Acrylic art class

Tudor acrylic, day 2

Tudor acrylic day1

I decided to take an acrylic painting class at the local junior college. I wanted to try another architectural painting, but decided it wouldn’t hurt to have some help. I have been unable to do a lot of detail in my work and wanted some guidance.

I have to put in some thought into adjusting the values. Maybe this becomes more about the values than the details. I’d like to do both.

After the coloring is done

All colored

It took a few days to do the coloring, even though it is a small portrait. I fiddled with the red brick and the shadowing for a bit and then put it in the mail right before the weather went to pot last week.

The Final Wedding Gift Commission

All inked up

It seems surprising, but all of the commissions the last two months have been for wedding gifts. I guess the wedding industry has gotten started again after the pandemic. I wonder if this was the wedding venue, for the reception, or just a building that is special for the couple.

Pastel Finish

All done with this one. I am glad that the trees were purplish to add some color. There wasn’t much in the way of flowers or contrast on the home exterior to break up all of the gray and white, so having the extra tree color was a great thing. I ended up using some brown to tone down the pinks and purples and that seemed to work out well.

The second commission of the year

Inked in

Penciled up

I have to take a brief break from finishing the Boise painting because I just got another home commission. And after the complexity of the last one, this commission seems a lot easier. Even with all of the hip roof lines, dormers, and stone, the layout and inking didn’t take very long. It is a good thing the front ornamental trees are purplish, though. The house is white stone and with gray and white siding above. It would have been pretty dichromatic with just the green and white.

Finished #4 Christmas commission

Well, it’s done and with the client in time for Christmas. Thank you USPS. I like the interplay of the brick, the stone, and stucco with all of the curves in the facade and on the roof. That is one complicated chimney too, with the double flues and stepped rise. The flowered shrubs add a bit of color accent which is always good. It is certainly one of the more interesting portraits I have done in a while.

Number four for the holidays.

Inked

Pencil drawing

This is definitely the biggest and most complicated of the four Christmas commissions. What number three lacked in complexity, this made up for in spades.It has brickwork, stonework, a large chimney, and multiple gables and roof lines. It took an extra day to draw up and two more days to ink. At least it is a 14X9 instead of 10X8. So much detail here.

I did like the “wave” in the limestone blocks transition to brick and the random placement of white limestone into the bricks. It will be easier to see in the color version (pastel again).

Commission Three

Finished with the little light addition.

It’s done and they are happy. I managed to integrate the lamp post okay. Using pastels rather than watercolors helped some, I think. The important thing was that I was able to and it made the client satisfied. He also wanted a bright spring look so I didn’t add in as much shading as I normally would. One more to go for the Christmas season.

Christmas commission 3

A little hiccup

Initial pencil up

This came in about one hour after commission 2 did. Both were small, so I could work them at the same time on my big table. I worked on one while waiting on the other client’s answers. A simple house but nice to do. I had a little hiccup working this one. Although I send the pencil drawing to a client, after I had finished the inking and started the colors, he told me he wanted to include a small post lamp off of the sidewalk. Fortunately, I had left extra room around the drawing and the post was on the right side of the sidewalk so I was able to add it after I might have normally been able to. And the pastels made it easier than the watercolors might have been.

Christmas Commission 2 Colored in

The Christmas commissions are going fairly quickly. This one didn’t have a great amount of color in the landscaping or the house. Brown/gray siding and gray shingles make it more muted, along with no flowers in front. I lightened up the trees with some white highlights and that helped and the door was a dusky blue. Unusual garage doors and the furniture on the porch add interest. I was pleased with the outcome.

On to the next. Another 10×8, but red brick in pastels.