I started a self portrait today and an important thing that I need to remember moving forwards: Always simplify the values in the beginning stages.  Detail doesn't matter if the overall value structure is wrong.  Have a nice weekend everyone! 

  I just did a painting study tonight (pictured below) that inspired me to share some some insight.  The reason I did this painting was because I was feeling pretty bad after having painted a really terrible painting earlier today.  So I was feeling pretty low and decided to take a different approach to this second painting.  The painting is of an amaryllis bulb that flowered recently.  I wanted to just slow down a little bit and paint this study piece by piece in a very deliberate fashion.
​  I feel like the painting came out well and taught me a really valuable lesson in the importance of having deliberate action with my paint.  I won't be in a rush anymore to paint and I'll be taking my time from here on.

  So I figured for Halloween, I'd talk about something that I fear!  Well, it's not a fear, but it's something that I have to work on.  It's all about NOT being timid when it comes to getting darker and more accurate values painted in a bold fashion.  For whatever reason, I have trouble jumping to accurate darks, but the darks are vital to the beauty of a painting.  I just painted a small oil study to work on this issue.  Being rough and strong in the values and with the paint is a crucial step that I'm taking from now on in my work.
  Also check out that really cool dinosaur costume that was outside our house!  Happy Halloween everyone, go out and have some FUN!

  I took a trip to the MET this past weekend and was joined by a friend who hadn't been before.  We got to see a lot and I took some photos of my favorites.  One in particularly is a absolutely amazing full length figure by Sir Frederic Leighton titled, "Lachrymae" (1894).  I first saw this painting years ago and hadn't seen it again since this weekend so it was really a joy to see.  The first sculpture pictured below is by Bernini and was notable because Bernini was 16 when he made it!  The other sculptured pictured at the end are just ones that I found entertaining.
  One thing that I took note of is how thickly Sargent paints certain works.  If you look at the photos below, you can see some details that really show this.  He wasn't afraid to apply thick paint.  This is something that I want to take onboard and use in my own works.  I painted my most recent commission more thickly, but I want to go thicker in my paint application.  Just something that I gotta remember..