Portrait painting

This is the under-drawing for a portrait I'm working on in a series for a show in March. I tend to be "sketchy" in the drawing ( I like to get to the action quickly). The next step will be a glaze over the entire painting which will obscure some of the drawing, but give me enough info to build on. Alla Prima ( painting that's done all in one shot ) has an immediacy that adds a real element of life, but glazing layers of paint allows for a more subtle tonal range ( at least for me). Pin It Now!

Iron Pear commission

"iron pear", 2008

12" x 12", oil on hardboard

private collection

This was an interesting commission piece that took some noodling around with to figure out. The idea was to join separate elements ( pears and iron) within the parameters of the fusion of two people ( and the little guys that followed). When I was painting the smaller pears I kept fighting the urge to make them alike. As I was "nearing the finish line", I ended up removing all of the little pears and thinking in terms of children. The "revelation" that nobody's kids are exactly alike ( with the exception of the Village of the Damned ) is one that I feel slightly stupid about now. Pin It Now!