Developments in the Studio

A few days ago, in a post titled "Exhibition Preps", I showed images of the five new drypoints made for my show at Bella Vista next month. I also said that I'd hand-color some of them. Well, "some" turned into "all". I did one test print and liked the results so much that I just kept going. Here's how they turned out:

Gargoyles

Valley Farm

Homestead

Back 40

South Market Warehouse

If you compare them to the previous versions, I think you'll see that the subdued color gives them a whole new character. What do you think? I'd like to hear your impressions.

My Intro to Painting class in my studio started this past Saturday. I have one (count 'em: 1) student. The first class went well. I didn't bore her to tears, she seemed to have fun, and she's coming back next week. Some teachers might've cancelled the class without more students, but I'm going ahead. This is the first time I've taught this particular class, so it's a work-in-progress as I try to figure out how much ground to cover in each class, how to cover it, what exercises to use, and so on. I already know that, when I'm giving a presentation, that I can be extremely boring to listen to, but that's something to deal with and try to overcome. A ball of fire I'm not; a careful and logical presenter, yes. Which means that I can carefully and logically put people right to sleep. Done it a thousand times. Fortunately, in a studio environment, you don't just listen, you have to do things, often with smelly liquids. So after this class is over (it goes for four weeks), I'll make whatever changes need to be made, and I'll offer it again in January, after the holiday season is over.

So with the prints done, it's time to get back to painting. I've put the press and the printmaking stuff away and cleared off the workbench. Tomorrow, I'll get back to working on my next oil painting. There's one portrait that's already lined up. Another painting, a narrative, has been in the development phase for a while. To say it keeps changing is an understatement, but it seems to be settling down now. Well, there's only one way to find out!