City Grocery Update 3

Do you remember City Grocery Update 2?  Probably not because it was over a YEAR AGO.  I kid you not.  What DID I do with this past year?

March 2010

May 2010

June 2011

I am vowing not to stop or rather START anything until I am finished!  I worked on it a little today.  It doesn't look like I did much but I did.  The white columns may be the last thing I tackle since I plan to do it with the opaque white and hope to cover any imperfections!   It will come together in the end much like Dad's Square Books picture.

City Grocery Returns

Tonight I decided to take a stab at an old painting in my art room.  This is after I tried to gesso (recover) two canvases I had started for something else to find out they cracked and look terrible.  I swear I have covered them before and they turned out just fine.  BUT now I won't start on anything until I finish this guy. I've made a promise to myself! Forgive the phone post but it is late and I am POOPED!

Shelley (sent via phone)

City Grocery Update 2

It's been awhile.   Here is a reminder with a few updates from this past weekend.  I forget how long building paintings take me.  Right now the painting is in its ugly stage.  It always frustrates me but causes me to work harder.

I had a little help this weekend from this girl.  (Meet Savannah who belongs to the Smiths.  Savannah's Mom is Julie from my cooking blog!  She might look a little tired because she had just gone on a 2 mile jog with me.  Never mind the fact her legs are 1/4th as long as mine.  I've always wanted a dog to run with!)

Couple Dancers and City Grocery

I still have detail work to do on the couple.  I am debating painting windows in the background looking through to dark branches.  Thoughts?  I almost like it simple.  Why am I painting this? Because I found a picture I like.

I sketched this from the picture to the left a couple weeks ago.  I started with the underpainting tonight.  I am trying to follow the rulebooks and paint the underpainting first.  (Ok, the dark blue is too dark for a typical underpainting but it'll be fine.)  Remember, don't judge by the underpainting.  They are always ugly and the colors are never final!  This one should be challenging to say the least.  Straight lines are my enemy!