Toby and Leslie

Toby and Leslie

Original oil painting 20x16"

by Susan Roux

I can't tell you the amount of hours I put in this painting. Rest assured I was elated when I laid down my final strokes! I couldn't help but think of Carol Nelson who blogged awhile back, 100 portraits in 100 days. I'm impressed at all of you who post a daily painting. Not only are you completing a painting every day, but also taking time to blog about it. We can't all keep up that pace... Its very admirable that you do. I tip my hat to you.

I had days where I spent every moment from early morning to suppertime planted in front of my easel. My focus was so intense that every time I did this, the following day I needed to rest. It was as though my brain was empty, almost in a haze, and my spirit and energy were drained. I suppose I was really pushing myself...

Wednesday, when all my students saw it nearly done, they were baffled that I wasn't enthused with it. I didn't like the feeling it had. I wanted to capture the sense of love/admiration and all I had managed was the look of porcelain dolls. After I completed the faces, I worked with the background and succeeded a bit in capturing that emotion I wanted. Yes the colors are better in life and the feeling more apparent too.

I learned so much doing this piece. I started off expecting to spend a few days on it as an exercise and move on. As you know, that didn't happen. I hope to capture my next portrait quicker so a bit more of a painterly look will remain. The day I worked on smoothing out my color transitions to soften Leslie's features, is the day the porcelain feeling appeared. There must be a way of painting it soft without turning them to ceramic. My next subject will be a single head.

As I look at it this morning, I am kind of amazed I was able to accomplish this. Suddenly a separation from it, no longer being my lingering job, allows me to have a different perspective. Don, thanks for all your help. Even telling me to start over, though it was the last thing I wanted to hear at the moment.

I may take a few days to go paint in plein air before settling down to a new face....

Toby is my husbands son. He plays guitar in a rising band called Sparks the Rescue. He's toured the country many times and also toured in Europe. Recently they took part in the exhausting Warped Tour, where more than 70 bands played. They have a video that airs on MTV called We Love Like Vampires. You can view it at their official site by clicking their name. Please let me know if your children may have heard of them...

Enjoy your day creatively!

Tuscany dreams

Do you dream of going places?

I do. The more I travel the more I want to travel. Europe has been my intrigue and with luck and a few dollars, I'll return again. My sights are on Tuscany next...

I was checking out some of my followers sites and came upon Roisin O'Farrell's post titled In a bit of a Jam! Love the title and the painting. In this post Roisin talks about artists bartering. I think its a very cool idea. She starts out with little things like jam for gesso boards and ends up with weekend stay's for paintings.

I'm all up for that one!

It's been in my mind to travel for art. How wonderful that would be! Last summer I was online searching for villas in Tuscany that might offer me a room if I painted their vineyards. I was even connected with a man in Italy who was assisting me in trying to find such a place. We were unsuccessful...

That doesn't mean such a thing doesn't exist. It also doesn't mean we can't make it happen. I do remember years ago a place in Bar Harbor, Maine would invite artists during pre-season to come stay for a week. The owners were busy preparing their establishment for the summer and they allowed artists to use an entire floor during this time. The artists were free to paint and the only charge was to donate a painting at the end of their stay.

It was perfect for all involved. The owners received beautiful original art to decorate their rooms, while the artists painted for free in amazing scenery! At the end of the week, the owners hosted an "art show" in the grand-room showcasing the artists work from the week. One artist would paint a beautiful painting at her leisure during the year to bring, so her room and board was accounted for upon arrival.

If artists started to offer such deals, do you think we could begin a trend?

It isn't a far cry from my artists hosting artists idea. I know this sort of thing could work. Maybe we should talk about this some more... I'd love your ideas on the matter?

Where do you want to go?