A few portraits

Here are a few more portraits from earlier in my project. Now that summer is stepping away and I am feeling well prepared for the upcoming Tumbleweed Gallery show I will be painting portraits a little more ferociously. If you or anyone you know want to step up and be part of this let me know and I'll get you in the queue.

Taylor


Oliver

Eira

Judy

Late one afternoon

Forgotten Fruit

Its all quiet on these clay banks above the lake. Super heated summer air is heavy with sage. Evening approaches and the departing sun washes everything with warm, diffused light. I sit before an eighty year old apricot tree, abandoned and forgotten by a previous generation. Blackened and brittle boughs are laden with an abundance of startlingly orange fruit. With no farmers to reap the harvest most will fall to the earth. The only visitors I have are a tribe of deer, two large four points with their harem of does and fawns. They carefully and silently weave through the trees enjoying a sweet feeding before the sky turns from red to violet. I wait for their passing before sharing in my part of the feast.

Another great day of painting.

Time

I must begin this post by apologizing for my inconsistency lately. Summer presents plenty of distractions including some travel and family events. I have been busy painting throughout the past two months but my blog posting has suffered. I will make an effort to keep you updated on my progress for the foreseeable future.

Here's a picture of Joanna with our new toy, an '86 Westfalia. We've been wanting one of these guys for a few years and finally were able to purchase this one. I'm looking forward to many painting excursions in comfort. My Samarai is wonderful for crawling into the backcountry but not the machine for road trips. I'm already planning some west coast painting as soon as possible.
It's sad to lose one of the great painters of our time. Lucien Freud died at 88 years this month.
A completely dedicated artist he exemplified commitment as he soldiered on with his work for seven decades. His process was overwhelming to consider. His paintings took months to complete as he worked and re-worked paintings until he had extracted all he could from his subjects. One nude took 16 months to complete, with 5 hour sittings per day the subject was present for all but 4 days during that period. 2400 hours were invested in that piece. Lucien shunned celebrity and so interviews are rare but given the massive amounts of time he spent with his subjects I expect there will be some illuminating biographies forthcoming. I always anticipated seeing each new painting so it very sad to witness the end of such an amazing body of work.

In my own way I am pressing on. I have completed 27 portraits to date and am enjoying this project immensely. While some are more successful than others if you are aiming for likeness, and I am, they all have an element of the subjects unique personality that sings out to me at least, and hopefully for others. Time will tell that story.

I also continue to prepare for my September show with Ken Gillespie at the Tumbleweed Gallery. Its a bit of a big deal for me to have a commercial gallery support me in this way. Many thanks to Prema and her team. The painting "Windfalls", below will be featured at this show. I will have more information in upcoming posts.
Many thanks to those who have purchased my work this month. It's been very encouraging.