7/23/13 – I had a photo shoot with the subject of my next canvas. We shot about 60 images and at least 10 of them are exactly what I was hoping for. I can’t wait to get started.
8/6 – We’ve selected the image and without wasting a moment, I’m in the studio laying it out in pencil on the gessoed canvas. Every time I get to this initial stage I wish that I could continue developing it as a drawing, but this is a painting project so here comes the color.
I used a minty blue for the first layer of the background field and for the sweater I’m using the same red as in my red self-portrait. I thought about using the same red background for all of the portraits, but it makes sense to choose a color that works with the model too. We’ll see how this looks in the days to come.
8/13 – After building a new easel/wall at the house, I finally had a chance to paint in the new studio space. After only an hour I had to stop, but I was able to block in the flesh and start on the hair. I thought it was awesome having a studio a mile away from home, but it’s even better having a studio down the hallway from my bedroom!
8/17 – I can’t wait for Walking Dead to start back up again in the fall….
I was up early this morning and it was quiet so I grabbed a cup of coffee and worked on the canvas for an hour or so before the kids woke up. Katy came back from a 6 mile run and fixed me a tasty omelette and some mash potato pancakes and bacon. Throughout the day I was able to do some things around the house and come back and work on the canvas. Having a home studio is working nicely so far.
8/25 – I added a darker layer of color into the background on top of the minty blue base color. The blue pokes through the brown in an interesting way. I brought the dark brown into the hair and the collar and the folds in the sweater and now the model is starting to look as if it actually occupies some kind of 3D space. There’s still a lot of painting to do!
11/12/13 – I had a few quiet hours in the studio tonight and I felt like I accomplished what I set out to do. Carl Rockman’s portrait is finished.