"Baseball Player" (oil on stretched canvas; 14" x 11")

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As I took a month off from blogging, not from painting, I have a backlog of paintings to share.  The above portrait was done in two-week periods during Danni Dawson's portrait painting class. 

The handsome model posed as a baseball player at rest, without a shirt.  Cropped as a head-and-shoulders portrait, it didn't quite make sense.  So I made him up as the St. Louis Cardinals player!  Somehow, I dropped the letter "t" in the cap; my apologies to the Cardinals fans.  Don't you like the model's sly, side-long glance?

"Viola Solo" (oil on stretched canvas; 14" x 18") sold

sold

Aldwin is a high-school senior and talented musician who plays the viola, guitar and piano and also sings in the school choir.  As I was listening to his solo performance of Max Bruch's "Romanze for Viola" during the winter concert of the Washington Metropolitan Youth Orchestra at the beautiful auditorium of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, I was impressed by his poised mastery of his instrument.

"Civil War Lieutenant Colonel" (oil on stretched canvas; 14" x 11")

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Steve is a military history buff and reenactment actor who also models.  He is costumed as a Civil-War lieutenant colonel in this portrait.  There was a little flutter of excitement last Thursday as a couple of gentlemen approached me at the Art League Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  They admired this painting, quite wet and yet unfinished, and showed an interest in purchasing it.  To my disappointment, they never called me back; nevertheless, I felt flattered at the compliment.

"Troy" (oil on stretched canvas; 10" x 8")

"Troy"

After Week I

After the school closing due to the blizzard that dumped over 2 feet of snow in the Washington metropolitan area, Danni Dawson's portrait painting class was back in session yesterday.  I was happy to be able to capture finally the likeness of the African-American model.  Aren't you impressed with all the colors I found in his expressive face?  That's what Danni emphasizes--put more colors!

"Man in Salmon" (oil on stretched canvas; 11" x 14") sold

sold

Back to Danni Dawson's portrait painting class.  Last Saturday was the beginning of the five-week pose, but the model couldn't make it.  We had instead Ed for one week as a substitute.  Lucky us!  I love his don't-mess-with-me look. Put a helmet and armor on him; he will look like a Renaissance-Italy general!

Step 1: After 40 minutes!  I used a gray-toned canvas for this portrait.

Step 2: I got this far during the class.

Step 3: The drawing was off, so I corrected the drawing and color temperature errors from a photo I took.

 

 

 

 

 

"Young Van Gogh" (oil on stretched canvas; 14" x 11") sold

sold

As I finished "Livia in Straw Hat" in two weeks, which was supposed to be a four-week pose, the teacher Danni Dawson suggested that I should paint the other model in the adjoining room.  Excellent!  This red-haired and bearded young model in a cool Havana hat reminded me of Vincent van Gogh the moment I saw him a few weeks ago, so I readily accepted the offer.

The head-and-shoulders portrait fell into place quickly, but it was the background that troubled me.  In the end, I painted it in the hot, van Gogh-like colors, because that's how I felt about the model--a brooding artist himself.