745 Welcome to the Gullah Grub Restaurant

Chef Bill Green prepares a menu filled with Gullah family recipes that will make your mouth water.  Choose from barbequed ribs, fried chicken, seafood gumbo, shrimp and grits, corn bread, peach cobbler, with lemonade and swamp water to drink.  Anthony Bourdain visited the restaurant several years ago and that put  Gullah Grub on the map.  Not only does he cook, he welcomes you at the door, and may even serve you your food.  He's quite a character and I enjoyed painting him, except for the teeth.  His salt and pepper beard gave me a little trouble, but as I have said many, many times, each new day brings a new lesson.

"745 Welcome to the Gullah Grub Restaurant"
acrylic - 6x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/745-welcome-to-the-gullah-grub-restaurant/434300

dianecampion.blogspot.com

745 Helpful

The Art Ladies visited South Carolina a few years ago to paint marshes.  One of the highlights of our trip was to visit Beaufort and St. Helena Island, where we visited the Gullah Grub Restaurant.  The Gullah are a people rich with history and culture, living in Sea Island and the coastal regions of the South Carolina, Georgia and Northeast Florida.  Bill Green, owner of Gullah Grub welcomed all of us and not only was the food delicious, but the hospitality was warm.  Bill's young granddaughter happened to be helping out at the restaurant and was very serious about her responsibilities.  She had a face I knew someday I would want to paint, and it took some effort to get her to smile.  I wish I remembered her name. 

"745 Helpful"
acrylic - 6x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/745-helpful/434131

dianecampion.blogspot.com

743 Beautiful Bride

I got to thinking today that it must be a little scary for my family now that I am painting portraits, because they will never know when they will be the subject of my learning attempts.  Poor things.

Again there is much to learn and despite warnings about painting teeth, I just had to experience it.  This lovely young woman has a big smile in nearly every photograph I have of her, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I'm not going to lie, it was difficult, but I tried not to overwork or get too fussy.  Not sure I'd want to make a habit of painting teeth.

"743 Beautiful Bride"
acrylic - 10x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/743-beautiful-bride/433981

dianecampion.blogspot.com
 

741 More of Myself

This morning I woke up with a strong urge to correct what you didn't see in this painting yesterday. Although I feel a little awkward posting "myself" two days in a row, I had so many thoughts about portrait painting today that I want to share.  Just a slightly off curve or a fraction of an inch in the spacing of the eyes can blow a portrait because a likeness will be missing.  And one little thing can affect all of the expressions in the face.  For example, my husband, who has never had any creative training, yet always seems to know just what is wrong with a painting, thought I looked sad in the painting, so back to the studio I went to make myself look happier.  A little up turn of the mouth, more pouf on the cheeks and a little something to the eyes made "me" as happy as possible without starting over.  He then commented that my eyes still look sad.  Oh well.  I still learned a lot through this experience.

It occurred to me, too, that portrait painting is a powerful position to be in.  I could have given myself lips like Angelina Jolie's and a beautiful nose like Adele's.  HA!

Tomorrow a new adventure:  I will tackle painting TEETH!

741 Selfie

I suppose the title of this painting should be "Former Selfie" since this is a reference photo taken 5 years ago.  I wish I could say I haven't aged since then, but that would be a lie.  I thought it would only be fair to paint a self-portrait since I have bombed a few family portraits.  I wondered if it would be easier or more difficult to paint myself.  It was just as difficult, even though I see that mug in the mirror every day.  I need to make some adjustments to the larger painting but will do so tomorrow.

"741 Selfie"
acrylic - 6x4 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/741-selfie/433522

740 A Moment in Time

Thirteen years ago, during a summer vacation, my family visited a beautiful gallery with a lovely courtyard and gardens.  My daughter couldn't resist plucking a flower from the garden and I snapped a photo of her.   I felt so welcome there at that inviting and peaceful place, but little did I know that I would be represented by this gallery many later.  I have always loved the photo of my daughter, but now I appreciate it so much more.  I enjoyed painting her with her look of happiness and joy over such a simple and sweet little pansy.

"740 A Moment in Time"
acrylic - 8x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/740-a-moment-in-time/433359

739 Woman With Pink Hat

A dress-up box provides lots of  photo opportunities for paintings.

"739 Woman With Pink Hat"
acrylic - 8x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/739-woman-with-pink-hat/433151

738 Innocence

"738 Innocence"
acrylic - 8x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/738-innocence/432904

737 Avery, a study

It is strongly recommended that artists paint a study of a scene portrait to get colors and proportions right.  I tend to be impatient and often skip this step, but I have learned that it takes much more time to correct errors in the painting, so the study is a very valuable tool.  This is Avery, my best friend's granddaughter. Although she looks sweet and innocent as can be, she is a feisty little girl and gives her parents a run for their money.  I just love that about her!!!

"737 Avery, a study"
acrylic - 8x10 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/737-avery-a-study/432754

736 Tightrope

I have been working tirelessly on portraits to the point of frustration.   Portraits are very tricky because if you know the person, you will see subtle errors in the painting that no one else would pick up on.  So it behooves a person like me to paint portraits of people that no one else knows.  Hmmm....

I desperately needed a break from portraits, so when Whole Foods had mandarin oranges complete with leaves, I bagged several of them with such fragile care and was eager to set them up to photograph.

