"Maiko #5 "- original oil pastel portrait

I did this painting with Caran d'Ache and Sennelier oil pastels on black mixed media 7 x 5" paper.  A maiko is a very young woman who is training to become a geisha. These young women have so much to learn of which every bit is fascinating to me.  I do get to draw from life a few Japanese models dressed as geishas and it is such a thrill!  I so enjoyed doing this one - thanks for stopping by!
 

On My Easel - Two Geishas - original oil pastel figurative in progress

Here's a little of what I was working on today.  The support looks like canvas, but isn't.  I applied gesso to panel with a bristle brush that one would use to paint woodwork.  With the first layer going up and down, and the next one side to side, the effect is more like canvas.  I only needed two layers because the panel was already gessoed.  It's really fun and instructive to paint a 7 x 5" because it's so intimate and also easier to work out problems or go in a different direction.  For instance, I'm now more interested in the geisha in the back and want to explore that a little more, possibly in a larger piece.  I think it's the values that are appealing in the back geisha.  For me, it's always the values!  Will probably finish this on Tuesday.  Thanks for stopping by!

Geisha with a Fan II - original oil figurative painting

This painting is 10 x 8" on archival canvas panel and is much more abstract and softer than I usually like to do, but I didn't have anything else to post, so here's today's effort.  Since it was done quickly, I left the background, and, hey, some of the foreground, kind of unfinished.  I like 'unfinished', usually, but when I started this one - which I did from a drawing from life - I had a different intention.  It was supposed to be more detailed, but you know how it is, sometimes the painting sort of tells you it's time to stop.  Although, more often, it doesn't tell me anything and I end up killing the painting.  Sigh.  Will I ever get it just right?  I sure hope so!  Thanks for visiting my blog!

Tiny Geisha - original oil pastel ACEO figurative painting

I did this little ATC or ACEO while listening to The Last Gunfight by Jeff Guinn.  Delicious.  It's a bit of the hard truth about the Old West and pretty much nothing like the western movies I loved in my childhood, nor even much like my all-time favorite movie, Tombstone.  I could watch that movie endlessly, I think, if I didn't have a ton of other things to do.  Tomorrow, I'll be back in reality, Old West style, listening to the last half of the book while I paint some tango dancers.  I realize westerns and tango dancers don't have much in common, but it's fun to lose myself in two entirely different worlds! 

Now a bit about my little painting.  Although tiny, these little ones do take time and some effort to get into the picture plane everything you want to say.  Sometimes, though, I just crave sitting bent over my table to work on these minis.  It's on 3.5 x 2.5" illustration board.  Thanks for visiting my blog!

The Model and Roger - original oil pastel figurative painting

I thought this was a cute pose and painted it on 12 x 9" Colourfix great, gritty pastel paper.  It's wonderful for oil pastel.  Two things, though, Roger is a lot more white than this and I kind of cut off the top of the painting with my bad photography.  Oh well, this is today's effort, anyway.  Thanks for stopping by!  

Geisha with Her Mirror - original figurative oil painting

IT RAINED in Junction today!!!  As I painted, I listened to one of my audible.com books - Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower -  and although it's a great book, when the rain began, I just had to turn it off so I could listen!  It was such a thrill - even the thunder was beautiful!
Thank you so much for stopping by - I'm always a delighted to see you here!  Oh, and the painting is 14 x 11".  Sold

Tiny Doodles - original mixed media Artists' Trading Cards

Here are a few of the little 3.5 x 2.5" things I do when I'm traveling or don't have time to do anything larger.  Some of these are mainly oil pastel, others are mostly colored pencil, but they are all mixed media. 
Right now, I'm trying to keep up with a wildfire that's burning about ten miles from us.  Many of the residents west of town were evacuated from their homes - much worry tonight, but hoping for the best for everybody!
Thanks for stopping by!

A Little Mystery - original oil pastel portrait painting

This loose, sort of scribbly oil pastel was done on black 12 x 9" Colourfix paper. Some of the black bits of paper show through here and there and I like the way that look accentuates the looseness of the work.
This afternoon - between my dandelion pulling efforts - I took my oil pastels outside and did some color studies. I have been reading Hensche on Painting by John Robichaux (a Dover publication) and decided to do experiments just with white - white in shade and then in sunlight. I then tried to duplicate the colors. Normally, I would use oil paint for these studies, but the oil pastel worked just great because it blends easily! It was a worthwhile exercise in learning to see better and it was so lovely being in the back yard with Roger while it's still cool and springlike.
Thanks so much for stopping by Hackberry Street Studio! Sold

The Model in a Red Kimono - original oil figurative painting

Here's another red kimono painting, this one is less 'finished' than some of the others, but the timer was set, so .....
The model was also standing on the floor, rather than a model stand, which gives a different perspective that I like to try from time to time.  Fun to do.  It's 10x8" on Gessobord.  Thanks for looking!

The Oriental Fan - original oil figurative painting

I love fans - they're so expressive and meaningful in so many cultures.  Right now, I also love them because they help keep me cool in this steamy Texas weather.  This painting is on stretched canvas, 12 x 9".  Thanks for looking!  Sold

Jade Buddha - oil pastel still life

Now for something completely different - for me, anyway. I have always loved this Buddha figurine, so just decided to paint it, instead of my usual subjects - hope I did it justice. Actually, I did this the other day, and it is a daily painting, just not today's daily painting.

This oil pastel is on 8 x 10" Ampersand Pastelbord. I love this stuff (Pastelbord)! The oil pastel feels very dry after a few days and then, being oil pastel, you can just spray the heck out of it with fixative, varnish it and frame without glass. At least, that's what I've been doing lately.

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Red Kimono - oil painting by Connie Chadwell

Red and green, pink and green - I love the combination. So, it was perfect when the model posed in a red kimono against a green wall, although I must admit the green was a little softer than this one and maybe the red wasn't so red. But I got carried away.

This painting is 7 x 5" on Gessobord. Thanks so much for visiting my blog!SOLD