Still Working - portrait painting work in progress

Every time I look, I see things that need correcting.  Didn't spend much time on it today - was busy outside - actually haven't spent much time at all on this little painting, but it's been fun to do.  Even though there really is a lot of cool blue in her hair, will remove some of it. Mostly, I just smoothed things and will probably leave it alone, except for something here and there.  Always so afraid of murdering my poor paintings. I hope this isn't too boring - thanks for stopping by - and I am totally open to critiques, ideas, tips, or anything else!

What I'm Working On - portrait painting in oil Work in Progress

Maybe a couple of days or so on this, possibly warming up the background and several other touches - I'm hoping to bring it to a grand closure (oh the pomposity) without killing it.  Maybe tomorrow I'll work on something else - don't know about y'all, but sometimes it just seems better to let it sit around for a day and then go back to work on it.  Hope you're not burning up where you are - it's in the 100s every day here, well, today was maybe 97 to 99, so not so bad.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

On My Easel - The Flapper - original oil figurative painting in progress

Here's what I was working on today while listening to a book that deals with the 1920s, Only Yesterday, which I had to read in college, but which I get much more out of now, plus The Sleepwalkers, by Christopher Clark, about the events leading up to WWI.  So, it follows, I guess, that I want to paint a flapper.  This is only the very beginning of this piece as you can tell, and I hope it will turn out well, but, sigh, hoping is no guarantee.  It's on 10 x 10" stretched canvas.  Thanks for looking!

The Girl on My Easel - original oil portrait in progress

Here's what I'm working on today - not really finished, yet.  I think I'll set it aside and come back to it in a week or so.  It's on 10 x 8" canvas.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Elena - original oil portrait painting

This painting was done today and is totally wet, but I decided to go ahead and post it.  Live dangerously, I say.  It's on 6 x 6" Gessobord. 
I've been hearing that some oil painters switch to acrylics during the summer, especially here in the Southwest - am wondering if any of you are doing that.  Hope you're staying cool.  Thanks so much for stopping by!
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The Dancer's Portrait - original oil portrait painting by Connie Chadwell

I spent most of my day making Christmas goodies, but did set aside time to paint from a drawing I did earlier in a drawing group.  It was such a difficult pose, so we had the model stop after a few minutes or she would have had such a sore neck! I did get enough information down on paper to do a painting, though.  On gessoed panel, this painting is 12 x 9". 
Hope everyone's staying warm!  Thanks for stopping by my blog! Sold

Ellie as the Model - original oil portrait painting by Connie Chadwell.

You know how sometimes the model doesn't show? And the drawing group participants have to take turns being the model? I hate that. Sigh. Oh well, I always dutifully take my turn - even though it's not my favorite thing to do - and the bright side is that you get a variety of models in one session. Here's the result of one of those poses. I worked very fast on a 7 x 5" panel. Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

The Russian Girl - original oil portrait painting by Connie Chadwell

The young woman in this painting was originally from Russia and she had such a sweet, yet melancholy expression, I thought. During the entire session, I attempted to get up the nerve to try some of my college Russian on her, but sanity prevailed and I never did. If I had blurted out the few words and phrases I remember, she would have had a look of utter confusion - an expression much more difficult to paint, I think.

I used oil paints on oil primed linen on board. Love that stuff. Thanks for looking. Oh, and it's 10 x 8".

Portrait Practice - original oil portrait painting by Connie Chadwell

Here's something I did on Saturday afternoon. The drawing was done from life and using the drawing as a model, I painted this very quickly, with a limited palette, as a practice piece.

As much as I like value changes, this one doesn't have a wide range of values - kind of soft. It's probably good to do something different for a change. It's 5 x 5" on Gessobord.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Another Girl at the Bar - original oil portrait by Connie Chadwell

This is a quick portrait where I actually set my stop watch, so that with any luck, I wouldn't kill the painting. I used a single primed linen board. There's just something about that surface that I love - it absolutely screams for looseness.

The painting is 10 x 8" - thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

Lizza with a Fan - original oil portrait painting by Connie Chadwell

I like these settings for the model and what a wonderful model Lizza is! She can hold a pose - which is so tough - and look relaxed through the whole thing. This painting is 8 x 10" on Gessobord.

We're having rain - Yipee - and some fairly cool temps. But Texas is famous for wild weather, so we lurch from one extreme situation to another. Tomorrow we may have some flooding. Ah, well. My flower beds finally look as if someone loves them.

Thank you so much for stopping by Hackberry Street Studio!

The Couple at the Bar - original oil figurative painting by Connie Chadwell

This is from one of my bar drawings. It was a Friday evening and this couple was engaged in deep conversation, oblivious to everything going on around them. They were still there when I left.

Although it was a little darker in the bar area, I kept it lighter so my figures could be seen. The painting is 8 x 10" on Gessobord.

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Portrait of Lee - original oil portrait painting by Connie Chadwell

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This painting is based on a drawing I did in a life drawing group. I loved the model's pose, but I concentrated on her face, rather than the whole figure. Upturned faces are such a challenge!

I just love green, especially in skin colors. And with green, ya gotta have red. So I did Lee's skin in a little exaggeration of green with some red.

It's on 6 x 6" Gessobord.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

Secret Smile - original oil portrait by Connie Chadwell

I love profiles because they seem to capture the model in a private, reflective moment.

This painting is 6 x 6" on gessoed panel.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mrs. Grayson's Tea - original oil portrait painting

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This painting is 16 x 12" on canvas on board. It's the one that won a second in oil in the exhibit that I mentioned a couple of postings ago.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Sinthy - oil portrait painting by Connie Chadwell

Sinthy - I love that name - held the pose for about an hour, but I stopped before the hour was up because I didn't want to "kill" the painting. Plus, my board is only 6 x 6", so I didn't need much time. I just made lots of strokes while mainly looking for values. I am happiest when working quickly and then moving to another spot in the room to do a charcoal figure drawing from the same pose at another angle.

This painting is on Ampersand Gessobord. Thanks for stopping by! SOLD