Next sitting I'll detail her eyes & mouth and refine the colours ( hopefully without making it boring) + do her hair and clothes.Then the final touches and hopefully the twinkle in her eyes!

I want the entry to be a bit 'out there' as its not really likely a tradtional one will be accepted!

I'm going to have fun with this one.Luckily mum is content to let me play . I won't finish it off a much as my commissioned work..This ones for me!

Latest sitting with mum for the Archibald entry

I went out today and did another sitting with mum..I forgot how cramped it is out there! I should have had mum take a photo of me and the easel carmped up against the open loo . I'd walk back into the loo to try and get a bit further away from the portrait to check it. Its easier to see errors from a distance as you don't get bogged down in details..
 I knew the paper was coming to take photos and do a story and I knew the portrait would look worse before it got better so I fussed around on unimportrant things like the background and clothes until they had been. I should have done some more earlier as it actually looked better as I went.
I got on a roll and was pretty happy with how it was going. Here is a photo of how it looked..

I leave the eyes & mouth till last.I like the blue colour so I'll try to let little bits show through in the finished portrait.Long way to go yet but a good start..until..@##! this is what it looked when I got it out into normal light!

The light in the backroom had a yellow caste to it  so the lovely ornanges I thought I was getting weren't there when I took it out into daylight..Grr ! Now I'll have to redo it to get back to where I thought I had it..Next time I paint in that room Ill have to overcompensate and make it garishly orange so when i get it out it will be ok.
This is what Ive done to it since I got home..Its not as good as it would have been if I'd completed it as I thought I had in ok light but its good enough to go on with when I next get a chance.

I want the final portrait to be colourful and alive with many colours subtly vibrating..no pasty pinks etc..I probably won't get a chance to do another sitting now until after Xmas as I have to complete my Xmas commissioned portraits.

I never have my camera when I need it!

Zeuss was lying snoozing surrounded by all his snoozing roo mates this am .. so cute! He's very chummy with the mostly except when he decides to play boss horse and scatter them.. they know the difference!

Needle in a haystack..

Zeuss lost his flyveil ( actually 2 ) out in the paddock . As anyone who has tried to find one in 25acres + of 2 ' high clover its not easy! I found one but not the other ( better one of course). He ripped his white summer combo rug in half about 5 years ago & I've still never managed to find the other half .. I swear he must have eaten it!

Sorry no landscapes lately.

I'm busy doing secret Xmas commissions so the main thing I have to post are my portrait experiments.  a

Remember I can be commissioned to paint landscapes too. So if you have a favourite place , australia or overseas all I need is a sharp photo and a for you to tell me a bit about the place and why you like it.

Here I've selected a photo that I feel is more flattering and done the likeness from the photo

I left her hair as it was from the previous painting session from life as she had just been to the hairdressers in the latest photos and her hair looked a bit harsh.

I could make the lights on the face lighter but its good enough to use as an underpainting.I'll start putting the colours in Oil over the base when we have the session with the paper on Tuesday.I don't know how they are going to get a decent photo of what I am painting as I will be squashed up halway into the loo to get at the right angle..LOL's It will go through some ugly stages before it is done and I probably won't finish it until after Xmas as I will be working on my secret Xmas commissions..I wish I hadn't booked next Tuesday for the paper as I can't really afford the time away from painting my commissioned work ! Argh!

Update on Mum's portrait for the Archibald entry

Here's an update on my Archibald entry portrait of mum.I'll include the earlier version + the latest. Below is the first attempt..

I usually take a lot of time to get the proportions correct when I am at this stage in a portrait..But it was mum wasn't it? It should just ooze out onto the paper..durr..WRONG..I ran out of time which is why the eyes & mouth are a bit harsh but I was trying to work from feel and several remembered angles.
 She is quite a gentle old fashioned lady & this was way too harsh..

Here's this weeks 2.30hrs portrait from a model

Here is Cicci finished

Cicciolina

35 x 35cms gallery wrap canvas ( deep edged canvas)

Those rotten roos!

Boy the roos are going off! They are breeding at the moment and the males are grunting & fighting and bashing under the verandah trying to get at the poor female who is hiding there..the whole house shook one time! They dont usually hurt the garden but they are fighting amongst the plants & my cycad which takes years to grow one leaf has had several ripped off..Not impressed..If they dont watch out they'll be bleeding kangaroo steaks!

At the end of the 2.30hr session

I'm not doing anymore to it.It has a rawness I like.If it was a commission I'd tone down a few marks and make it more flattering.You never get a flattering portrait from a model as its really hard to sit totally still for 20mins at a time.We have a break every 20mins for a few minutes and then they go back into the pose..By the end of it they all look haggard and we can only paint what is there! You can't get them to smile and stick a grin on them as when you smile the whole face shape changes so if you just stick a grin on it won't look natural + you won't get a likeness! Believe me I tried it once with a public 20min sketch & it didn't work!The first time I didnt get a decent likeness so I learnt quickly.
As a compronmise you can get a nice smiling photo and then once you have the face shape use a model for the colour etc..

