I certainly have had ample opportunity for making messes this week. These are sample images from the three large sheets of silk paper I made from some roving I have never gotten around to spinning. Oh yum! I can using see these in scrapbooking, paper art, and maybe even in the mixed media collage class I am taking online.

HUGE mess though. Very wet!

I also started an oil portrait of my oldest daughter. My painting instructor set us the tast this week of starting a second portrait to work on at home, while we kept our class project for class. So...

I applied what I have learned so far to a copy of one of Lydia's senior portrait shots.

This is the undersketch, complete with grid. The diagonal lines make getting a faithful copy particularly easy.

This is where I am stopping until the next lesson. I laid down an underpainting in very thin burnt umber, let that dry, then added a layer of local color. I really REALLY wanted to keep going, but I was beginning to make mud in my attempts to blend colors, so I will try to contain myself until this layer dries.

It's so cool to see the canvas in a photo like this. I like the modeling I have achieved on the left side of her face, but I need to correct the shape of her mouth on the right. The lines of her clothing look good too, but the shadow under her left lapel needs to be darker

It amazes me how fast time goes when I have a brush in my hand...