Wet Feet, Humble Pie

My nephew as I left him drying yesterday

I am getting wet feet. In four weeks, that gestural portraiture workshop I signed up for begins. I had a lot of nerve jumping ahead like that when I'm just feeling my way with oils. Yes, I did a very nice portrait of those kids. Yes, I've done a few acceptable heads, but nowhere do I have near enough heads under my belt. I need hundreds more! This Blue Beard needs to step up her collection!

 So I ran off a graduation photo of my nephewand hit the studio early with the idea of dashing one off before I went into the strawberry strudel. Easy to say, hard to do. After three hours, I got this far and walked away. I do not know how you dash off an oil painting just like that, unless it's with a palette knife or some sort of magic tool and not a portrait where some degree of likeness counts. There's a likeness in this beginning. But it sure isn't  a solid one. I sure hope that "gestural portraiture" isn't the same as "well you get the idea." Maybe they'll cancel it for lack of attendance?

My nephew as I left him in a huff ten minutes ago.
Suffice it to say,I'm not finished with him yet.
His forehead is too low, but has red in it along the
hairline. his right eye looks weird and he might have a goiter?

This morning wasn't any better. I totally messed up. I know it sounds like I'm shifting the blame, but there's something about the oils I bought that I don't like and don't recall the oils of my youth as being like this. They come out of the tubes hard. To get a usable consistency I need to add a lot of medium and absolutely must use the palette knife to work the medium in. They are not Windsor Newton's top grade, they are the less expensive second grade brand, Winton. I normally do not hold back on supplies, but I figured I could with
this respectable, old company.

Then to add to my pain, I got spots of ultramarine blue and alizarine on my knit shorts and realtively new tee shirt that also goes with a dress skirt. My own fault of course. I didn't put on my doctor's coat. I was only going to be down there for a minute. One thing lead to another and I was down there totally absorbed for an hour and a half.

Two good things happened though: the fabulous paper fiber napkins I bought at our favorite restaurant are fabulous paint wipes as I suspected
they'd be. And I devised an easy way to clean my glass palette. I scraped off the excess paint with the knife. Then sprayed it with Mineral spirits and let it sit
while I frantically mineral spirited my shorts and shirt--yes I stripped down--and washed and scrubbed them.
When I had gotten most of the spots out, down to where I could live with them if that was the best that was going to happen, I scrapped the palette again. It came clean. Long story short. Having Mineral Spirits in a spray bottle is a good idea. DO YOU SEE WHAT A NOVICE I AM!

I'm in my smock now, eating a breakfast of humble pie and "spotting my clothes" with normal stain removal stuff before washing. It looks like I did manage to save them from those two heart-stopping, staining colors,. but ye gads this is discouraging. I hate to be the worst one in a workshop. --Maybe they'll cancel it for lack of attendance?

One more thing: my nephew's graduation picture when blown up to a reasonable size to use as a reference
was the worst. It pixilated so that thousands of squares make up the image. It was a very poor choice made by a very overly confident idiot. --Maybe they'll cancel it for lack of attendance?