Dear Subscribers,

Greetings!

The newsletter has just reached 500 Subscribers! The very first issue was sent April 26, 2009 to a small handful of people. Thank you all for reading! The painting that was featured in that issue was a small figure titled "Rest". Here it is:


The still life that was previewed last week is now finished.
The setup:

 
First stage:

Feeling out the size and position of the elements.
 
Next stage:

Establishing some darks and points of purest color.
 
Next stage:

Getting that background started. Light washing from left to right.
 
Next stage:

 
Next stage:

 
Next stage:

At this point I decide that the strong yellow of the apple is distracting and in competition with the reds that I want to be dominant. I kill the yellow.
 
And the finished painting, "Iron & Spirits" (12x24):
 

 
(Click through the image above to get to the Facebook "Like" button!)
 
Close-ups:
    
 
Night figure class at Safehouse Atelier continues:
 
progress after Monday night:

 
Progress after Wednesday night:

 
I'm realizing that the Leffel workshop had a larger impact than I'd felt at first. It's made me re-commit myself to making brushstrokes and using lots of paint. To that end I'd decided to only use bristle brushes on this figure, which has resulted in the fastest progress I've ever made on a figure from life. (latest image is after 3 night sessions)
 
For those in the Baltimore area:
I'll have a mini on sale in the Zoll Studio Exhibit, this Friday - Sunday.

 
And 3 paintings at the Schuler School Holiday Exhibition, which I think opens the first weekend in December.
   
 

 
More wisdom from Pressfield:
 
RESISTANCE AND LOVE
         Resistance is directly proportional to love. If you're feeling massive Resistance, the good news is, it means there's tremendous love there too. If you didn't love the project that is terrifying you, you wouldn't feel anything. The opposite of love isn't hate; it's indifference.
         The more Resistance you experience, the more important your unmanifested art/project/enterprise is to you--and the more gratification you will feel when you finally do it.

 
RESISTANCE PLAYS FOR KEEPS
         Resistance's goal is not to wound or disable. Resistance aims to kill. Its target is the epicenter of our being: our genius, our soul, the unique and priceless gift we were put on earth to give and that no one else has but us. Resistance means business. When we fight it, we are in a war to the death.

-Stephen Pressfield, "The War of Art" p.42, p.15

 
For details about my oil still-life lessons (in Palo Alto, California) starting this January, email me.
 
Until next week,
 
David A. N. Cheifetz
www.davidcheifetz.com

*If you have comments, questions, or feedback, feel free to shoot me an email and we'll have a conversation.

*If you think a friend would enjoy my artwork, feel free to forward this newsletter. They can subscribe by clicking on the Email Newsletter button on my site.