"After the Dance" Large Original Oil Painting

Oil on hardboard
20"x16” unframed
©2013 Diana Moses Botkin

You might recognize this pose from the charcoal study I did for my January 30/30 Challenge. I wanted to develop that idea in color, so I've been working on this one for weeks and weeks.

Paintings this size take me awhile, so they don't really fit the "Daily Painting" definition. Please contact me if you would like price and shipping information about this piece, or any of my other work.

"Muse" Original Oil Painting

Oil on Raymar canvas panel
8"x10” unframed
©2013 Diana Moses Botkin

This is one of the paintings I've been working on. You may remember the charcoal sketch of this lovely model from my January 30/30 Challenge post.

Chiaroscuro is always interesting to me and I especially like this simple pose with the dramatic highlights and deep darks. The subtleties in this piece have not photographed well but you can perhaps get an idea of what it looks like. The original is much nicer (which is usually the case with what you see online vs. the actual art).

February Painting Challenge: Hat

I picked our Challenge subject for February.

Originally, I had the idea to finish a large painting I have in a corner of my studio which features a hat. I had set that piece aside some time ago (several years, now) because it had problems.

I still need to work out the kinks in the painting and decided not put myself on a deadline to figure it out.

Thankfully, our Challenge subject presented several other ideas to my mind.

This is a quick oil sketch. Quick for me, anyway. I've been wanting to loosen up, use thicker paint, and not labor over it too much. So, here's a stab at that.

(above) "Sound in the Ravine" Oil sketch 12"x9" ©2013 Diana Moses Botkin

I took about a hundred reference photos trying to find something interesting and different for this Challenge. My son posed.

I liked the somewhat timeless look of his costume. This painting could be of a young man a hundred years ago. Indeed, the wild places in our area are relatively unchanged from a century ago. I am quite thankful, though, for some modern conveniences, including electricity and the internet.

Here is Vicki's painting for our Challenge this month, which I love. (I am "Mimi" to my little grandgirls, too.)

(left)
"Mimi in the Red Hat" 
12x6" Oil on panel
©2013 V.N.Ross

Suzanne promises to join us again next month in March. We sure miss her!

I am still looking for one or two more artists to be a part of the Challenge group. If you think you'd like to commit, jot me an email with a link to your blog and I'll take a look at your work to see if you'd be a good fit.

Each one in our group takes a turn as the months go by, picking the puzzler. Then we each post everyone's work on our blogs on the 15th. You can see all the Challenges at my sidebar. If you would like to apply to our little merry band, please contact me with your blog link and email. I would love to see your work and share with you what the Challenge entails.

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Back Strength" 
Charcoal/chalk on tan cotton paper
Unframed, approximately 18"x12” 
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

SOLD

This is a commissioned drawing I did at the end of 2012, a special piece for a customer who bought two existing life drawings and wanted a third sketch of herself. How cool is that?

This was a bit of a challenge for me, as most commissions can be. It is always wonderful that someone loves my work enough to hire me to paint a particular piece they want. And it's a little scary at the same time because the art doesn't yet exist when they hire me and I want the collector to be pleased. I'm happy to say that this was a hit with the customer.

Speaking of challenges, look for the February post tomorrow!

"Shoulder Hug" Charcoal Drawing

Charcoal/chalk sketch on Canson
with pastel marks as background color
9.5”x8.5”  unframed
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

This pose makes me think of Otis Redding's song "These Arms of Mine".

"Model Head Study 2" Charcoal Study

Charcoal/chalk drawing
on brown art paper
10”x13”  unframed
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

This lovely young lady has such a classic face which works especially well for chiaroscuro lighting and this light/dark technique.

"Grasshopper" Charcoal Study

Charcoal/chalk on cotton paper
9”x13”  unframed
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

The focus I was most interested in for this arm study was the slight sinking in of her hand on her lower back. I thought it was an interesting contrast with her muscular arms and her ribs showing a little, plus that look in her eye. The bend of her near arm reminds me of a grasshopper.

Do you remember the old Kung Fu television series from the 1970s and the young character's nickname?

"Twisting" Charcoal Study

Charcoal/chalk on Canson paper
16”x12”  unframed
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

SOLD

Paper with orange or red color works especially well as a background with the charcoal and chalk technique, I think. I do enjoy working with a variety of paper colors and probably use grey most often. But the red background adds some realistic color to the figure which is quite lovely, don't you think?

The title of this piece reminds me of Sam Cooke's song. Does it for anyone else?

"Arm Stretch" Charcoal Study

Charcoal/chalk on cotton paper 10”x13.5”  unframed
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

The challenge of creating 30 pieces in 30 days during January kept me busy, and as my dad is fond of saying, "out of the pool halls".

In that daily focus I left some chores undone that I'm now catching up on a bit.

I also still have a few sketches I did at the end of 2012 that didn't get posted. Here's one of them. I'll try to get more of them up for you to see this week.