painting as part of a work shop by Jan Burgland, a brilliant artist who specializes in direct painting methods.

That little whitish spot in the lower left is actually a scrap resulting from dropping the painting.  My heart sank but all is well and my wife said it looks like a fish so leave it...I'm not so sure and will fix said fish or just throw it back in the water.  I'll sign the painting sometime today and post it   on my Yessy.com/twohaleys account today.  Ted feels I should have copies made and sell them printed on canvas.  I'll have to wait a bit to do that kind of thing as it's still not dry enough to play with or better let someone else handle the painting.

The painting is on linen a 16X20 and will take a standard frame 3/4 in deep.

To purchase this one go to the Yessy site later in the week.

Have fun today,

Best regards,

Dave

Another day

     So here I am a painter doing laundry and watching my grandson all week.  And no painting this week at all but then there is next a time.  I've been off all summer from painting that is and only started one playing around more than anything.  I would think that summer for me and painting are not the best of friend, but this time it was a little different.

     The choice I made was to fix up the house getting her ready for sale.  That effort went smoothly for a while and I did get the deck painted.  I also painted my wife's bathroom and added lighting and shelving, a new towel bar and one of those round things for a hand towel.  It looks good.  The color I mixed to a tome complimentary to the bedroom and no not the compliment just the tone, a much lighter one using the remaining bedroom paint and adding white.  Nothing complicated but a one to one mix did a nice job and she likes it...so that worked.

I fixed a crack which doesn't seem like much but this one was persistent, I'd fixed it last time I painted but....crrrrrack after a few years.  The house settles...they weight a lot you know.  This time I used a six inch nylon mesh tape and a special spray that is made for persistent cracks.  The crack is or was in the middle of  a really long run of sheet rock from the floor to the cathedral ceiling height of a good twenty feet or more.  I should measure that one day, anyway at the moment it hold and looks good.

The garage is under Umm re- configuring?  I did get Deb's car in first and now am working on getting mine in also.  I'm to the point of seeing the floor again almost.  I have been shredding old papers and letters and bills but the pile well was a few boxes full, it's one of those some day projects half done.;  the weather is creeping to the cold side so I need to finish sooner rather than later.

OK the plan is to sell the house and move toward Elmhurst, south of here some thirty miles or so.  The commute is a killer, and it's time to downsize considerably. the plan now is to wait out the winter and start the process of selling n the spring.  I think the sellers market is growing again and by then we may gain value back.  So wish me luck...

Jesus

This painting still on the easel for a few fininshing toutches is tomorrow morning project.  I think I'll hang it on the wall in y studio and just think about it a while and move on to another painting.  He can keep and eye on me that way... grin

see ya
hy

Jesus portrait is coming along

Yes I'm doing a Jesus portrait. It's a bit different, a compilation painting of many references like the Shroud of Turin www.shroud.com/menu.htm is a good site for all its information. Now this shroud may not be the actual face of Jesus however I think it’s a good representation of a face in that time period. There are references made of that face in 3d done that give you the feel of what I think his face looked like. I have other references like a guy with a beard, now this sounds funny but the facial hair has a growth pattern and I'd like to keep this painting headed I the right direction, if you will.



To begin this painting I started with a linen 16 X 20 and toned it in an orange mix with sienna edges a warm brownish leaving the center more brightly done, The thinking a radiant glow as a base coat if for no other reason to get a good layer of paint as a reflective surface. For this process I used a one inch round long hair brush and quickly mapped in the general shape of the head. So this portrait sort of grew before my eyes painting in eye sockets, line of chin, and forehead and a general outline of the hairline. It was kind of ire doing it that way as this painting as the painted face kind of grew out of the canvas. This painting is important to me on so many levels I did a lot of research before starting it.



That first day I started on his eyes, now this may have been a mistake. I paint eyes fairly well, what I mean is. I paint an eye with the idea in mind that it can see. And you know the paintings that look at you from any angle; well this is one of those. And when the boss is now looking at you, well it makes me bit nervous... grin. Anyway I have a large drawing board on a separate easel for the many faces of Jesus I've gathered from my internet searches. I started a file folder in my Pecasa 3 photo program apply named ‘the face of Jesus’ and simply dumped a couple dozen faces in there for later use. I printed a half dozen or so and subsequently added a few more and also put them on the board.



So anyway this project is well underway and I'll post the painting at next writing should I come close to the outcome I'm looking for. My vision of this painting is a man in his early thirties, a teacher and leader of other men and women. His eyes the most important feature a face which takes up the whole canvas, a statement of the Jesus I think of as mine. We do talk during this process, at least I do, he just looks at me while I paint and so far no lightning has struck me dead so it's going well. And yes I went to church last Sunday... I need all the help I can get on this one...grin.



see ya

haley

Paint brush

I found a brush on my desk this morning, a No 4 filbert with a rounded tip like a flat only round a nice brush, nice size. It’s a Robert Simmons TT42 and silver handle call Titanium, a synthetic hair that I use with my Aqua Oils. You need synthetics they hold the snap and don’t get mushy as do the natural hair brushes in a water based medium. I like this one a lot.


When I paint I generally use the same brush unless I’m doing something that needs different piles of paint then it’s easier to use several, one for each, esp. when blue is involved. That color stains a brush’s bristles and you really need to flush it with a good cleaner to change colors. Even thou I use a water based paint I do use paint thinner to clean the brushes and do leave them in the thinner overnight and longer. And yes some do bend and I reshape them when cleaning and only through out a couple I’ve ruined due to my poor cleaning habits but, mostly they stay nice and fresh.

My thinking is to keep them wet and they really do get nice and clean at least enough to paint with minimum effort, you just wipe them with a clean rag. Now that is a cloth rag you can get a box of painters rags a good months supply at Home Depot paint department, I’m not a big proponent of paper towels. They just don’t have the feel I like no matter what brand, although they are handy for spills, esp. coffee…

     The painting of Motief #1 I did a few year ago now. and I can see so many things now that I should have done in the lighting area if nothing else.
      I can see that the forground should be darker...as forgrounds should be.  And a better lightinig scheme would be the front of the shack to be the shadow side altho this is the ref photo lighting I think a little artistic inhancement would have been better... I think I might just do another painting of the same scene and play just a bit with it's mood.
     BTW the seagull is an add on... grin/hy

This was the first painting I had a lot of fun with, I actually giggled a few times as I played creating them.  Of course they are models you buy at Blick or even a few at Michaels.  I'l even bet you can Google them for deliverey right to you door should you not have the time to fool around.  I think I should have done just that as I'm not too happy with the stiffness of these two.  My idea here is telling him NO basically the gesture fairly evident the body language speaks for it's self

Deb thinks I should do more, one with a top hat and she in a bridal viel but to tell the truth these guys took a while to paint.  I'd rather do a comic series with a camera which actually isn't a bad idea, come to think of it.  In any case this one was fun to do and is a good study really for real people in your paintings.  With the models you cn add a people anytime to one of your landscapes for added interest and adjust the form into a shape that just says something or they are doing and adding motion to your painting.

I added a fisherman to a seascape that is on the boards now in my studio and he really looks like a people fishing grin... the fishing rod had a lot to do with that on and the bait bucket helped give him a foundation.  Of course when you do add a people it's what the painting is from then on, The Fisherman"  Used to be"by the Sea"  hehehe oh well so be it.   One note of reasoning,' Monet' added the ladies a lot.  Seems People like people in their paintings.

Just a note the painting is better than that photo... I'll look into that one a bit more and get better equiped to shoot my paintings.  If you have any suggestions please feel free to comment.