Friday, July 30, 2010

Parrot-Day 6

© Ellen Blonder
The foliage needed to be brightened, so most of it has been overpainted. The shell ginger flowers still need work.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Parrot-Days 4 and 5

© Ellen Blonder
I've been working on the feathers before I finish out the foliage.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Parrot-Day 3

© Ellen Blonder
Adding detail to foliage catch as catch can lately.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Parrot-Day 2

© Ellen Blonder
Just laid in washes today so I could see how the parrot will look against all that green.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Parrot-Day 1


© Ellen Blonder
This doesn't show up very well, but I'm sketching a parrot on a 12 x 24-inch canvas board. The parrot was photographed by a friend on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. I'm taking it out of its urban setting in favor of tropical shell ginger.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Life Drawing

© Ellen Blonder


© Ellen Blonder
The drawing at the top is a ten-minute sketch that I did months ago; the one at the bottom is a five-minute sketch of a different model from two weeks ago. I just discovered a drawing group nearby, where no pose lasts longer than seven minutes and most are one to five minutes. It feels like an all-out sprint to draw that fast, and a session is three hours long. It's a workout--and I feel out of shape.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Another Rooster-Final

© Ellen Blonder
Done!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Foodie Break

Cooked for a party last night: triangles of smoky tempeh with nectarines and basil before I added a dab of chipotle dressing; grilled veggies (summer squash, radicchio, eggplant, red peppers and zucchini; non-dairy cashew "cheese" on broken rosemary crackers with sundried tomatoes and chives; and peach-blueberry galette. Fun to apply abstract shape and play with colors of different food.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Another Rooster-Day 10

© Ellen Blonder
Working on grasses in the foreground; they'll need work to bring out highlights and shadows. I also added some red-leaved plants to break up all that green.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Another Rooster-Days 8 and 9

© Ellen Blonder
I've been painting catch-as-catch-can lately, slowly filling in the upper left area. One of my reference photos shows a tree trunk blotchy with lichen and criscrossed with wiry vines, and figuring out how to paint the texture was a fun challenge. I still need to add details to the hanging leaves and the left foreground.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Another Rooster-Day 7 Detail

© Ellen Blonder
Over the holiday weekend I finished the rooster's feathers after painting in some background behind his tail.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Another Rooster-Day 6 Detail

© Ellen Blonder
The spider lily is such a complicated flower, even though I've simplified and stylized it somewhat. I think I can finally move on to another part of the painting.