Colorful progress....

Right now, this certainly doesn't look like much of anything! So far, I've been doing a lot of fine, detail work- mostly in the lighter colors. I have a feeling that this painting will look quite disjointed until it's just about completed. It is a lot of fun to do this detail work, at least for me,

anyway. I concentrate on the shapes, and not the subject matter. Clearly, I'm not a motorcycle expert, which may, in the long run, help me in the painting process. As artists, we're trained to paint what we see, not what we THINK we see.

I'm hoping I can get this done soon. I have so much wonderful reference material that I cannot wait to get to. Photos of beautiful gardens, plus photos I took in Quebec City that I can't wait to get to. What a beautiful place it is, and I can't wait to capture it in paintings. Guess I need more hours in the day......who doesn't, actually!!

Slow progress...

Slow progress it is!! Fine detail work certainly takes it's time!
I haven't been able to paint as much lately, with how busy I have been. We've had many home projects going, my son has moved into a house with his girlfriend, all the late summer chores, etc. Seems like we've been swamped lately. The motorcycle paintings also take a long time to really develop. It seems like I will paint for weeks before I really feel like I'm making progress. Here I'm starting with the light colors before I begin punching in the deep tones. This motorcycle will look different from my other ones with the colors I'm using, too. This bike was done in bright colors, and at the show it had some colored lights on it as well. It should prove to be unusual when it's done! With the outdoor work and other projects concluding, I'm hoping to be able to work more steadily on painting.
Back to work!

A new motorcycle...

It's time to begin a new motorcycle painting, one that I have been thinking of doing for a long time. It's hard to see the drawing, but if you click on it, it will enlarge and become easier to see. I've begun putting a little color on, just some light washes for now.

This motorcyle was at a motorcycle show in Toronto a couple of years ago. I loved the colors and the incredible detail on the bike.

This will no doubt take me a very long time to do! I love detail work, and only someone that loves detail work would take on this project!

The drawing has already taken me several hours. Unlike a floral portrait, mechanical objects need to be precisely rendered in order to look correctly done when completed. Hence the long time spent on the drawing.

A perfect painting to begin as summer winds down. (Even though it's 86 degrees outside)!