Project 2278: New Painting of Young Mexican

This in-progress page is for all regular Members of my website. Here you’ll find all fresh-from-the-studio progress reports on this Project, including in-progress photos and the artist’s thoughts and comments as he creates the art. (For more detailed and more timely reports, plus videos, upgrade to Premium Content.)

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The updates below are in reverse chronological order, so the most recent is on top. To start from the beginning, go to the bottom of the page.

Report 5

The painting is complete!

February 12, 2026

The artwork is complete! Thanks for following the creation process of “Ranchero.” The finished work has just been added to the Collector Preview Gallery. As a subscriber to the Simonson website you have access to this gallery and a limited-time option to purchase this artwork -– just click on the button below.

 

 

 

 

Collector Preview Gallery
Report 4

Project 2278: Third and Final Painting Session

February 9, 2026

In this final session, I worked on refining the values and colors of the fleshtones on the figure. Then I turned my attention to the jeans, because they called for a whole different set of colors. When the jeans were done, I worked all over the painting to fix little problems I could see here and there–final touches. And the painting is done!

Report 3

Project 2278: Second Painting Session

February 8, 2026

In the second session I focused on the fleshtones of the figure. This is a bit tricky for 2 reasons: 1, the figure is mostly in shadow, so all the colors are muted and darker; and 2, acrylics dry darker, so you can’t be sure the values are right until the paint dries–and often I have to repaint an area because it’s a bit too light or a bit too dark.

Report 2

Project 2278: First Painting Session

February 7, 2026

In the first session, I focused on the background and did nothing on the figure. That’s because there were a lot of colors to mix for the background and I didn’t want to try to do all the body colors as well—acrylic paint dries too fast to try to do all the colors in a single session. So I’ll tackle the figure in the second session.

 

Report 1

Project 2278: Painting of a Young Mexican ("Ranchero")

February 5, 2026

I’m just starting a new painting, working from the image shown here. Working title: “Ranchero”. I’ll post images/video from the first studio session in the next day or two.