I sent out messages venting my frustration to the world on twitter and facebook. this inspired many comments from friends , artists on twitter and even a discussion on fine art views (which sadly, I was unable to respond to, something went wrong in the comments for me) it’s amazing how everyone’s encouragement helped me bounce back and turn it around. this painting went from being a failure to being, well, something of a success if the comments are anything to go by!

I became obsessive and detached and thoroughly engrossed in my work. hands have always been one of my favorite subjects, they speak volumes in each tiny gesture. in quite a few of these recent pieces the face is blank and all the expression is contained in the hands – what do they say?

I loved reading everyone’s suggestions because it gave me so much insight into what people see in the piece. sometimes you are just too close to something to really get it. the colors are very bright and happy in this one, I very much enjoyed playing with the colors and experimenting. click on the link to see the detail images.

There is something about the chair ones that I find enjoyable and terrifying at once- I’ve never been particularly good with inanimate objects, they don’t interest me as much- but i am very interested in these chairs for some reason!

Pensive – a new watercolor nude Watercolor and Pencil on Paper 16.5×11.7in $200 I’m having a lot of fun layering colors to create different effects in these watercolors. no doubt I’m breaking a million color rules, I never had much patience for the science of color theory. usually my system is to know the rules so that I know how and when to break them. to know them so well that usually obeying is second nature and breaking is a conscious decision. this is a good plan but lately I find I’ve been having so much more fun working on relaxing that old rulebook completely!

Ennui Watercolor and Pencil on Watercolor board 16.6×11.7 in $200 Watercolors are suiting me very well at the moment, I can fit them in with my schedule easily allowing me to enjoy studio time more often- even if it is only for 10 minutes!

Pop Daz|Studio render Not quite sure about the lighting in this one, I really like the shadows on the thigh, but not so much the ones on the chest. the pose came really fast, but the lighting was a trick as usual – still, that’s where painting can come in!

this was one of those occasions where it all just clicked together, I knew the exact pose, it was easy to model, the lighting just fell into place and the shadows created such an interesting effect!