Chris Beaven

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.

I’m still working on the background, this may take the longest even though I’m not planning on going super high detail with it.

I started on the background today to get away from the portrait for a bit. Her face is not done yet but it is good to work on something a bit different for a while.

I’m very new to this and I’m not very sure of what I’m doing. I’ve never painted oil over a well defined acrylic base so I’m going slow.

I’ve started with oil now and I’m taking my time, I don’t want to rush this as it is the first time I’m trying oil over acrylic.