Charlie

I started this portrait from life at the Hyter Group, a portrait group that meets in Toledo on Saturday mornings at Common Space 2. Our model was Charlie, a Vietnamese immigrant who was into body-building in his younger days.

I had a pretty good base down and planned to continue it the following week. Unfortunately, I left it in my trunk at Oak Openings when I took my dog for a walk on one of the trails and something happened to it. At home, I removed it from my trunk and discovered tiny track marks all over the painting and also on a leather bag. Something, perhaps a chipmunk or a mouse, was able to squeeze into my trunk. Maybe it was attracted by the smell of the oils. I don't know.

I had to smear the entire painting into a series of tones while it was still wet to get the footprints out. So I decided to fix it and I used a cell phone picture I took of the model as my guide.

11" x 14" Charlie

Soybean Fields

You might wonder what is so beautiful about soybean fields. I will tell you that I am downright distracted by them this time of year, especially in morning and evening light. The golds and violets are stunning. It is my goal to capture this beauty correctly SOME DAY.

As I said, it's a goal. I'm not quite there yet. The fun thing about being an artist is that you will probably never be as good as you wan to be; so there is always some unattainable goal for you to work toward. It keeps life interesting.

I used two photos to create this painting, plus a little imagination.

Gold Star Portrait

This is a portrait of Sgt. Sonny Zimmerman, who was killed in Afghanistan last year.

Every year I do a painting for a program the American Legion does. They present the portrait to the mother of the soldier during a ceremony.

11" x 14" oil on canvas

More Rework

Another found painting: this time it is a model who posed years ago for our local portrait group. I could never paint this woman's face quite right. I have a picture of her but it is taken from a different angle than the painting I did. One of the regulars who come on Saturday mornings takes photos of the models and brings them in the following week. I may have grabbed his instead of taking one of my own pictures because I couldn't find a matching reference.

I recalled how well the painting of Bathsheba went. I didn't have a photo reference for her either. So I decided to "wing it". I pulled up a Rembrandt painting on my computer with similar lighting and tried to fix this girl.

I am sharing the various stages I put her through, from beginning to end. I think this might be my second attempt at fixing this painting.

Something amazing happens when you throw the photograph away. You work from your memory and your general knowledge of the subject. My finished painting might not look exactly like the model but it looks much nicer than the attempt I had made at "painting a photograph." This is a general rule I've known about for awhile but it really sinks in when you see it in action and experience it yourself. As Judith Carducci repeatedly stressed in her portrait workshops: "Don't use photos- they kill your eyes!"

Painted from a photo-and not very well

Getting rid of distracting elements and simplifying values

Adding decorative jewery and cool areas to the skin tones and hair

Hope, an Oil Painting of a Friend

Sometimes being an artist means you have the ability create a gift that will mean the world to someone. Hope was a two year old rescue dog whose owner adopted her from a kennel and then spent a ton of money on surgery to repair her damaged hip. Apparently the dog became her best friend and protector for eight years. Hope passed away this year and the owner's mother contacted me about creating an oil painting of her. The picture she supplied was not lovely. It showed Hope in the treatment room at the veterinarian's and was taken from an awkward angle. I focused on her gentle face and beautiful fur, cropping out the background and changing her position a little. I have a Golden so I had a perfect model for the ears.

This portrait of Hope came together easily and I think her mom will love it when she receives it for Christmas this year. I love these kind of projects. 

Hope 11" x 14" oil on canvas