Hi Michele,

Overly sentimental in this case is delightful, she makes me smile. And he is all boy, in his attitude and relationship to his bud. I love it! But then I'm a sucker for animals.

Jean

Michele, these are so beautiful! I love these. You must have a secret for getting those edges so soft, what is it?

Michele, wow - everyone has said it above! I just hope you rubbed off on me just a bit in AZ!

Leaps 'n bounds! :thumbsup:

The soft edge-making technique I use is something I learned from Bill Whitaker. I have a drawer full of dead, fuzzy sable and synthetic brushes that I use as blending brushes, in all different sizes.

I blend one color into another and then grab another clean, dry blender brush for the next color areas. As Bill said, you need a lot of clean blenders each day, doing this (or you can clean them with fast drying acetone for the next colors you want to blend, but I don't use that). My good brushes get fuzzy so fast that the "blender" drawer fills up fast and I probably have fifty of them. This technique works especially well if you have to blend a wet area into a dry area. Then I go over everything I paint with a small fan brush and smooth things out even more.

Michelle, these are just gorgeous. I have to agree with Cynthia, you really are improving by leaps it seems with every painting. Do you care to share your secret with me? :)

Mary, you asked how I've been able to improve. Well, I paint for about five hours most days and have been doing that for almost three years now. People tease me for being so serious and intense about things when I get going, but that's how I am, I suppose (despite the airhead look I have in my photo over on the left).

I read and try to apply everything I learn on SOG each day, and read art books and art magazines when I'm eating my cereal. (See: serious and intense! I'm such a bore to be around, unless someone wants to hear about painting!)

With the last three portraits I've posted (Rachel by candlelight and these two) I've been really applying Tony Ryder's method, which I learned in his class in December and which you can read about in the demos on his site: www.tonyryder.com

Business-wise, I have production and financial goals that are very important to me each quarter and each year. Otherwise I might have to go and get a "real job" - heaven forbid! So basically I feel I have to succeed or face dire consequences.

And maybe the most important reason: I love painting so much that it's hard to put down the brush each day!

Michele, you have that most precious gift of all: the seriousness and intensity that you bring to your work. This craft of ours is really something that deserves our obsession. I'm sure I wouldn't find you a "bore." (Are you single...?)

And I've never seen a crewcut painted so masterfully.

David

Michele,
These are wonderful! Lovely, soft well modulated skintones, beautiful light. The best yet!

The boy and the dog seem to share the same happy expression, a great boy and his dog portrait.

Sincerely,

Both are incredible. Love the background in the second one, especially the treatment of the tree.

Michele,

I love these! The lighting on the subject is very nice. The dogs are very well done. It seems that everytime you post a recent painting I say to myself, "Now this is her best."
No exception this time either!