From a demo I gave...
Wow, I didn't realize I haven't posted for so long!! I'll have to do a better job of updating my painting progress more frequently. Yes, it's Final Friday at the Pendleton this week -- Feb 22. I'll be at my studio between 8-10 pm if you'd like to come and visit us. Horseshoe Cincinnati (Casino) may be open by next month's Final Friday, which is Good Friday -- March 29.
Pendleton artists are trying some new things this year on Second Look Saturdays: from 11 am to 3 pm on the day after Final Fridays, Artists in Action will be demonstrating, giving classes, holding workshops and making the day much more interactive and informative for our guests.
When painting with my group in Mason today, we were talking about losing our enthusiasm for a subject. I hate to admit it but that's what's happened here. I started this last summer at Loveland's Paint the Town, where a purchase award was offered for portraits of the Loveland Chamber of Commerce, which is headquartered in a historic home. What jazzed me about my reference photos were all the brightly colored flowers surrounding the neutral colored house. But I used this subject to give a demonstration to a group of painters and I haven't gotten my enthusiasm back for the original idea to work on it some more. Maybe someday. Here's the little sketch I did on a small board in preparation for the demo, where I used a 16 x 20 inch canvas sheet.

One of the nice things about commissions is that I seldom, if ever, lose enthusiasm for them because the people who want those paintings are excited to get them and that's infectious.