Here we are, the day before the May edition of the ‘Guest Sketchbook’, and I finally have a sketchbook entry of my own for your perusal.

It has been a while, and I was enjoying my reunion with by sketchbook enough that I got a little carried away with this one.

Tomorrow, in the ‘Guest Sketchbook’, not only do I have some great new drawings to post, but I will be elaborating on my plan to encourage more participation in the GS through the cunning use of bribes (prizes, for those of you who consider yourselves above taking a bribe).

That’s right, ‘The Letter’ is finally finished. This afternoon I completed the last of the decorative concrete blocks behind the figure, made a number of touch-ups to various other parts of the painting, and with a great deal of satisfaction, signed it. It seems as if this piece has taken an inordinately long time to paint, but actually I only recorded around 140 hours of work (not including preliminary sketches, modeling sessions, and canvas prep). The large amount of elapsed time is due to the patchwork schedule of painting time I have had available since the beginning of the year.

But, enough chat. Here is the best image I could get of the finished painting in it’s current partially-wet, unvarnished state. As usual, you can get a larger version by clicking on the thumbnail below.

Better images will be available once I have the painting professionally photographed.

Other than the patterned blocks, which I think turned out rather well, the changes and touch-ups I made since the last post will be all but impossible to pick out on a computer screen. Most of them consisted of keying up highlights in the brighter areas of the painting, refining an edge here an there, etc. If you look very closely you may be able to make out the small changes I made to the face, and to the large antenna in the lower right corner of the piece. As the paint dries, and I live with the finished product for a week or two, I am sure a few more minor adjustments will be made. That being said, I am really happy with this painting, and looking forward to starting another.

I finished the last of the concrete this afternoon. Now all that remains to be painted is the patterned blocks adorning the edge of the wall just behind the figure. I estimate that two work days will take care of those. Another day of touch-up work should finish the painting. As is often the case, the image below (click on said image for a larger version) is not the best representation of the colors and contrast of the painting itself, but given the erratically reflective nature of the fresh paint and the size of the canvas, it will have to do for now.

I had the incredible pleasure of meeting Jacob Collins, one of the finest (and most influential) figure painters living or dead (in my opinion), last night at an informal lecture he gave while in town as a juror for the 83rd Spring Salon at the Springville Museum of Art in Springville, UT. Lecture may be the wrong word. What he did was more to simply speak about his work, techniques, and philosophy of Art in a rather intimate and honest way for nearly three hours, while entertaining questions. I have admired Jacob’s work since the instant Sara showed me his website several years ago, but he was nothing like I expected. Not the least bit pretentious, but confident and honest about his work (and success) in a way I would expect from a fellow painter I had known for years. Most pleasantly surprising was his clear and unapologetic defense of classical realism, of uplifting and inspiring themes, of a serious work ethic, and of beauty as a value in and of itself. I was both moved and inspired, and once again reminded of how much room I still have for improvement.

I also had the opportunity to meet William Whitaker, another incredible realist figure painter, and fellow Utah resident, who attended the lecture.

I finished the skirt yesterday. It has taken longer than usual, in part due to the many small blocks of time I had to work on it, and in part due to the process of changing it’s color etc. The end result, however, justifies the effort.

As I mentioned in my first comments on the skirt, I ended up opting for a dark brown and green floral pattern accent to tie in with the flowers and hair rather than making the entire thing either color. Seeing it finished, I think this was definitely the way to go. Click on the above thumbnail image for a larger version.
Today and tomorrow I will be working on the remaining concrete and block wall behind the figure.

Work on the composition for the commission is going well. I will try and post a few sketchbook entries next week, depending on the progress I make both with that composition and with the final work on ‘The Letter’.

Sara is still in the process of making a few final tweaks to the new look. So far, I really like it. Check out the small boxes in the upper left.  Each should give you a different option for the background image. My current favorite is Stargazer.

I have had the opportunity to complete a little more work on ‘The Letter’ over the past two days. I am so close to being finished, but there is still quite a bit to do. I hope to put the finishing touches on the painting by the 15th.

I have been putting most of my work time into the compositional phase of this potential new commission. I won’t be posting any images until the idea is completely formed, and the job is either mine or not, but I will say I am even more excited about the idea than I was before.

I have four great sketches from two artist’s for this month’s edition of the Guest Sketchbook. Both of these gentlemen sent in a number of images, and I have pulled my two favorites from each (perhaps reserving a few of the others for future installments).

First, two new sketches from Erik Widqvist. The first is an excellent value study, and a great use of single-point-light in a composition:

Erik’s second submission is a nice, quick sketch more in his illustrative style:

The next two sketches were sent to me from Johnathan Schaefer, a nine-year-old boy, from (I assume based on how he heard of my site) the Albany, NY area.

I didn’t post Johnathan’s favorite which I am saving for next month. My real hope is that he (as well as David Celestino, the other young artist featured in last month’s Guest Sketchbook) will send me one or two new pieces for May’s edition. Incidentally, the second sketch (of the eye) I find remarkable for a nine-year-old. It’s the sort of thing you often see from university students.

That’s it for this month. I am considering some form of award for one or two of the Guest Sketchbook’s participants perhaps twice a year. I have a little thinking to do as to how best to select the winners, but I am leaning toward a print of choice of my work as the prize. Hopefully this will inspire a little more participation. By next month’s post, I will have the details worked out. In the mean time, send in the sketches.