Building the expression

I'm still working very subtle changes on the faces in this portrait, even though I'm also working on the foliage that is the backdrop for them. It will be a very nice painting when it's completed. It looks like both of them now, but there are still things that need to be done to get their expressions right. It is getting better though.

Tommy Thomsen poster

I just did this poster for a good friend of mine that is a great entertainer. Actually he's in the Western Swing Hall of Fame. A local Sonoma born guy who plays his a** off on the guitar and has a voice that will make you want to get up and dance. The price is right: $10.00 at the door. That's coming up on Saturday night May 15th at Little Switzerland in El Verano. I'll be there and I hope some of you will be able to come too. This is the 1st music poster that I've done in quite a few years. It came out OK considering I haven't gotten my new glasses yet. It was fun to do and I was honored to be asked to contribute my art to fill a friend's need. Mahalo Akua. Aloha ohana, Timo

My Garden

One end of my closest garden space at the new digs. It has been an ongoing project since my move here 3 months ago. My kind of relaxing fun that usually has me breathing hard after about an hour of doing it. I love watching things grow!

Adding the Background

I decided to use the natural plant elements that were the background for the reference photo that was taken here in my yard. So I'm starting to add those colors loosely with a large longhandled flat bristle brush. I'll try to get the feel of what's there without fussing over details too much. It's shaping up to be a very successful portrait of these two beautiful human beings. Aloha, Timo

Subtle Changes

Capturing a likeness in pigments with a brush is accomplished one stroke at a time. Some movements are large and bold. While others are very tiny and precise. I'm happy with the progress I made today. Maybe I'll know what to do behind them when I wake up tomorrow. Aloha, Timo

Kara the goat

Today I started this small (12" x 16") portrait of a pet goat named Kara that belongs to the people who run "Swede's Feed" in Kenwood, California as a demonstration for the grand opening of a gift shop they've been putting together across the highway from the feed store. This represents about 2 1/2 hours of work. It's not finished yet, but it's a good beginning. I'll post a progress report on it as soon as I get a chance to finish it. Mahalo for checking in. Aloha, Timo

Magic Paint!

Paint is pretty amazing stuff...you know? Color at your fingertips, to build with and do with as you wilt. What me wilt? I hope not. I'm glad i'm to the point ion this portrait where I get to play with colors some more. Still haven't decided what the background should be. I'll have to sleep on it I guess. Mahalo & Aloha Ohana. Timo

Picking out the details

Well, I think I've passed into the likeness stage and it's actually starting to feel like them. We're almost ready to jump into the background and if all goes well, I should be able to finish this portrait by the end of the week.

Many little touches

I sometimes wonder, when I'm approaching the half-way point in a meaty project such as this one, how many touches with all those brushes? Aloha, Timo

Sork portrait update

Ah...Much better with her face on! I'm still trying to get the right colors in the right places. That's what realistic rendering is all about, to simplify matters somewhat. Trying to put the colors you are seeing, where you're seeing them. So anyway we're getting there a stroke at a time. Mahalo & Aloha, Timo

Sork Portrait Progress

Roughing in Patrick's features I added Titanium White and a couple of reds to my pallette. Cadmium Red Light and Napthol Red. As I'm working very loosely still at this stage, my focus is on the colors more than the real details of the proportional relationships.

Progress on the Sork portrait

The second session brought me to this resting place. I'm working predominantly with earth colors still. Raw Umber in the shadows with some yellow ochre in the area that will represent Patrick's shirt. This has all been done fairly loosely with a large (#12) hog bristle flat brush. I prefer doing this loose proportional blocking in rather than doing a tight drawing on the canvas first or transfering a tracing of the photo with a pounce pattern. Both methods have served me for certain projects in the past, but these days I like the direct approach. Mahalo nui loa for checking in. Aloha for now, Timo

Starting the Sork portrait

Aloha Ohana, Here's the first session on the newly commissioned Margaret & Patrick Sork portrait in oils. I began by mixing raw sienna & burnt sienna with the Thinner & stand oil medium that I mix together in a small can or jar as I need it. Then I apply that very loosely over the area that will be depicting skin and rub it in with a soft cloth. At this point I began to draw with the same two pigments plus raw umber, to get the general layout and proportions clearly indicated in the strokes. I work this stage until I'm happy with how it looks and feels to me

and then I take a short recess to just look a bit more at my reference photo and the painting from a ways back. I have my studio easle positioned so that I may see the work in progress from the area outside looking through the open doorway.

Fernpath

The finished painting called "Fernpath".

Earth Man

This painting started as an abstract that I had been wiping extra pigments on randomly with no idea of what it would become. At some point I began to see the profile suggested in the yellowgreen area that was a negative space bordered by the darker shape between it and the right edge of the canvas. I let it evolve as inspiration decided, loose and painterly with some palletteknife and old paintscrap for texture and just a hint of realistic detail. I think I'll call it "Earth Man".