Day 21 - Half and Then Some

Today's is another painting done on an odd sized panel - 4"x18" to be specific.  I am enjoying cropping images to focus more on the negative space and look at the subject in a different way.  This one is also of my daughter, but her hair is not black... Just changed it here as it needed the intense value change, in my opinion. I am excited to see these narrow ones framed. :)

Half and Then Some, oil, 4"x18"
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Day 4 - Watching the Cloud

So, this young lady was an un-witting model down the shore this year.  I snapped a few photos of her as she walked on by checking her cell phone messages as she walked down the boardwalk.  I sometimes feel guilty when I take 'secret' photos of people who I hope to paint some day... but I justify it with the knowledge that I photograph subjects that I find have an inner beauty in some way... I merely hope I can express this beauty in my paintings.  After I painted this, I was not totally happy with it, particularly the cell phone aspect of it. So, I photoshopped a version of the painting that includes butterflies....  I am posting both here as I am still not sure if I will be taking out the cell phone at some point in the future and adding in the butterflies.  Let me know what you think.. should I leave the painting as it is.. with the representation of modern technology... or should I take out the cell phone and add some pretty butterflies???  As always, thanks for looking and have a great rest of the evening!!

Watching the Cloud,  16"x20",oil,
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Butterfly Girl, oil on panel,
\Let me know if you think I should add butterflies instead!

Day 6 of the 30 in 30 - Lily and Charlotte

I was commissioned to paint this a few months back by a sweet woman who wanted to capture the innocent youth and beauty of her two Grand Nieces.  It is a challenge to paint people who you don't know personally but I was able to spend an afternoon photographing them which gave me an idea of their two different personalities.  I just finished it received final approval from the lady who commissioned me today!  Yay!  For an artist, doing commissions can be a bitter sweet deal.  Creating one of a kind artwork for someone to their specifications can be very gratifying as the final painting holds added meaning.  But it also means that you don't get to be painting your own personal artwork which at times can be frustrating.  But this portrait was special and I had a wonderful time solving all of the problems associated with painting portraits, plus I got to paint white, satiny fabric, so of course I looked at Sargent's work a lot as a reference point.  If you would like to commission me to paint a portrait or other subject, please give me a shout at karenlyn1772@yahoo.com.  I would be happy to work with you!

Lily and Charlotte, oil on canvas, 16" x 20",
sold

Girl with Oven Bird and Lily

This painting's inception came about while searching the ever awesome Morgue files for some imagery.  I was looking for pictures that included flower and girl, in some fashion or another.  I had an idea and wanted to see what the search would come up with.  Luckily, I found this picture of a young girl in this amazing blue coat holding lilies and giving a slightly Mona Lisa-esque look... is she mad?  just thinking?  She almost  appears to be challenging the camera.... and if you look at her long enough you can almost see a smile. I was very intrigued by her and wanted to paint her.  I also wanted to add some other imagery to the picture... like maybe cascading flowers (thinking Gustav Kimt here...) and, well, birds are showing up in my paintings lately for some reason, so why not a bird?  I was also interested in the value shift in the background, from dark to light, as well as abstracting some of it into just shapes... So, that is how this painting came about! I enjoy the challenge of composing images from totally unrelated things and (hopefully) making them all come together...

Girl with oven bird and lilies, 18 x 24, oil on panel
inquiries please contact me a
karenlyn1772@yahoo.com