A trip to the opera, retro cats, Klimt and more big ol' paintings!

Wednesday night artin'

...just a little up date...

Moustaches are still happening.  Yep.  I made a fancy lady going to the opera on Tuesday...and retro lady with big white glasses with attached moustache...and then...random inspiration from one of my favorite artists...Gustav Klimt. 

I can't remember what prompted me to do that last one...did I see a Klimt reference somewhere?  Was it because I happened to see my gold paint....?  No idea.   

---

'Movember' Series, pieces 322-324, November 18-20th...with a guest appearance by Mackie, looking retro-ravishing! (He didn't put up a fight...I think he was feelin' it!)

In other artistic happenings...on Tuesday I worked on my two large canvases some more.  I started adding color to the second one, and I decided I liked seeing some of the white canvas through the paint, I was using a dry brush technique...and...just...I really started to like the rough quality of the paint on the canvas.  

If nothing else, I feel like working on these large paintings gives me a chance to break free of my self-imposed restraints that I have set for myself with my daily pieces. I feel different when I paint, like a different artist, like I can be a little messy, experiment, be more expressive.

And well...here is where I stopped...I want to work on these some more this weekend, hopefully come to some resolution for the pieces over Thanksgiving break.

Next up...on Wednesday I made my weekly pilgrimage to Michael's with a 50% coupon.  Originally I had thought about buying another wood panel...but then I was lured to that back wall with the stretched canvas...and...I...I just couldn't resist.  I kept eyeing the 24x28 inch canvases...So bought two.  I even went through the line twice because I am thrifty like that.

(Okay...confession.  I went through the line THREE times because I also bought a torso form to create some sculptural neck pieces...more on that to come!)

Then I just came home and started to paint.  The cats knew I was up to something the second I walked in with those canvases...so they kept an eye on me.  (well, kind of...until they started nappin')

Wednesday afternoon painting, shown in progress

...new diptych...waiting for me!

And here is my stopping point on my new diptych.  

After I had already started sketching the first image with blue paint directly onto the canvas...I had the idea to make the pieces connect on either side by adding another face.  I wish I would have put the original face so that it it was directly divided by the edge of the canvas...but then again I thought to myself that I kind of liked the challenge of having it slightly more to the side.

I have posted a pic of the paintings sitting on my easel...then below in the two connection options.  I didn't edit the photos in terms of color/lightness/etc...just wanted to show how the compositional elements connect.

I think that I like the idea of interchangeable pieces just because sometimes its nice to be able to make a change, like having two paintings in one. 

---

Composition arrangement 1

Composition arrangement 2