figurative expression workshop

magazine photography provides
dynamic gesture resource material

I'm taking a weekend workshop with artist Donna Lynd from Ottawa.  She is primarily a figurative expressionist painter.  But she's also a gifted and generous teacher.  It felt great to be painting again! Working in acrylics is an approach that I haven't utilized much, so it's also fun being on a learning curve with that.

Other things on the home-front are keeping me from my usual painting practice in the past few weeks.  Let us just say, consequently when I do have some time to paint, I've been feeling completely out of ideas...blocked! not a good feeling.  I know this happens to us all and I also know it passes, so I've tried to embrace the temporary lull in creativity.

Less dynamic gestures but more personal
resource material in old family photos

Anyway all I can say is this workshop has been just what the doc ordered, something different and challenging. 
Here's the two unfinished works in progress that I've been working on today on the easel in the classroom. Donna's structural approach, simplifying the compostion to just 11 interesting shapes, I find quite fun. 
In the first image I'm working from a black and white magazine photo(you can see the image taped under the easel).  The second one, I'm working from an old black & white family photo (yours truly in the yellow cardi). I'm less happy with it's composition, but I hope to play to resolve it.  More fun tomorrow!