Painting 099 - 8/7

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Oil on gessoboard
8"x8"

Gross gross gross.

Painting 095 - 8/3

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Oil on gessoboard
8"x8"

And then I painted something terribly. Where did I put that 'how can art' tag...

Painting 078 - 7/17

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Oil on gessoboard
8"x10"

This one doesn't have the excuse of an awful surface - but it does have the excuse of having been executed in a room that was in the high 80s and humid! Why oh why can't I paint in my lovely little air-conditioned bedroom?

(it's not actually a valid excuse. i'm just trying very hard to ignore how embarrassing these past few pieces have been.)

Painting 076 - 7/15

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Oil on gessoed board
8"x10"

This painting, along with the one before it and the one after it, sealed the deal in convincing me it wasn't that gessoing illustration board or masonite was bad for me - it was the gesso. I mean, look at this painting. I'm not this bad. I swear this isn't my fault, beyond the fact that it's taken me this long to admit it's the wrong gesso for me.

Painting 075 - 7/14

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Oil on gessoed board
8"x10"

This was a bad job start to finish. Awfully gessoed, hard subject (red? HOW DO I PAINT RED??), badly painted... just, augh.

Painting 073 - 7/12

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Oil on gessoed board
8"x10"

I really hate this brand of gesso. I also really hate such obvious cop-out paintings. Feh.

Painting 070 - 7/9

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Oil on gessoboard
8"x10"

Ffffff. Everything about this is bad and wrong. So we're moving on.

Painting 066 - 7/5

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Oil on gessoboard
8"x8"

Well, this isn't new. The worst part is, that first one, from a month an a half ago, is the better painting. At least back then I got the drawing of the cube right.

(can we see why I was so reluctant to post?)

Painting 059 - 6/28

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Oil on gessoed illustration board
8"x10"

I really don't like to blame a surface for a painting's failure, so I'm not going to say 'I couldn't work on this surface' and pretend it absolves me of how awful this turned out. But it at least makes me feel like this is less of a total backslide! Because, see: the drawing's not bad, just the painting.

I need to switch brands of gesso, because this brand dries with a surface like plastic, and I can't afford the gessoboard I'm buying. Bah.

(no 'progress' tag or comparison, since it's patently not worth it.)

Painting 055 - 6/24

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Oil on gessoed illustration board
8"x8"

We aren't discussing this. I know that new surfaces are always a challenge but this is inexcusably bad and we are not discussing it.

Painting 052 - 6/21

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Oil on gessoboard
8"x10"

So, uh. I did this painting way later than I should have, and oh god. It came out better than it possibly should have, considering that I finished this painting in less than an hour, but fff. Suck it up, me.

I will be painting this doll again, though, since it's creepy and I love it.

Painting 049 - 6/18

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Oil on canvasboard
8"x10"

A broken piece of pottery from China! It's a pretty meh painting, overall, though I won't lie: I love the blue. Everything else though? Not so much.

Painting 041 - 6/10

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Oil on gessoboard

8"x8"

I wanted nothing more in life than to Not Paint when I did this painting. Given that fact, I think I can be pleased that it came out within shouting distance of decent (as opposed to, say, a complete waste of paint).

Painting 033 - 6/2

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Oil on canvasboard

8"x8"

Everything about this painting is bad, from the color to the drawing to the circles. Everything. But! I didn't throw it against a wall, and, therefore, I call success :D

Painting 027 - 5/27

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Oil on gessoboard

8"x10"

I like the colors on this, but hoo boy was it a bad choice. If I wanted to paint a shoe, I have many to choose from, almost none of which deal with circles - which are, after all, the bane of my existence. I need to get better at reacting when I realize I'm in over my head, because going into a panic really doesn't help the matter.

Painting 026 - 5/26

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Oil on gessoed hardboard

8"x10"

Not the best painting ever. The edges need work, and the contrast, but what really pulls this one down is the CIRCLE. Aughhh this is why I'm so desperately in need of that Circle Challenge Week, and why I've been putting it off.

Painting 020 - 5/20

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Oil on gessoboard

8"x8"

This, boys and girls, is what happens when you underestimate your subject. 'But I've painted glass a few times already! It's not easy, but it's not super hard. I can totally do this painting before I leave for work.' Uh, not so much. Between Failing at Glass and Failing at Circles, this is... not a success. But it is hopefully the kind of not-a-success that lights a fire under my ass.

Painting 018 - 5/18

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Oil on gessoboard

8"x8"

We're not going to talk about this, beyond: I didn't get a chance to start the painting until after midnight. The reasons behind that are awesome and surreal (of all the things I expected to happen that evening, winding up at dinner with one of my favorite authors was not one of them) but yeah.

Painting 011 - 5/11

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Oil on gessoboard

8"x10"

Nnnn. God, this is embarrassing. The first day of my 'no blue' challenge, and I lose it all over the place: not enough paint, deeply flawed drawing, terrible edges...

I mean, it's a good lesson ("try harder not to suck") and a reminder how important it is to may attention to every aspect of a picture - but it's also a bad painting. Sorry ):

Painting 009 - 5/9

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Oil on canvasboard

8"x10"

For some reason, I went into absolute shutdown over that mint. I painted the J pin without any real trouble, but the mint and its wrapper... I just couldn't do it. There wasn't even a good reason. This means, of course, that I'll be attempting it again, at a later date, but for now... augh.