August 14, 2009

Surprising myself

OK, here is the final version of Runway No. 6. Please stop me before I do more work on it and screw it up.

As soon as I uploaded this photo, I could see there is a section on the right side of her waist that needs some shading.

I repainted that area Tuesday in an effort to make her bikini bottom show through subtly. (I think you'll be able to see that if you click on the image to blow it up.) At the same time I redefined the scarves on the left side and did some work on the legs and the flowers in her dress.

I posted early and mid-stage photos of the painting on August 1 and August 6.

Sometimes a painting I do amazes me. This is one. The tough part for me was the clothing. I don't usually do low-velocity colors. Like the others in the series, this is 6'x4' with a dark violet background.

The outfit is by Missoni and the burning vehicle is from a photo taken during the Vietnam War. I haven't been able to track down the photographer.

I had technical advice in toning down the burning truck from FX Tobin in Arizona. Take a look at his website. It's pretty wild.

August 12, 2009

On the rail

I took this shot of Pontoosuc Lake from Route 7 last evening during a 2-mile walk. The railing was put up by the state when it rebuilt the road about 14 years ago.

Originally the state had planned a concrete wall, but substituted this see-through railing after stories by Dan Bellow in the Berkshire Eagle, created an uproar. People wanted to see the lake as they drove by in their cars.

After the walk I had supper and listened to John Irving's novel Widow for a Year and drank three or four glasses of cheap white wine - a wine we always get and which I like a lot. Babbie was out. I wouldn't have had so much wine if she was home.

Then I went down and worked a while on the painting I have been doing. I had already worked on it for several hours earlier. It's a good painting. And I'm concerned that I'm getting too fussy about the details and may ruin it.