Chris Beaven

I started on painting the figure today, but after an hour and a half I was distracted.

One session to establish the background. I’ve learned in a previous painting that this way is much easier to deal with.

I’ve started on my next figure painting, in the midst of a very frustrating day.

Another one finished and I honestly think this one is better than the last.

With this session I’ve finished all of the figure and the foreground. But I think I will do one more pass over some sections.

The figure is slowly fading into shadow and I’m finding it hard to fine anything to write about.

Hands are tricky to paint and I believe that I will have to do another pass over this one.

I worked on the upper arm and upper torso today.

I’m very slowly adding in detail across the figure utilizing transparency in many places.

I’ve begun the second pass over the figure now and I find this part of painting much more invigorating.

The ability to recognize your current mood, accept it and plan for it rationally can really help with the quality of work.

The first pass on the figure has been started, as with any painting at this point I’m not sure how it will progress.

I’ve painted the entire background and have ended up with a figure shaped hole.

Drawing is done, next session I begin with paint.

A beginning for the next painting currently only looks like a blank canvas.

After eleven sessions and around nineteen hours later this painting is finished.

I think I have the background in order now and I’ve learned some lessons here.

I’ve started from the beginning again adding a semi opaque glaze over all the work I’ve done.

With this session I’ve covered the entire canvas with the first layer of paint.

Session 7 on this painting and I’m still working on the first pass throughout the whole figure.

There are huge advantages to posting the progression of artwork daily, but you must conquer any fears of inadequacy.

While refining the rendering of this model face I’ve made some observations of hue variation in skin.

Tonight’s session I didn’t do much of painting the figure, I worked mostly on the background.

I working my way over the figure thinking mainly about describing form through value and color.

It seems that I’ve found some motivation in this painting.

I figured that this is enough build of the underpainting and it is now ready for color while in front of the model.

This is the first time I’ve begun a long term painting using burnt umber to build up the values first.

I didn’t have a lot of motivation for art today so I spent only an hour fixing the drawing on this painting.

I’m continuing the same painting as yesterday but larger, and from photo reference to start.

Today was a short session of just one hour working on a monochrome start.

I’m going to have to try this monochrome start again, maybe.

I moved very slowly through this monochrome start and still I find issues with my drawing.

Drawing once, checked digitally and drawing again.

I’m one quarter of the way done with my monochrome start series. Only 75 more to go.

Some poses are much harder than others to draw it seems.

Before I was able to begin this monochrome start I needed to spend some time preparing more paper.

I’m very pleased with this monochrome painting, I didn’t wipe it out.

Another monochrome start that seemed to come together with ease.

A monochrome start with extreme foreshortening.

Today was very fun yet busy, so I only had time for a half hour of drawing at the end of the day.

Life drawing with our model Gary, and I’m happy with how it turned out.

After 20 monochrome starts I still struggle with the drawing.

A lack of focus and time really effects any art I do. Today the heat and other tasks conspired against me.

This drawing went well but the outcome seems a bit clunky to me.

It seems that I’m getting faster at these monochrome starts.

So I took my last session’s monochrome start a little further with much more work on value.

The monochrome start went very smoothly today.

Drawing in oil again, but with a different video series and a slight change in my paints.

I’m retrying the previous image and spending more time on it. This painting turned out a bit better.