Man from the Back in Essence

NFS
5" x 9", Essence on Canson Paper

Another example of the technique

I will be teaching in my workshop.

It looks rather like pastel or gouache

when it is dry, because of the lack

of oil in the paint. I really like this

way of painting.

Did I mention that you can paint an

entire grisaille and then paint an entire

picture in color over that? So much

fun....

Lesli Modeling in Class

24" x 14", Essence on Canson, SOLD

I really was pleased with the colors in this
piece, particularly considering that I did
it from a black and white photo that I had
taken of the model after class. I find that
that is a good exercise. It frees you to be
more imaginative with "skin color".

Now, how about Bonnard......see any

"skin color" there? Then again, perhaps

he thought he was painting skin colors.

We'll never know, but whatever it was,

it certainly was sublime, and we are

luckier for it.

Seated Model & Monochromatic Sketch of Walking Nude

Upper- Essence on Canson Paper,

Lower - Oil on Vellum Tracing Paper

Because this vellum paper has a treated surface,

and is impervious to oils, it is possible to

paint on it with paint right out of the tube.

The upper study was done from life,
however, the lower drawing was

actually done not from life, but from

a tiny figure in Eadward Muybridge's

classic text The Human Figure in Motion,

which is full of hundreds of photos of nudes,

all of which were taken using stop-action

photography in the late 19th, and early 2oth

centuries, against gridded walls.

He also took photographs of horses running (one

of which Degas used as a model for one of his sculptures),

and of birds flying.

Essence, and also painting on vellum, are two

of the techniques I will be teaching

next week in my Gesturing the Figure in Oils

workshop at the Art League School in

Alexandria, Virginia. - We will be working from

live models however.

Thanks for visiting today.

Incomplete Flower Study

Go Here to Bid
3.5" x 6", Gouche on WC Paper

I'm not sure what this flower is. I did it

from a photo in a flower catalogue online,

but a just love the colors, and actually

love the unfinished quality of it. I don't think

I am meant to paint big, histrionic paintings.

I think I was probably a monk in a former

lifetime illuminating manuscripts in a

monastery, full of flowers and gold leaf

ornamentation. Things like that make

me happy.

Thanks for visiting today.

Tomorrow I am going to get back to

oil painting, and also I need to get back

to the figure.