Thanks to all who visited the Tall Tree Gallery Gift of Color and especially those who brought donations for our charity, Addulum Outreach, and to those who purchased gifts of artwork and cards. 

"736 Tightrope"
acrylic - 8x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/736-tightrope/432113

735 Fifth Grade

There are some people who will always bring warm thoughts to you.  My kids' fifth grade teacher, Mr. H. will always be that person.  I was his first parent volunteer in 1993 and worked for him until he retired many years later.  For all these years, he has remembered me at Christmas with a beautiful poinsettia plant.  He is the type of teacher who adults credit with their success, having had him as a teacher in the fifth grade.  Although he is retired now, he still substitute teaches.  He is a master teacher, and a dear friend.

"735 Fifth Grade"
acrylic - 6x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/735-fifth-grade/431692

734 Best Baby on Earth

This is my daughter at 3 weeks old.  Yes, you read that correctly---she came home from the hospital with a pony tail.  The nurses thought that was cute.  You can see that her eyes had not changed color yet, which was very interesting to paint.  A baby's facial structure is different from an adults, so that was another learning experience. 

She was such a good baby, even had a hat that said "Best Baby on Earth."Today, (Thursday) is her birthday.  If you know her, wish her a happy day.

"734 Best Baby on Earth"
acrylic - 8x10 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/734-best-baby-on-earth/430960

733 Loyal Friend

This painting is a gift for our son-in-law, so shhhhh.....don't tell.

Aeris is an old dog, so beautiful with her shiny black coat, and a pleasure to paint.
"733 Loyal Friend"
acrylic - 6x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/733-loyal-friend/430763

732 Baby Queen Bee

This is my grand niece/god daughter, Natalie as a baby.  She is now an adult and has always been affectionately called Queen Bee.

"732 Baby Queen Bee"
acrylic - 7x5 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/732-baby-queen-bee/430549

731 Hello

I thought if I would paint someone I didn't know well, it might be easier.  I enjoyed this exercise.

"731 Hello"
acrylic - 8x10 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/731-hello/430119

730 Contemplating

With each new painting and lots of study, I am learning.  I have
 corrected this painting at least a dozen times after photographing it, when errors glare at you.  I have to give it up for this painting (for now).  As the month nears an end, I hate to see it go, as Chantel's class comes to a close soon.  I never thought an online class could be so informative! I will continue  working on portraits at least until the end of the year, and then who knows where my whim will take me....

"730 Contemplating"
acrylic - 8x10 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/730-contemplating/429935

729 Make a Wish

Although I am enjoying this portrait painting class very much, I am having difficulty getting my subjects to look like they are supposed to look.  I seem to make the children look older than they really are in the photo.  Perhaps I should be an age progression artist.  ha ha.  I am not sure if this is because I know the people I am painting, and if it would be any different if I were less connected to the person.  In any event I am not giving up and will continue to practice.

Perhaps you have noticed that I have not posted with my regular frequency.  I have two tennis elbows and it is really cramping my style.  In addition, these portraits take much longer than my normal daily paintings so I often take two days to complete one.  Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.  I am grateful that you indulge me by receiving my paintings and notes each day.  I really appreciate your comments and encouragement.

"729 Make a Wish"
acrylic - 9x12 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/729-make-a-wish/429800

728 (My) Brown Eyed Girl

There are a few things off in this portrait, but one of them is not the eyes of my Brown Eyed Girl.
It's really telling that when you paint a painting, you almost become too involved with it, and you cannot see the errors.  But give a little distance and time and perhaps a view of her staring back at you on a computer screen and I see that the nose is a little too long and the lips are a little off.  The "attitude" in the reference photo is missing, and she is softer in the photo, less tough.  Taking all of that into consideration, I still feel good about his painting because I only started this portrait course 23 days ago, having never painted them before.

"728 (My) Brown Eyed Girl"
acrylic - 9x11 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/728-my--brown-eyed-girl/429242

727 Patiently Waiting

I am certain that my family will be mortified when they read this blog post. Quite some time ago, I was at Kinkos/Fed Ex and the line was quite long.  In front of me stood this lady, so patient and very beautiful, particularly her skin.  Because the line was moving slowly, I had quite a bit of time to debate with myself, "Should I or shouldn't I?"  I finally convinced myself that "What do I have to lose?"  So I explained to her that I am an artist, and although I did not currently paint portraits, I would someday like to, and she was a perfect candidate, so would she mind if I photographed her.  She was so flattered, yet embarrassed because she had just come from a work out and she thought she wasn't presentable.  I have kept the photo in my "someday" file, and am so happy to include it as one of my assignments for my portrait class. 

"727 Patiently Waiting"
acrylic - 10x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/727-patiently-waiting/428963

726 Ronnie With the Smiling Eyes

This is my brother Ron as a baby.  He is now in his late 70's.  The photo, where he is sitting on a horse, is very grainy and in black and white with just a hint of sepia.  In case you are wondering about the long hair, my mother thought if you cut a child's hair too early, the curls would go away and never come back.  At his age, he has a full head of beautiful white hair.

"726 Ronnie With the Smiling Eyes"
acrylic - 8x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/726-ronnie-with-the-smiling-eyes/428760