Blue Sari - painting process

Tessa Guzé, Blue Sari 2012, 16"x20"

This is a painting of a young girl from Mumbai wearing a blue sari. This painting is currently on display at the Durham Arts Council. 

I took a few photos as I worked on this painting to show my painting process. 

I started by toning the canvas with a thin layer of blue oil paint because I knew I wanted this painting to have blue undertones. 

toned canvas

After the canvas was toned and dried I drew a rough charcoal sketch on the canvas. I like to do a sketch in charcoal instead of an underpainting because it is quicker, but it still helps to map out the painting and determine values.

charcoal sketch

After the sketch was completed I sprayed it with workable fixative, this stops the charcoal from running and muddying the oil paint. Then I did the painting in oil paint, using turpentine and linseed oil. 

Finished painting

If you would like to see more of my work please visit my painting portfolio or my fine art blog.

Real People Exhibition

Tessa Guzé, Looking into Light 2012, oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

The Real People Exhibition is run every August by the Old Court House Figurative League. It is a national juried show of figurative work. The theme is "Real People - Celebrating the Arts through Faces and Figures." The exhibition serves two purposes. The first is the give artists like my self a chance to showcases and sell their paintings, while competing for prizes. Secondly it raises funds for the Figurative League to offer year-ground life drawing programs to local artists.

The Real People Exhibition is being held in the Old Court House Art Center, in Woodstock, IL. There is going to be an opening reception on Saturday, August 25th from 6-8PM.

First Snow

Tessa Guze, First Snow, oil on canvas

This is a painting I did after experiences my first winter in Korea.

If you would like to see more of my portrait paintings please visit my website.

Memory Portrait

Tessa Guze, Memory Portrait, oil on canvas, 6"x 8"

This is a portrait of one of my students in Kathputli Nagar, Jaipur, India.
The children in the Kathputli Nagar slum did not have many pictures of themselves so I painted small postcard sized oil portraits of them.

If you would like to see my full portrait painting portfolio please visit my website. Or to see a variety of my paintings please visit my artists blog. 

Portrait of Anna

Tessa Guze, Portrait of Anna, oil on canvas

This is an oil on canvas portrait of Anna Corbett. I meet Anna when she was teaching English in South Korea.

To see more similar work please visit my painting portfolio website or my fine arts painting blog.

Portrait of Alex

Tessa Guze, Portrait of Alex, oil on canvas, 8"x10"

This is a portrait of a good friend of mine, Alex. She is smart, tough, creative and full of energy and attitude.

HeART for Hope

Tessa Guze, Determination, oil on canvas

The Duange Prateep Foundation has organized an art exhibition and auction to mark the first anniversary of the Japanese tsunami. Pieces of artwork have been donated by artists from all over the world and are being auctioned. The money raised from the auction will fund a nine-day-camp for Japanese and Thai victimes of the tsunamis and other severe hardships. They will learn that they are not alone in their present suffering, There are other victims who have shared similar fates. They will engage in activities of experience-sharing and mutual support so they can begin to emerge from their current suffering and find hope in their futures.

The exhibition and auction is this March, 2012 at the Central World Complex at Rajprasong, Bankok.

If you are interested in seeing more of my work please visit my painting, illustration and fine arts website or my artist's blog.

Women's Works, 25th Anniversary Show

Tessa Guze, Lips, oil on canvas,

This painting is in the Women's Works 2012 25th Anniversary Show, in the Old Court House Arts Center in Woodstock, Illinois. This show is run by the NAAC (Northwest Area Arts Council).
The show opens on March 8th. There will be a Gala Night Opening Reception is March 24th at 7PM CST with over 500 people attending. The show will continue through April 29th.
For more information about the show you can visit NAAC's website: www.naac4art.org or the Women's Works website: www.womensworks.net. Anyone in the area please stop by and check out the show!
If you are interested in seeing more similar work please visit the portraits page of my website: tessaguze.com/portraits.

Lasting Reflections

Tessa Guze, Portrait of Hanna, oil on canvas,   9"x14"

A successful portrait is not just a copy of what the subject looks like, but it is also a lasting reflection of the subject's character and personality. For the artist, this requires getting to know the subject in a very profound way. As a portrait painter I love getting to know new people and finding ways to make my paintings reflect them.
If you would like to see more of my portraits please visiting my website: tessaguze.com/portraits.html.