Fellow Rochester artist, Nick Redanty, sat for me for my fifth life painting that will be shown at Lovin' Cup in December. Because Nick is also an artist, he was conscious to keep a consistent pose for me. Sitting behind my easel, he was able to follow the area I was working on by observing the reverse side of the canvas and keep that area still. Painting fellow artists is enjoyable because we can discuss our processes as I paint. Nick came up with the great idea to put his hood over his head which added dramatic shadows across his face. A world class mustache didn't hurt either. Adding props that describe the person is something I will continue to incorporate into this series. Nick uses a respirator for his graffiti art and told me thought about bringing it. Having it hang around his neck, or even wearing it, would have added intrigue, but I'm very happy with the results. Thanks Nick!

A life painting of the beautiful Christine Renee Carder. Christine was very patient as we tried a few different poses before settling on this profile. Christine has very striking features and a delicate long neck, one of my favorite features to paint with women, inspired by Modigliani. Christine also has a deep and passionate view of life and I highly enjoyed our conversation while painting. She is also a very gifted photographer, capturing the beauty of nature that is hopefully shown in this portrait of a natural beauty.

A life painting of local Rochester artist, Tom Fox. This is the third life painting in my new series. Like the others it took about four hours in one painting session. I added a black background this time to reflect the darker backgrounds Tom uses in his paintings. I think the likeness is there but the colors are somewhat washed out against the strong black and too "rainbowy" overall. Will have to continue working on using more muted tones in areas of less emphasis.

A recent portrait of Josh on 3'x3' canvas. It took about 4 1/2 hours. This was a second attempt. The first time Josh played his guitar and sang, but it proved too difficult as an action painting. For this attempt, Josh came up with the idea of wearing a cowboy hat and tinted shades. The sunglasses worked out well because Josh could meditate with eyes closed and I wouldn't know. The reflections in his glasses were a challenge because they constantly shifted, but it worked out. Still looking for models to fill a show at Lovin Cup. Hoping to have roughly a dozen portraits. Contact me if interested in sitting. I'm hoping, as I get back in the swing of live painting, that things will speed up and I can cut the time in half, but for now I need three or four hours.

A recent portrait of Laura. It was painted from life on 2'x3' canvas and took about three hours. It helped that Laura is a great model and held a pose beautifully. Hopefully we can have another painting session together soon and she might do a charcoal drawing of me. I'm hoping to do more life painting this fall and hang them at Lovin Cup" coffee shop in a couple of months. Painting from life is probably the biggest challenge, but also the most rewarding. I think it offers a more complex portrait, with a variety of expressions, instead of a single snapshot in time. This painting is fairly realistic for me, the next one of Laura would probably have more distortion and color play. I'm looking for models to sit if anyone is interested? If you are willing to sit twice than I would give one away as payment for modeling. If anyone is interested in a commissioned portrait, I charge $400 for 2'x3' or $500 for 3'x4. I can work from life or from photos if you prefer.

Hello Bloggers

This is my first post on Blogger. Looking forward to exploring this new world!