Princeton portrait

We had a wonderful model today! The pastel was very slow going and it was looking very iffy until the last half hour. Afterwards, a group of us had lunch at a fellow artist's house and then drove to Peterborough, NH to the Sharon Arts Center. There's a members' show on exhibit there. I picked up an application and am thinking of applying for juried membership.

Lindsay

This morning instead of getting the house ready for a relative's visit, I once again joined the Princeton portrait group. Our model was a charming and beautiful college student from Worcester. This session was a treat for myself after three days of renovating my living room staircase. Unlike last week, this portrait was about life sized, and I gave it away to the model.

The medium is sepia and black charcoal on beige Mi-Teintes paper.

Princeton portrait group

This morning I joined a portrait drawing group that meets in Princeton once a week. Everyone was so friendly and it was such good practice that I am looking forward to going back. It's been a long time since I've worked life sized and I really struggled for the first hour or so. I finally reverted back to my habit of working in miniature. This willow charcoal sketch is only about 4" high. The paper is the back of a BOKX 109 restaurant menu.

Waiting room sketches

I found myself with nothing to do while waiting for a doctor's appointment, so I used the back of my copayment receipt to do some pen & ink sketches of the people around me. The woman with the glasses had a big old fashioned hairdo which I was unable to capture. She was moving her head a lot so I had a few false starts.

Oil painting commission

I I finished this oil commission just in time for the holidays. It's 22"x28" and shows a beach on Cape Cod.

Long Island, Maine

4x4 oil on canvas. The inspiration for this painting was a photo that I took a few years ago. It was September and the goldenrod was in bloom all over the island. Working on this was a great way to escape a dreary winter day- even if only for a little while.

Doyle Conservation Center

This peaceful spot is only 5 minutes from my house. Until recently, I used to drive by every day and wish I could paint by the pond. The wish has come true! The estate now belongs to the Doyle Reservation. Last weekend Gerry and I joined a guided tree and shrub themed tour of the grounds, starting at the Conservation Center. To my delight, the tour included this piece of property. It is open to the public year round, seven days a week. There are a few buildings besides the large main house including a carriage house, Cape Cottage house and a quaint dog kennel.
The sketch was done on the opposite side of the bank from where I took the photo. Expect lots of artwork from this area!