Thursday

Its sunny again, just right for this evenings events. my daughter is dressing up really bad, old jeans, black shirt and leather jacket with a clock around her neck..She's going to have a "Bad Time!!!"

I worked so more on the architecture. So now its done enough so I can start to fuzz some of it back out as I work on the rigging. With the boats in front they can not compete with the background buildings. That will require some brush strokes over some parts of the architecture to push it farther back into space. 

I'll need to also do some thinking as to the right side of the painting.

Richard Boyer

Wednesday

I forgot to post the result of our pumpkin carving session from Sunday night; now we are ready for Halloween on Thursday. After the trick or treaters we will head up to Nick's place for a Halloween crit session.

Well once again I started a painting that is far too complicated. Here is the start as I work my way down the row of buildings. I never seem to learn from the torture session of perspective, architecture and boats. Maybe I just like the finished product so much; the last one I did sold direct to the client!.

Right now its raining outside, so the studio is dark. This morning when I got up it was dark. It seems we are heading into the grays of winter. Would be nice to sleep in until at least the sunrise, but with school and getting the kids out the door, that won't be happening for a while. This is where you start dreaming of lying on a tropical beach with not a care in the world…:-)

Richard Boyer

Monday, Oct. 28

So this is the final version on the cafe painting. Not much was need from the crit session last Thursday. They wanted the foreground potted plants subdued a bit, along with the caulk-board menu sign over to the right. Some of the umbrellas were also blued down a little on the shadow side and made brighter on the sunny side.

This mornings project was to fix up two small 11x14 paintings I got back from Howard/Mandville Gallery. This first one from Stockholm I re-worked some of the pylons to the left, which added some more dynamics.

This other cafe piece I added some more color, flowers and an umbrella to the left side.  All of these pieces I will be sending over to Southam Gallery here in Salt Lake City.

Richard Boyer

Thursday

Today I hoped around here and there on the painting, orchestrating as I like to call it. Trying to pop areas with more contrast and adding color to other parts. It's now done enough for the crit session, done enough for them to find small faults to fix for tomorrow.

In the afternoons I have been moon-lighting at another job, helping to renovate a place. Yesterday I was sanding and cleaning some old baseboard trim we were re-using; running the wash cloth along the old oak in a hastily haphazard sort of way, when I felt the sharp jab of pain.  An old oak splinter shot into my little finger about a quarter inch, buried deep and visable under the skin on the other side of my pinky.

I can't really complain too much since I have had my fair share of splinters. Its just nice when you can take them out in a timely manner. This one I had no tools to get out and had to keep working until I was picked up for a ride home in the evening. 

Once home I went to the local doctor, my son Victor. At age 18 he is into anything medically related and loves to take out splinters. I was given a shot of single malt as he took a razor blade to my finger and finally after a lot of digging around he was able to pull it out. The patient survived, as well as the doctor. 

Richard Boyer

Wednesday

I hate the feeling you get after you photograph the painting, put it in the frame and are just about ready to deliver it to the gallery. You take one last look at it and the feeling hits you, that it's not just there yet, another words the painting could be better.

So I took it back out and re-worked the entire foreground.

here is how it looked before

and now after lightening up the grass and some of the village.  Now I feel better!!!

I worked on this piece afterwards, mainly the plants and foreground cement. Tomorrow I'll finish it up for the evening crit session. The crit session where I take notes to find all the things that need to be re-worked and re-painted the next day... 

Richard Boyer

Tuesday

Well I figured out what to do on the right side, adding a few tables with guests and a waiter. So now it will be the plants and lead in with the foreground, maybe some thick pallet knife there. that will be tomorrows project.

Last night we had a model session at Rick Graham's place. Sitting next to Robert Duncan I feel like I'm always playing catch-up. I look over and he is so much farther along on his painting. Well I just need to practice more I guess, a lot more!!!

Richard Boyer

Monday, Oct. 21

I'm back in Salt Lake City, back to the daily grind as they say, the nine to five….. Okay I admit I don't look at it that way, I actually look forward to work, addicted as they say.

It was good to see the folks again and visit people back east. The experience of showing the kids where I grew up and how it is back in that part of the country was priceless.

This morning I worked on this older painting Jim sent back to me from the Mockingbird Gallery. The gallery here is Salt Lake saw it and said they wanted to give it a try. So since its been in Jim's gallery for a year and a half, I touched it up a bit and decided to let the Southam's have a go with it.

In the afternoon I was back on this piece, defining some of the figures better. Tomorrow I'll need to contemplate what to do with the right side. I know it will need some people there at a table, maybe more off in the distance. 

Richard Boyer