Big Project Complete - New Puppy Portrait

"Molly"
pastel on paper
copyright
Jan Gibson

The BIG PROJECT is finally complete and the client will pick up everything tomorrow evening. I moved the last Adirondack chair out of my studio while ago & it's amazing how much space I now have! lol I guess I'm pleased with the way the furniture ended up looking. Well, I'm sort of pleased - it's extremely rare to for me to really like what I do as I almost always look back & see things I would change. Sometimes you just have to stop and that's what I've done with this project. I'll post photos of everything as soon as I can photograph the last chairs. Since it's barely daylight here, I'll wait until I get some good light sometime today.

I also finished a portrait of a friend's new puppy and I do like the way it looks in real life. The problem is that it looks awful scanned or photographed. It's on a blue paper & I've had problems with reproducing paintings containing blue and red before. The actual portrait is not so colorful as the photo shows. Anyway, please meet Molly, a little poodle terrier mix. This has been done in pastel pencils and is on Strathmore charcoal paper.

So, what's next on the agenda? I have an upcoming portrait to do as soon as the client sends me some good photos of the dog. This commission is from a repeat customer and one that I love working with.

Also, I have to get my website redesigned! I've been trying to do that for about a year and something more important always comes up. Web design takes a lot of time and effort and concentration and since I only do it every couple of years or so, it's like learning everything all over again. Plus, the web changes at super-sonic speed and there are always new things to be learned.

And, last, but certainly not least, I want to explore painting some human portraits. I just need a good block of time without interruptions so I can concentrate on learning what I need to know!

OK, that's two pretty hefty blocks of time needed to accomplish my personal goals plus, my studio still needs some organization. I wonder if I can get one of those organizational experts to come in and do it for me? Hmmmm, since I don't have the ready cash for such a thing, I wonder if I can convince Oprah to have pity on me & send someone to come in and do it? Yeah, right. Just call me a dreamer!