Charlevoix beach scene II - final pass... starting to see the "light" at the end of the tunnel and it's not a train!

In this final pass, I have attenuated contrasts a bit in favour of a more natural look, and have concentrated textures around the figure and the head, which are key focal points. As a result, the camera is picking up midtones better. This is a 30 X 30 canvas...

The first photo was taken outside under day light (no sun)...

... while the other one is a close up to show textures...


With this painting, I took advantage of a darker reddish underpainting here and there, and purposely made the lower limbs disappear into the background to mimic the intense summer afternoon light.

I seem to have developed just enough skills with acrylics in a little over a year to render "half decently" pretty much anything I want. Can I render what is in my imagination? Can I express speed, power and feelings beyond just the conventional figurative vocabulary. This is my next challenge, which I plan to meet with the Olympic series!

Charlevoix beach scene II - step IV... getting close to the finish line.

Some additional work on shadows and other small details should do it.

I find that my new emphasis on textures has increased my painting time partly because of the longer drying time. Working on more than one painting at a time should alleviate this problem.

With regard to subject matters, last October at my solo exhibition, I expressed the desire to do a series on "the muse in my art", pun intended ("the muse in my heart"). An additional 2-3 paintings should wrap this up. I also plan to initiate my Olympic 100 m series early February.

Charlevoix beach scene II - step III... textures are what the doctor ordered!

This is my second attempt at emphasizing textures while applying paint (I used to do textures and painting separately!)... and I seem to be getting the knack of it. I have never seen contemporary work without bold textures... so I better get used to it! I seem to be going from "image maker" to painter, all of a sudden...

A third pass should do it...
I could have gone more "expressive" with this one... but somehow, as I am painting the "Muse"... I feel compelled to stay in the realm of the figurative!

Charlevoix beach scene II - step II...

This second layer was applied thickly and loosely... and almost transparently in a "grisaille" fashion (I used gel). The result though was not good enough to leave it like that.

Before proceeding to the next level, I need to study flaws and retain/emphasize as many of them as possible in the next step!

I have started buying colors by the jar. The slight variations brought about by using a different brand of my favorite colors threw a monkey wrench in my picture! If I survive, it'll look like a palette change...without a palette change!

Another Charlevoix beach scene... getting a "head" start with difficulty!

After zipping through the first pass, I realized the head was too high and slightly out of proportion with the body. Ironically, it took a minute too correct this on the computer... but the better part of an afternoon to retrofit the head properly on canvas... to the tune of 1000 brush strokes it seemed.

Another humbling experience...

With this one I would like the figure to blend with the background as if capturing a fleeting moment... the kind of effect that could be useful when painting Olympians in motion.

Kauai beach scene - final step... not sure who painted that one!

This painting evolved in a different fashion than I expected. Perhaps, if I always had a clear mental image of my future paintings, I would eventually quit painting. In other words, what's the point if there is no adventure!

A primary objective of this work was to emphasize textures (obtained from a palette knife, dripping, sponges, etc...). That was about the only "loose" aspect about this painting!

For this scene, I involuntarily adopted Lucian Freud's palette and probably developed the lethal look associated with this model (the "modified Muse") using my fertile imagination... or perhaps was I inspired by the too many Conan the Barbarian cartoons I read in my younger age...

Needless to say, the "Muse" pretended she was not amused by this "look", to which I retorted with a resounding: " I only paint what I see".

Kauai beach scene step III... not without a struggle....

This painting has become an exercise in humility. I fumbled the ball by not mixing enough paint, which led to a prolonged "mix and match" exercise... literally! Acrylics dry darker, hence my difficulty.

This is not over yet. I'll be back!