Figures

In June my friend Judy and I took a portrait workshop from William Schneider at the Peninsula School of Art in Door County, WI. The emphasis was on developing a loose technique when painting portraits and figures. Bill was an excellent instructor and we both learned a lot. We really liked the school. 

I painted this before taking the workshop. It's from a photo I took of my niece. I painted a smaller version a couple of years ago. This time I painted with a limited palette of colors: yellow ochre, ivory black, cadmium red and titanium white. This palette was often used by the Swedish painter, Anders Zorn. I'm amazed at the range of flesh tones and colors that can be achieved with these four tubes of paint. I used ivory black mixed with white for her eyes and they look blue in the context of the painting. 

"Mink & Pearls", 9" x 12",  oil on linen, Sold

Rebecca was one of our models during the workshop. I painted an oil study of her in class as well as taking photos. I created this painting later in my studio using the photos and oil study for reference.

"Rebecca", 18" x 14", oil on linen

This is a larger version of a painting I did last winter. I was happy with the smaller painting, but was struggling with the larger one. After the workshop, I started over and was able to solve the problems I was having. 

"Red Scarf # 2", 20" x 16", oil on linen, Sold