Emily Playing the Viola

 

This is a charcoal of Emily playing the viola in her college orchestra. I love the composition of this piece. Sometimes when the lights and darks are so pronounced, the picture just seems to draw itself. She'll be coming home for the holidays tomorrow, which we're looking forward to very much. I hope your holidays are wonderful-- thank you for your support and interest in my art this last year. Here's to a happy and healthy 2009!

Giselle Smiling

I think I like this version of Giselle better than the more serious one. This one captures her spirit much better.

Giselle

This is a charcoal of Giselle, a seven-year-old girl whose grandmother has comissioned me to paint her portrait. I'm trying to arrive at the perfect pose to use to paint her portrait. Although I like this pose quite alot, it seems a bit somber, and Giselle is far from somber. I think I'll develop another charcoal to use as a comparison.

This is a 2 1/2 hour painting of Peter, a model originally from the Netherlands. I really enjoy painting these studies because I can get pretty bold with my brushwork and try new styles that I wouldn't use in my regular portrait work. For instance, the light area next to his nose was put in with one stroke of a heavily laden brush. I think it holds the whole painting together!

Lauren Reading

I drew 12 year old Lauren as she read yesterday evening. Modeling is really hard work, especially when you're 12 and you have to stare at the same page for 25 minutes at a time! She was such a trooper.

Melissa

This painting of Melissa was done in Door County, Wisconsin during an intensive 1 week workshop. I enjoyed painting the contrast of her very fair skin against the dark backdrop. Trying to capture the "essence" of a sitter is what I find so intriguing about portrait painting.

Jackie

This is a charcoal study of Jackie that I drew last night. She had beautiful shiny hair that kept falling over one eye. It created a wonderful shadow on her face. I had to draw quickly before her eye was completely obscured!

Carol

This oil study was done very quickly, using a limited palette of blue, yellow, red, black, white, and an earth color (burnt sienna). The red bow contrasted very nicely with her dark hair, and the color is picked up again in her cheek. When I'm working this fast, I can't overthink what I'm doing-- the study sometimes ends up with a lively quality that can capture the sitter's personality better than a formal portrait, or even a photograph!

Dora

This is a monochrome oil study I painted of Dora a few weeks ago. I love her pose in this study, and since I only had a few hours to paint while she was with me, there is a spontaneous quality to the paint that seems to work well.

Suzanne and Jeffrey

Earlier this year, I attended the Bar and Bat Mizvah of Suzanne and Jeffrey, twins of my very dear friend Nancy. To be sure, there was quite a bit of merriment and festivity that weekend, but I was quite taken with the solemnity and tradition of the ceremony. When I got home, I couldn't wait to put down on canvas my impression of the moment when they made the passage to adulthood.

Red Scarf

This is a model I painted at Main Street Art Center in Lake Zurich. It may seem strange to you that my favorite part of this painting is the black necktie. I like the way it appears sunlit in the front and in shadow in the back. It's kind of tough to get that to work when you're using black.

Marie

This is an oil study that I completed in a workshop in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. I believe Marie sat for about 6 hours for this one.

Judy

This is a charcoal I did of Judy, a model who sat for us at the Main Street Art Center the other night. Judy kept her pose really well, barely moving for two and a half hours. The evening was unseasonably warm for autumn in the midwest, and the room was filled with conviviality. My drawing of Judy doesn't quite capture her bubbly personality, which is unfortunate, but I was happy with the overall result.

Self Portrait, 2008

Hello! I thought I'd start my blog with a self-portrait, since you may be curious to see who I am. I threw this one onto the canvas at great speed, trying to go for a spontaneous, fresh look to the paint. In fact, I think this one took a grand total of about 3 hours to complete. One reason that I was so speedy was that I had just completed (by my estimation) my 100th portrait, painted from life. After painting so many people in a row, the process becomes much like a golf swing-- it flows quickly, without much thought.

I like this painting because it looks pretty much like me and I think it conveys my personality while I'm painting-- interested, but introspective.