Bringing Tea - original oil figurative painting

 This painting is 14 x 11" on Fredrix archival canvas board.  An experiment, really, but aren't they all - at least for me!  I was in a restaurant where the servers were dressed in kimonos and the kimonos and the doors caught my eye.  I made some tiny sketches and am just doing some paintings from them.  This young woman was serving a huge gathering of people and at times, she seemed overwhelmed and a little unsure of herself.  A couple of times she paused for a second as she came through the door.  We were seated in a raised area, which provided a different perspective.

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Another Evening at the Bistro - original oil figurative painting

I hope everyone had a great Fourth!  Most places in this part of the world nixed the fireworks display because of the wildfire danger, but we had one here in Junction.  I watched from my back porch - it was actually down at the city park on the Llano River - but still a good view and the show was really fine!
This painting is on 8 x 10" archival canvas board.  Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Coffee Break - original oil figurative painting

This scene was at an art museum, in the cute little cafe area they always have in museums.  I love museum cafes and some of them have really tasty food, too.  This couple was so happy and very chatty - just made me feel good to be nearby.  And I loved her hair.  It had a life of its own.  Mine does, too, but not with the same results.  The painting is on 6 x 6" Gessobord.  Thanks so much for stopping by Hackberry Street Studio! Sold

Date Night - original oil portrait/figurative painting by Connie Chadwell

Back home from a little jaunt that proved to be longer and more taxing that I'd anticipated and happy to be here!  Stayed up late, got up early and then walked with a friend for four and a half miles.  Did that three days last week, too.  Who knows, this could be habit-forming!
Here's a painting of a couple I observed recently.  They were so sweet - did a little sketch of them, then painted on 10 x 8" Gessobord.  Thanks so much for dropping by!
If you're interested in this or any other of my artworks, just email me.

The Thai Restaurant - original oil figurative painting by Connie Chadwell

I painted this from another drawing of my favorite Thai restaurant.  The painting is 10 x 8" on Fredrix archival canvas panel.  When I work on this support, I really like to paint fairly thickly so there's variety in the texture.   This panel has the best of both support worlds - canvas for its nice surface texture and panel for the rigidity that gives my brush something to react against.  I like it when the surface doesn't 'give' the way stretched canvas does.

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The Menu - original oil pastel figurative sketch by Connie Chadwell

The couple studied the menu for quite awhile. Very intent on getting just the right dish, I think. This 9 x 12" painting is on Art Spectrum Colourfix paper in black. It has this wonderfully gritty finish that is difficult to cover completely, so I don't try too hard to get it smooth. I really like the black bits peeking through, as well as the way the colors show up on the deep black surface. This sketch/painting is not very "finished", but I decided to leave it alone.

We're having such wonderful weather here in the Texas Hill Country now, that it's hard to stay inside and do art. I keep saying that I'll do some landscapes since the weather is so nice, but driven as I am to draw people, just never get around to it - so, off to the places where people hang out. Something to do, I guess, with my obsession with figures and faces.

Back in my studio to work some more on the piece, I listen to George Jones. Yeah, I know, I should be listening to Mozart, but I just love the "soul" in country music.

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The Daily Specials - original oil pastel figurative sketch by Connie Chadwell

I had such a good time doing this one, from life, in a small neighborhood restaurant, where they write the specials of the day on the blackboard. The initial parts of the sketch were done on-site and then filled in back at Hackberry Street Studio. The wonderful thing about oil pastel, for me anyway, is that it's very freeing. I just scribble away really fast (especially when working from life since people move around so much) and end up with a lot of oil pastel on the support; but since it's on Pastelbord, it will dry fairly quickly.

Maybe I'll paint a larger version in oil of this sketch and then again, this may be the only one, but I loved doing it. Painting is more enjoyable when it's done from actual models, I think. The waiter was a problem because he moved so quickly in and out of my vision, so he is less exact. Well, nobody in the painting is "exact", but he is definitely less so. It's 5 x 7". Thanks for looking!

More Thai Food - original oil figurative/interior painting by Connie Chadwell

Yum! Vietnamese and Thai food is just about my favorite cuisine! There was a little Vietnamese restaurant in our neighborhood in Washington, D.C. and later, a Thai place, as well. When I first put the sauce (I didn't know then it was called fish sauce) on the first spring roll I ever tasted, I was hooked. I went home and experimented endlessly trying to figure out what the missing ingredient was. Lemon juice? No. Vinegar? No. I marched myself over to the Vietnamese grocery store and they told me it was fish sauce. Mostly fermented anchovies, to be exact. That gave me pause, I can tell you, but not for long. Fish sauce, or nuoc mam, is addictive!

As a sixth-generation Texan, I'm not likely to ever give up cornbread or tortillas, but I'm really glad Central Market in San Antonio carries all the ingredients I need to make Vietnamese and Thai food!

As for the painting I'm posting, I never miss an opportunity to sample the offerings at Asian restaurants wherever we go and this scene is from a drawing I did in a Vietnamese restaurant in San Antonio. Actually, this painting is pretty wet, so maybe I'll post it again when it's dried a little.

Thanks so much for stopping by Hackberry Street Studio!

Evening at the Cafe - original oil figurative painting by Connie Chadwell

I just got back into town and thought I should get busy posting something, so here is a restaurant painting - 11 x 14" on Gessobord. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Late Supper - original oil figurative painting by Connie Chadwell

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This oil painting is 6 x 6 " on Gessobord. Thanks for stopping by!