Skull in Umber Monochrome (Sold)

Skull in Umber Monochrome (Sold)

9" X 12"

Oil on Paper

2014

I painted this 2 hour study from life using Raw Umber and Titanium White. Monochrome works like this are a great way to study value relationships, and the skeleton in particular presents an elaborate exercise along these lines due to the myriad of small changes in form.

Cactus Study

Cactus Study

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2012

One of the aspects that I most enjoy in drawing is the linearity in form description. Although working in mass can also be easily achieved as well through various methods, to me drawing is very much about working in line. I feel it is one of the definitive differences between how I approach a drawing and painting.

This difference is especially true of working at larger scales. It is uncommon to see artists drawing at a larger scale than 18" X 24" and whenever I show up to a workshop with a  24" X 36" drawing board I am typically the only individual working at that scale. One thing this scale brings out in drawing is the relatively small proportion of the tool to the working area. So in this way many small scale strokes have to be laid down to achieve tonal differences. An advantage of this is that you can emphasize directions of form in each stroke that build up to larger overall compositional patterns as I've done in this study.

Monochrome Female Head Study 02

Monochrome Female Head Study 02

12" X 16"

Oil on Paper

2014

This painting is another 2 hour study done on Canson Oil Paper. I've really come to enjoy working with it over the last year. Although at first it took some getting used to as it is a "thirsty" surface to work with. What is especially attractive is that there is a soft focus quality to the finished work that is quite unique. Although hard edges are easily defined as well.

The paint bleeds a bit into the tooth with fluid applications. So it can behave a bit like watercolor paper in that way. Although it takes opaque passages with no problem as well, which makes it quite versatile. It's very much like working with Gouache on Illustration Board, but better in that it offers the permanence and luster of working in Oil.

Skeleton Study in Green Monochrome

Skeleton Study in Green Monochrome

9" X 12"

Oil on Paper

2014

This is a 2 hour study of a full size skeleton that I purchased back in the 90s. I've returned to paint and draw from it on countless occasions. The human skeleton, along with other animals in nature, is a work of tremendous complexity and presents a unique challenge when used as subject material due to the innumerous small forms of detail throughout.

In using it as a subject over the years it really sinks in after awhile just how complicated the spine is in particular. It's like this giant tree trunk of electrical wiring running right down the body carrying out much of what the brain commands and each vertebrae is riddled with processes, ridges, and nodules. It's a bit counterintuitive given how simple the back appears from a surface anatomy perspective. In fact the back, especially the lower back on the male figure, is one of the most continuously homogenous shapes on the human form in general. It's really quite deceptive. 

Monochrome Female Head Study

Monochrome Female Head Study 01

9" X 12"

Oil on Paper

2014

I've just opened up a Gallery on DailyPaintWorks.com* and this is the first painting I've posted there. It's a 2 hour study completed last year as part of a daily painting exercise and I'll be posting more work over the coming year or so.

I'm not currently represented in the "Gallery World" as I've been working full-time commercially for over the last 15 years very much under the radar. I made my first portfolio website back in the late 90s and took it down in late 2003. So I've been missing in action in a public way for quite some time. I haven't even really been on social media at all either. I started a Facebook page some years ago but that was mainly just to do research for a commercial project. I've really had my nose to the grindstone for a long time without taking much time to look around or self promote my work. So I imagine some visitors have come here and said to themselves, 'Who is this guy?'. For those that have I've added a bit more biographical info* at my DailyPaintWorks gallery.

*My online Gallery is currently closed to further purchases as of April 2015. Although I may reopen it at some point in the future.

Untitled #212 (Sold)

Untitled #212 (Sold)

11" X 14"

Oil on Canvas

2014

I usually make some effort to soften more edges on my Alla Prima paintings, but I found this angle to be more befitting of a flatter approach. Profile views on figures have always struck me as the most graphic of angles. 

Obviously, this isn't an original insight as it has been a primary means of graphic figurative communication in art going all the way back to the Egyptians. Given this, this viewpoint and those close to it are typically the best suited for an angular definition of shape in portraiture. Even Picasso took advantage of this oftentimes:

Untitled #94

Untitled #94

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2013

Poses like this 40 min. standing arrangement are nice when the model has something to keep themselves steady with. Krissy, the model,  didn't take a break for the duration of the pose which always makes it more challenging to stay steady. She has a lot of experience though and she wisely added extra support by putting one leg on a stool.

Whenever confronted with a long pose where the model is standing you've got to anticipate more movement than usual as it's a lot more strenuous because they have to constantly stay on balance. So if one leg gets tired they will have to shift their weight to the other and in so doing will alter the angle on many forms slightly. For this reason I usually attempt to articulate the most difficult aspects of the figure first on standing poses. As the model is less fatigued at the start and will generally be more steady. The head especially moves a lot towards the end of long standing poses. Even with the best models.