More uglies

Ugly stage

They all go through an ugly stage ( which is 'interesting ' when you are painting in public!) LOL's. I've learnt not to worry & keep going & eventually they come good. Some go through several ugly stages.I remember a mural I did which took 103hrs to paint & it was ugly until the last 20hrs! I didnt do the top bit till ...last as it needed scaffolding..I could tell no one liked it as nobody said anything until it came good & then they liked it..

I liked it at this stage & was tempted to leave it but the 'show must go on'..

Ok here are the stages of the portrait I posted a little while ago..general face structure..

Ive got around to framing Zeuss & I .

Have a low stress Christmas. Some unique gifts delivered to your door!

 See more by clicking this link to see  my email

Newspaper is booked to come & do an article on me painting mum's portrait for the Archibald art prize.

Looks like I'll be booked up for another sitting with mum the week from the 28th Nov. The paper wants to be there and do a story.I'll redo her underpainting at the horse event on Sunday ( weather permitting). So if you see me painting a blue portrait don't freak as it won't stay blue! I'll have to put a sign up LOL's


I just hope I have a good day and the painting is worth taking a photo of! LOL's..I'd really prefer to have a fair bit of it done as they don't come together until right at the end but anyway..hopefully people will look at my website and realise  my finished portraits don't look like that!

Here is what Lisa said about the portrait I did Ha Ha !

 That is really cute! You really captured his personality! Love it!

My latest experimental 2.30 portrait from life

Here's my latest experimental portrait from our fortnightly portrait sittings..This ia where I get to experiment with colour ect and train my eye to 'see' which really helps me to paint realistic 3 D portraits from your photos.Don't worry my commissioned portraits are much more traditional than these.. unless you want ...a colourful contemporary one!


We only get 2hrs to paint so these works aren't as finished as commissions but I like that as I feel they often are fresher & capture something of the sitter.I rarely finish them off any more after I get home.. What I get done in the sitting is it!

Gift certificates available for Xmas

I have gift certificates available for Xmas or other special occasions.They can be made out for a portrait of any size or a particular painting.

Ha Ha! Cards available here

Click on the arrow near the add to cart button for an option of 5 or 10.

Large hand made Blank cards from the original Oil painting - size approx 15 x 21cms

Each cards come in  a protective plastic sleeve see below

price

1 card $10.00 5 cards $38.00 10 cards $75.00

Only a few places left for Xmas commissions so order soon!

I have 1 maybe 2 spots depending on size left for Xmas commissions so if you are thinking of a portrait for a special gift you need to order soon.You can email me through my website.
contact me

After something different to send to friends this xmas?

I have largeblank cards made from my original artworks for sale on my website at the link below.You'll know they won't get a card like these from anywhere else!
While your there you can have a look at my original artworks that are for sale.
I''ll be adding new cards as I get a chance so check in occasionally.
Sue Linton Cards for Sale - click here

Something a bit different!

For Sale
Ha ha .. That's a good one ..!!
35 x 46cms
Oil on deep edged canvas
 hang as is
 $550

Wow! ..Did I paint that?

 I've just picked up some of my original artworks from venues and I'll be putting them in some new ones tomorrow. It's amazing.. Once my paintings have gone out to the client or a venue all I have are the photos of them + the images on my website..It's always suprising to see them in the flesh as they are SO much better...! Even the ones I am sick of seeing I still go ..wow!

Finished portrait of me on Zeuss





Oil

48 x 62 cms image size

to be framed

Here is the reference photo. I slimmed myself down , fixed my position , made Zeuss more collected and enhanced the colours!

Update on the progress of my portrait of mum

I went out & took some more photos of mum. I'll pick the nicest & redo my acrylic underpainting to suit so I get a likeness then I'll go out & have another sitting from life to start doing the oil painting.She had some lovely professional photos taken when she was being presented with her Order of Australia medal by the governor general but they were too far away to use as a head portrait.
Hopefully I can get around to adjusting the underpainting in the next few weeks..back to Cicci. I think I know what she need to finish her so I'll be satisfied..

Beating the Heat

I was sailboarding one hot summers day and when I came in I saw this lady with her cattle dog on a board escaping the heat. It looked so much fun and so unusual that I asked if I could take some photo's. This is the painting that resulted. It reminds me of fun summer days!







For Sale

Beating the Heat
 Framed Oil
 c 41 x 50cms framed size
$525

bushwalk & cows

Just done a full day bushwalk after only 4hrs sleep.zzz Think I'll be safer to wait until tomorrow before I try to paint. I think I'd fall asleep if i did. Terrific area to walk. Great rural views.I'll have to try & get my easel up there one time & paint the view as photos don't do it justice.


Near the end we passed a cow that seemed agitated.When she walked off I noticed the afterbirth and the calf and realised she'd just given birth. We gave a her a wide berth so she'd come back to her calf & not abandon it.