Looking back at the oil sketch...

Here is a oil portrait sketch I did of a lovely fellow who modeled for one of my workshops a few years ago. I think this is still one of my favorites.  Have you ever noticed how the more spontaneous the work - all while talking, explaning color, value, placement, lighting -  is the real ticket!  All that chatter you are pouring out to the students helps somehow to keep part of your brain occupied so that you don't overwork the painting.  You just do it! And this character study is all in the eye and the corner of the mouth..not to mention the rakish tilt of the hat! I guarantee that you would recognize him in a crowd.

The two hour oil sketch...

Today I would like to share this 24 x 20 oil sketch with you today.  Dana was one of my interns two years ago. She came to me to learn more about figure drawing as she was preparing to go on to the Savannah School of Art for fashion design. We have a great internships program here at Artspace http://www.artspacenc.org/  that works in conjunction with our scool system and the local colleges.  We train them in the business of art, all aspects of creating art, stocking the studio, difference in materials, difference in techniques, the basic daily life of the studio....and in return the students help us with daily work of all types and occasionally assist us with our workshops or classes, deliveries, etc.  This sketch was done in about two hours...note the unfinished hands... but it really caught her in a great spot under the sky light.  Please call for pricing.

Portrait - the initial wash...

I don't know what happened to Tuesday... but here I am again... The answer to "do you paint or draw every day?" A resounding "YES!" ...under most circumstances. What I don't do every day is get back to the computer to report all that has happened! 7:30 am breakfast meeting, 9 am portrait sitting, 11 am consutaltion at studio with appointment from out of town, 12:30 luncheon appointment, 2 pm appointment with potential workshop sponsor, 3 pm with student who dropped in for a pep talk, 4 pm portrait sitting at client's home, 7 pm to my home to wind down... Now notice in there were two sittings. Here is a photo of the next step of the painting I worked on...the oil wash on a 24 x 20 linen canvas. I refer to this as a wash because I use a round sable to loosely draw the placement of the figure on the canvas with paint thinned greatly with turpentine. Then follow that with washes with a large brush and broad strokes to fill big areas. Somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes later...