"Practice Pieces #2"

21"x14"

Oil on panel

NFS

Well, there are quite a few things about this painting that make it a practice piece!  First off, I have wiped off two nearly completed paintings before I decided to go ahead and call this one that I would photograph!  Then, I used a very limited palette:  cad red medium, yellow ochre, ivory black, radiant and titanium white, some raw sienna and burnt sienna.  I bagan the painting each time with a strong charcoal drawing I was very pleased with.  My challenge was to see if I could utilize more flat areas of color than I usually do--not so much modeling--and keep some of the line quality.  I'm not so sure I succeeded, but it has been a good exercise--each time I've painted it!   I will probably wipe this off. In the next one, I want to concentrate on trying to get some warm and glowing skin tones.  I have a difficult time finding the colors to use to get something that I like the looks of.  For this, it was OK.  I knew my limited palette had--well, had limitations!  We'll see what the next version brings!