I finished Keith Standing in Front of a Painting of Himself quickly this morning and grew excited. I thought I’d also be able to finish The Girl in the Purple Boots today (you can see the painting on the easel behind Keith Standing in Front of a Painting of Himself). Close, but no cigar. Although I am happy with today’s session, the right-most figure took more work than I expected.
I can’t remember the last time I finished two paintings on the same day. Of course, when I was young I would regularly start and finish multiple paintings on the same day. When I was young, painting seemed a lot easier. One thing that hasn’t changed is that painting is fun–soul satisfyingly fun!
In fact, painting is more fun for me today than when I was young. I used to consider the auxiliary activities–cleaning brushes and preparing canvases–as drudgery. Not any more. I love my tools and take pride in the care I give them. I enjoy washing my brushes everyday. I also take care with the canvases I prepare: preparing the stretchers and ensuring that they’re square; stretching canvases evenly and without warp, preparing archival surfaces suited to my style.
Keith Standing in Front of a Painting of Himself is 30″ x 40″. Even in this smallish format, a single figure is near life size. By contrast, the 8 figures in The Girl in the Purple Boots are much smaller than life size. I enjoy the changing scales. I am preparing a 4′ x 5′ painting that has a range of figures from much larger than life size to much smaller.