Chris Beaven

My next major work is of Ann. I haven’t seen her in a while but I can still recall our photo session in June last year.

After 141 Sessions of work on this painting I’m calling it finished.

I love the title of this post. There are some phrases that I could never in a million years think that I would every write, and this is one.

I love the weekend! I’m up early and working on art by 6am.

Today I painted the background of the next shelf which is a cardboard box in preparation for painting the items tomorrow.

I finished the large shelf on the top left today. All the parts and pieces are starting to come together.

I worked on the third layer of paint over the Cd’s on Patrick’s shelf and I like them a lot more now that I broke up their edges.

Nothing very flashy or special today. I’m putting in the work that needs to get done and trying to find some meaning beyond the visual.

I feel like I’m on the home stretch with this painting while I work on all the background items.

I see all kinds of imagery in the drawing hanging behind Patrick’s head. Words, names, suns, landscapes, homes and the cosmos.

Today is a big milestone in the Patrick painting. I’m almost 100% sure that I’ve finished the figure unless I find something I hate later.

I’ve put my last strokes of paint on the couch and next I will finish all of Patrick after that the rest is all background.

I’m working on the last bit of the couch that needs to get finished and soon I can put my tube of black away.

I’m still a bit sick but I’m able to spend about an hour painting with good results.

The foot went a lot faster than I thought it would. I didn’t go crazy with detail and I like how it turned out.

For almost everything in my life right now if I’m having some kind of difficulty I always check-in on my fundamentals.

I worked more on the leg today and I’m having trouble with the flexed tendons that enter the top of the foot.

I’m working on the knee again today trying to add in some transparent layers to turn the form and add texture.

Happy new year and new decade! For me today is much the same as yesterday but the hope for my best decade every is growing.

This morning I worked on Patrick’s foot. Getting the drawing and values refined while also setting up for more layers later.

I’m working on another layer over the leg and trying to infuse some form into it.

I determined to get Patrick finished in this painting so my goal is to work on him until the whole bottom half of the painting is done.

Home alone on Christmas day is not so bad when I can have some awesome quiet de dedicated time to painting.

I finished up Patrick’s hand holding the beer bottle and almost finished the right side of the couch.

After 10 days away from this painting it took me a while to just get setup for it but it feels good to be back to oil and the figure.

Today is a bit of a milestone in this painting. I’ve fully covered the entire painting with oil paint. YAY!

My painting today wasn’t the best as my focus was split but it was worth it because I was chatting with my Mom and painting.

We are home now and I’m back to work on Patrick’s painting. I’m motivated to get all the gray covered up so I’m doing initial layers.

I worked on some initial layers of paint for some of the complex items at the top of the background.

I’m excited to see all the gray areas getting filled with color and it’s nice to get the complex stack of CD’s started.

I decided to work on the tapes in the top left corner again. They were too static and needs an update to the more energetic technique I’m using.

I started painting today a bit frazzled from some to-do items that were full of frustration and it helped me realize something.

I’m having some trouble with sleep this morning so I’m doing only an hour of work on the painting.

I’m in the habit of starting out new areas of a painting with a block-in but I would rather just paint an impression of what I see.

I made some changes to the wall value and did the first layer of a framed art of hair notes.

I love the abstraction that I’m infusing into the wall behind Patrick and it is so much fun to relax and let the texture and color flow from me.

After a wonderful heartfelt talk on the phone with my brother I spent some short time painting a arcade game painting on this painting.