Chris Beaven

It’s 5am Sunday and I’m working on my painting while my mind is racing with things I need to do before our trip, so I plan accordingly.

Some days are easier than others. My drawing time today was much more frustrating than last week.

She collected small colored sand castles when she was young. I remember seeing them in stores when I was much younger also.

I moved on to the fifth shelf out of 16 today and I’m trying to keep the colors and values the same through every session.

I spent the short session today painting a wizard figurine on one of the shelves in the background.

This painting has one goal and I make sure that everything I add to the painting is in service to that one goal.

For today’s session I finished painting the one figurine above and to the left. It wasn’t much but that part is done.

Just a little progress today on the painting. I only got a small area done but I’m happy with it’s quality and that is most important.

While focusing on edges it’s helpful to overlap brush strokes for objects that are right next to each other, rather than painting up to the next object.

All of the items in the background may seem randomly placed but I assure you that most are very important details that have a narrative in this story.

Today I worked on the cushion and box that Pattie is sitting on. I’m moving all over the painting picking out easy subjects.

I decided to work on the background shelving today, I’m still a bit sick so I chose an easy section. The square directly to the right of Pattie’s head.

It’s important to recognize my mindset when beginning a session it can make a huge difference in my performance.

I’m working on her legs now, not much to say as I’m still sick and trying to do art daily without messing up anything on the painting.

The medicine I’m taking for my cold is making me groggy and unfocused so I recognize this and work on something simple.

I have a cold and even though I don’t feel like it, I’m going to do my art today. Because I set an achievable minimum.

Yeah, the titles of my posts lack any vestige of interest, I’m not a writer, I’m an artist so I’ll be literal.

For this session it was really easy, I had a wonderful call with my brother and painted Pattie’s Knee.

I’m done with the shirt and I’m on to her almost hidden hand.

In areas where the surrounding values are very dark I find it easier to start with the darkest of them.

On lazy days when my motivation is running low I focus on smaller areas to help me get started.

Not much to update for this session, I’m still working on the shirt and will be for the next few sessions. Lots of bluish gray and subtle values.

As I painstakingly render the folds in the shirt I’m also thinking about the texture of the fabric.

The color of the shirt Pattie is wearing sometimes looks all gray and other times it has a very blue chroma to it.

I’m going to have several more sessions of work on this shirt and I find it hard to write about anything meaningful.

Moving down from the face and neck I’m working on the blueish gray shirt now. And starting in the shadows.

I’m almost positive that I’m done with the most important part of this painting, now I need to move outward.

Pattie wears these wonderfully colorful collections of yarn tied into her pony tails and today’s session was all about reproducing the one she is wearing accurately.

There is a precarious balance between sharp and hard edges with hair, too sharp and it looks like straw, too soft and it’s cotton candy.

For this session I was working on supporting elements around the face like the neck hair and ears.

Every inch of this painting is now covered in oil paint. Most of it is all a rough block-in but the rest is all about the details.

I worked more on the top shelf with all the tiny details, it was a lot of fun actually.

I continued my mind state from life drawing and focused in small areas moving from right to left slowly on the top shelf.

I finished the basic block-in for the floor and then I moved all the way to the top of the painting and starting blocking in the top of the shelving unit.

For this session I almost finished the whole wood floor with a very simple block-in.

I finished off the block-in for the pants and socks during today’s session.

I painted the fronts of the shelving unit on this session and I’m not liking the color right away.

I’m moving my way down the painting adding the first layer of paint for later refinement.

Honestly the more I finish the rest of the painting the better I like it.

It’s a simple and easy day today. I’m just working on blocking in the rest of the painting before I come back to details.

I’m a bit frustrated with the work done today at it is not turning out how I would have hoped.

I’m working again on the background and to push it back I’m keeping everything fuzzy, in other words, soft edges.

I feel as if I will never reach the vision I have in my head, or even come close to it.

I struggle to capture the most subtle of emotions and I’m not there yet but I will work on this painting for as long as it takes.

One great thing about posting my progress daily is that I can review my work from the previous day and make corrections constantly.

I finished the block in of all the square shelves and keepsakes, I still have to do the vertical and horizontal fronts but it is a good milestone.

I think it is the small things that make up the majority of our lives and who we are.

I had lots of driving today so I made only a little progress on the painting, but something is better than nothing.

The past couple days have been short sessions and today is no different.

There are some days when it is good to recognize that my focus is just not there and the minimum is okay.

I have a bit of an issue with different colors being used for the background with every session.

I’m enjoying the relaxed painting of cubby holes that I’m doing currently, I a few more of these to go before I return to the portrait for more refinement.

The shelving unit behind Pattie neatly sections off my daily art work it seems.