Sit Still Will Ya?

As I was shooting that photo (no not our banner group – the Tuesday night model, Barbara – see the May 29th and 30th posts about camera work) I was thinking “this model is on uppers; she is vibrating like a Timothy seed in a tornado”.  That’s most likely the reason the photo and painting came out kind of blurry.  She most certainly owes me an apology don’t you think?  I do have a minor hand tremor but not so bad as to affect my ophthalmic surgical practice.  License?  Do you need one?   Skipping that expensive training is what allows me to keep my prices down.  Another savings I pass almost part of on to my patients is the lack of insurance.  If things go wrong; hey, I’m only human, I have found an alternative to the insurance dollar.  It’s one of those win win type of deals.  The patient has a little trouble seeing; I give him one of my paintings (I still have to charge for the framing of course) to compensate for his loss.  My paintings tend to look better to someone with bad vision setting in a dimmed room anyway.

One of the features I really like about Barbara is her lovely hair.  So, of course, Lisa puts on that scarf.  It cost her $40 (oops I hope her husband, Randy, doesn’t read this) so she said the scarf was going on the model’s head or around my pencil neck, my choice.

     

Barbara                       Alison

Here are my efforts at the last two models for the Tuesday night sessions.  I’m putting them next to each other to illustrate the effect of having more or less light on your canvas/palette.  For Barbara I had a very bright light on my canvas while for Alison I was standing in a darkened area of the room.  I suppose the ideal light to have on the canvas and palette would be the exact lighting as where the painting will eventually hang.  That would handicap me significantly as I would be painting in total darkness to simulate the light on the inside of a trash can.

I like our banner.  A fine looking group of painters.  It looks pretty clear and steady so I guess it wasn’t me who took the photo.  I can’t be sure what with my memory problem and all.

Bill 

That Busy Sea

That’s me and the girls above. We had a great time out on the beach today. A very nice diversion from the norm.  Would have been nice if May gray had not been ever present, but I think everyone gained a new respect for seascape painting. It did not go unnoticed that the waves will not stand still. Only one student failed to heed my warning about not standing where it is wet. She was a real trooper despite it. It’s hard when you are concentrating on getting those doggone waves to stop. You don’t tend to notice things like tsunamis.

Next week we will bring our STILL pictures into the studio and work from them. Thank the LORD for cameras.

Lisa

Don’t Even Give Bill A Camera

Dear dear Bill,

I can see you had a great deal of fun writing your last post, and I hate to rain like a dark cloud over your glorious parade, but you seem to have forgotten that I handed YOU the camera that night and told you that I specifically did not want to be responsible for a blurry photo, having no tripod. I think maybe the Jordan Almonds that you consumed in bulk that night, may have had mercury in them. Apparently mercury causes memory loss as well as the shakes….and from now on, lighting the model just became your job…now that you have been fired from photographing them.

Tomorrow I am taking my class to the beach to study the ocean. I spent hours there yesterday scouting a good location where we could work. I have an important tip for all you budding seascape painters: do not stand on rocks that are wet. If you do, make sure you have an extra set of clothing with you.   And an extra camera.

Lisa