Looking Back at Old Works

Yesterday I found some old paintings. It's amazing to see how much I have improved in the past 3 years. The colors have become much more natural. Shapes are more defined.
Left are the older paintings and right are the newer.

"It's all about shapes and edges." Below on the left, the edges are blurry so you can't tell where the exact contact between the body and the fabric. It's confusing. I just didn't have the guts and confident to put the rich paints on directly. The painting on the right is one I am rather proud of. I will look at it again next year and see if I still think it is good.

I used to never paint background because I thought, "it is figure painting! I just need to focus on painting the figures." Wrong. the surroundings are just as important as the figures and maybe even more important. Backgrounds are what make the figure stand out. Backgrounds are what create the space for the figures to be in (same with still life) so don't neglect them.
I am really glad I took classes with Dan Gustin and Marion Kryczka.  Learn a lot. I also want to thank my two other professors Susan Kraut and Richard Deutsch who get my started on oil painting.
This is where I was and where I am.