Monkeys and Men continued ..............

Yeah!

I finished the monkey quilt. I am so happy with the result; I think it looks great. (Click on the picture for a bigger view)

I chose colours for the patchwork blocks that match the colour scheme my son and DIL have chosen for the nursery; it is soft green with a Noah's Ark theme so the monkeys will fit right in. I also embroidered a lot of baby clothes with animals using the same colours as the Noah's ark quilt she has bought, they look great.

I also think the label on the back on the back of the quilt looks good.

Now that the quilt is finished I can a) get back to painting and, yes you guessed it b) get stuck into the christening robe (lol).

I put aside my eye/nose study from the previous post so I can look at it with fresh eyes in a week or so. I have been working on another face and am happy with how it is progressing.

I have a lot of work to do on the eyes and the area around them but overall he is coming along nicely. I have been surprised by my limited success with portraits. I have only ever tried two before (in my youth) and they were total failures. Maybe age has given me a little more talent or maybe it is patience, I don't know but I do know I am very happy with the three attempts I have made in the last month or so.

This is all thanks to B11 who spurred me on to try a portrait again. I have to admit that when I started the first one I was convinced it would be a total flop and I think I was dumbfounded when he turned out so well. B11 is smirking because he thinks it has all happened because of him and ssshhh pleased don't tell him - he is right!


Anyway, back to the latest painting - I have don't this on 300gm watercolour paper and I don't know if it is the brand or what but it really soaks in as soon as the brush touches the paper. I have now used a retardant in the water to control this a bit. I have done three washes so far and am starting to see the structure of the face come through. I plan to work on the eye area next - the man's eyes were piercing. He was looking through his brows and his expressions was a cross between threatening and superiority - it will be hard to catch, especially from someone who is only just getting into portraits.....lol.



Just done a bit of work around the eye area; still not completely happy but will continue to work.









Please leave a comment so I know you have visited, thanks.....