Sorry for the long time between posts. I've been busy teaching workshops and the prep for those has taken all my time. I've decided to get back to my own paintings by finishing one I have left on my easel for far too long. It is full sheet size. I don't know how fast I'll get it done but it will fill in the time before I decide on what my next major painting will be. Here is the step I am at right now. I'm just blocking in large areas of colour and working on the values.

Painting in Metal finished

I finally got a chance to finish this unusual painting. I sprayed it with a clear protective coat but it only made it even harder to photograph. Here is the best one I could come up with but in real life it changes depending on the angle you are looking at it. I can now start the work I need to do for a workshop I am teaching in Sudbury in about 10 days. Next month I can get back to painting for myself. :)

Stage 2

It is impossible to get a good photo with it so reflective. I added the copper foil on the shadow side but it is reflecting very bright here. There are still areas not covered with the metal foil but I have to wait for a few things to dry before going on. I don't think I like it but learned years ago to work through the ugly stage before I make a final decision. The only area I really like is the shirt. I found a varigated metal foil and used it. I might experiment with painting or staining the metal maybe with oil paints after but that will be a last resort. The metal leaf is really difficult to work with because my adhesive doesn't seem to work really well.
The darks on the eyebrows and eyes are a glue with glitter in it. It will lighten as it dries and I will dust them with a brass powder I have.

Stage 1

I still don't know if this will work or not. I will keep going but I'm not too happy with it right now. I can see this is going to be a problem to not only photograph but also display on a wall. The angle of the light changes the whole look of the painting. Both of these photos are exactly the same except I changed my position and the light is reflecting from a different direction. It looks very rough right now because the darks haven't been added. I have no idea what I am going to do with the shirt. I might just take it out. Lots to figure out and work on.

Painting with metal

This is a real experiment and I don't know if it will work at all or be a total waste of materials. Our local art club is holding a show next month with the theme of "Goldbrush". It will tie in with our city's 100th anniversary celebrations. Our city is a big mining town built on the rich gold finds in the area, hence the reference to gold.

I couldn't come up with any ideas for my painting so I decided to just play with the idea. I have sketched out on a cadled board "canvas", a posterized version of a portrait of one of my sons. My idea is to paint the different tones of his face with different tones of metal leaf, paint, and powder. I have no idea if it will work so you can all follow along as I try this experiment.

Oil Painting finished

This weekend I attended an oil painting workshop taught by Pam Dallaire. It was great fun and a chance to refresh my memory on painting with oils. This weekend we added colour over the grey underpainting.

Here is the finished version.

Step 5

I'm getting to the point that I'm not sure how much more detail I'm supposed to add to this since it's an underpainting and I'll be adding oil paints on top. I'll stop here and ask the instructor if I should add to it. It helps that she's my sister and coming over tomorrow. :-)