Symmetry

After letting the painting sit I went in and started adding highlights. I don't think there is really any special order to go about things but it seemed sensible. This is when I realized that her eyes were way off. I am not one to sit around and study my paintings to see what is wrong. I usually just wait until it hits me in the face. I had some left over mud on my palette and moved the eye over. It was at this point that I realized that Sarah Palin's face has perfect symmetry. Each side is exactly like the other.

The drawing at this point is by no means perfect but oddly enough I feel like this painting is going in the right direction. It is still open and I can make more changes as I go.

Sarah Palin

This is my initial sketch of a new painting. On one hand this image seems very crude and kind of lame. The right eye is too far to the left which gives the portrait a peculiar look. But as a painting it actually feels open and filled with possibility when work with it. I began this painting with a transparent orange oxide wash mixed with lots of linseed oil. I pushed the wash around with rags and brushes and blocked in the the basic forms. My wash was one part linseed oil and three parts rectified turpentine. I then mixed a little ultramarine blue with what was left over on my palette and began sketching out the image. I didn't even catch the misshapen eyes until the next day.

Ronald Reagan

James Madison can't quite get off the ground. Maybe tomorrow.

I have been wanting to paint Ronald Reagan. This is the underpainting. When the paint starts to dry and get tacky I'll go back into it. I don't want the paint to get muddy. I have been wanting to finish all of my paintings in one sitting but that can lead to more obsessive compulsive behavior than I need right now. I think making these underpaintings and stepping away and getting some distance might be a good change. 

A Work in Progress

I was going to paint James Madison today but I got ahead of myself. 

Thomas Jefferson

John Adams

I like this painting. I might have to take one step back and redo George. There is always some thing I seem to overlook but I will try to refrain from pointing out any shortcoming. Both Washington and Adams seemed angry as I painted them. You can guess why. 

This is wet on wet, done in one sitting, the way it should be. My medium is finally oily enough that the paint won't dry before I finish it. I am happy with his fleshy cheeks. I'll try to set this one as my standard for the others.

George Washington

I am taking a sabbatical from lemon wedges. George Washington is the first in my new series of daily paintings of presidents.