DAILY PAINTING: The most startling change is the removal of all of the various masks, after I first painted over and refined some areas of the figure. There's a lot going on, so I'll need some time to figure out what needs to be diminished and what needs to be emphasized.

DAILY PAINTING: Here I have applied a bit more masking: an encroaching bar of lines that intrude into to figure. My intention is to overpaint these areas so that the resultant lines, shown by the subtle differences of color and tone, will not be nearly as stark as there are here, in tape.

DAILY PAINTING: I notice that the camera did not pick up some of the finer distinctions of color in the face, but you can readily see the changes made to the hair. You can also see that I've eliminated some paint on the figure, in the bottom third of the canvas, making the figure integrate better with the background. That's the beauty of cold wax: you have time to reflect and reconsider your work. And if you want to change it, you can scrape it right off. Lots of work

DAILY PAINTING: Now that I've had a day to look at yesterday's painting, I feel that it is too bland, too "safe" to adequately express the meaning of this painting, which I intend to title, "Nowhere to Hide". So I thought about it and decided to try a pastel study which incorporates some underlying color, so that I'm not just using traditional flesh tones. This is very rough, but it tells me that I'm moving in the right direction (and, yes, I put the ear back!).

DAILY PAINTING: At last, there's at least one coat of paint over the whole canvas! I've been concentrating for hours, so I have to just stop. I'll be able to see it with fresh eyes tomorrow, but right now I can't even focus on color, value, balance, etc. I'm done. The light is gone; it's thundering ominously and we're about to have a storm. Here comes the rain in sheets! I'm so tired, but there are brushes yet to clean. More work tomorrow (if it's dry enough), but we're

DAILY PAINTING: I varnished four paintings today, using a mix of varnish and cold wax, which works well, giving the finished coat a satin sheen. You can see that I use a very nice watercolor brush for this purpose, which has a very soft touch and leaves no brush marks. My husband designed and built a very nice varnishing rack for me, which works so well! The rack is set up in a dust-free area, and it is covered with cloth while the varnish is drying, so it always turns out

DAILY PAINTING: Wow, I'm tired! But you can see that yesterday's paper circles have now been translated into paint. So far, I like all that this adds to the composition: the suggestion of space is good; I like the balance of linear and circular elements; this preliminary color is working out. Adjustments can be made in the future, but so far, so good! Next, I've got to turn my attention back to the figure.

DAILY PAINTING: Since this composition is so vertical, and there are distinct linear elements, I got the idea to balance that with circles largely moving horizontally across the figure. I've cut some circle templates out of paper, as you can see, and I intend to create a value structure that gives the illusion of depth and helps to interact with the figure.

DAILY PAINTING: While I'm waiting for the other canvas to dry, I began working on this sketch of a figure in an abstracted background, called "When My Mother Was Out." I'm using a limited palette of mainly warm and cool pinks, with orange (balanced with some cool blue & green) because I'm trying to express an adolescent state of mind. At least this sketch helps me to see how the colors are beginning to interact.