So, it has been a long while since I posted an update for this painting. I have been poking at it and doing some work on it for a few evenings this week, so I am showing some of the progress here. Getting into the studio has been a pleasure that I have finally gotten to do since moving to Camarillo. I have a 9′ x 9′ corner of the garage boxed in with a wall so I can keep out the other items of the garage from overflowing in to the space. It is the first time that I have had three walls to contain a studio. I am loving my “Man Cave” as my wife calls it. I can go out late at night and paint with KLOS playing old classic rock and I loose my time. Next weekend I will be painting at the Freedom Day 2009 conference. I hope to see some familuar faces there. LEt me know if you can join me…
So, I have actually been working on this painting a bit over the past month, but honestly, it is difficult to be motivated when the garage studio is 45 degrees. I have a space heater now but it costs a lot to run and it all the heat gets sucked out as soon as someone opens the garage door. <woosh!>
So, here you have the latest draft of this piece. The top kid on the top right is turning out to being the focus. I am struggling still with the faces a bit – specifically the eyes… but I WILL get them right. It is the most important part to get right. I hate seeing a painted face with one eye higher or farther to the side than the other…
Adding color has really changed the feel of the painting. I like it, but I also really liked the look and feel of the monotone version. I will post again when I have something new to show… but we are planning to move in the next month, so craziness ensues.
Here you can see that I have begun to block in the four figures on the left panel. There is a lot of work left to get the faces right, but I am well on my way to a good start. I have been off line with this painting for a couple of days to prepare for painting for Christmas Eve services.
Here is am painting in front of another audience for an event to raise money for a building water wells in Kenya.
I wanted to tell you about a Christmas Eve gig I got today. I will be going to Mission Viejo to do a 48″ x 48″ painting at each of FIVE Christmas eve services for a big Lutheran church (Mount of Olives). They have three “contemporary” services and two “Traditional” services starting at 4pm and the last one is at 10pm. The theme of the evening will be apparent when the pastors “cue” to me while I am painting is going to be… “and then we messed up God’s creation” and whatever I have been painting up to that point becomes all messed up with a big brush. THEN… that mess has to turn into “something” within the next 30 minutes before the service is over…. We have not worked out the details yet, and I have not talked to the pastor yet, only to the worship pastor who I have worked with in the past at Calvary Community in Westlake Village. He is leading the worship for the services down there, and contacted me this morning about all of this. I will also be taking some other paintings for display in the foyer of the church. I will be bringing my current “I was Thirsty” paintings to show and to raise awareness of the Living Water project I am partnering with. Maybe I will have a plastic 5 gallon water bottle below it to collect pocket change.
Samantha and the kids will stay home and watch some Christmas movies while I am gone for the evening. I will get home excited and wiped out… ready for Christmas morn.
If you are anywhere near Mission Viejo on Christmas Eve, please join us for a happy Christmas eve service.
So, here is the very first early sketch of a new painting. This is the 4th of my “Face of Love” series. After drawing it with pencil, I began to do a wash of burnt umber and walnut oil. I will not be able to get back to it until Sunday night. This will be called “I was Thirsty” and is going to be my hope that through it, I will raise the funds necessary to build a well in a waterless village in Africa. I am inspired by the hundreds of churches that are conspiring together this Advent Season to provide funds to allow Living Water to build hundreds of new wells around the world.
This is from the Advent Conspiracy website… “Drilling a fresh water well is a relatively inexpensive, yet permanent solution to this epidemic… Solving this water problem once and for all will cost about $10 billion. Not bad considering Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas last year. Our hope is that, by celebrating Christ in a new way at Christmas, the church can serve as the leading movement behind ending the water crisis once and for all.”
I know a few more churches this year that are involved in this effort. I am joining in with this new painting. I will be spreading the word throu this blog, and in due time, through art shows. Now to get back to painting … which will be difficult during this time of year. but I will work on it as much as I can. Soon, I will also be adding a new “Faces of Love” page to display each of the paintings in the series together.
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