MASTER STUDIES | FORAY INTO PORTRAITURE

 Over the past several weeks I have been aggressively tackling portraiture, beginning with master studies. A master study is an acknowledged copying of a painting done by a master (van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Monet would all be masters, as well as more modern names like Anders Zorn or CW Mundy). The purpose of a master study is to learn from the masters' technique and execution. I used them to learn facial measuring (to get a likeness) and the colors generally involved in a portrait.

With all this in mind I have spent many hours on such master studies, and will share several with you today. These are both copies of paintings by Susan Lyon.

Since completing these, I have moved on to painting from photographs of people and now from live models (and will share those pieces in the near future!).

S. Lyon Master Study 2015

Oil on Canvas

9 x 12 inch

S. Lyon Master Study 2015 II

Oil on Canvas

9 x 12 inch

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"Every portrait that is painted with feeling is the portrait of the artist, not of the sitter."

- Oscar Wilde

BEACH SKETCHES | PT. II

When at the beach with our cousins, there is always a recurrent pile of flip flops that soon creates itself. This subject intrigued me because of the arrangement and shadows, but also the fact that the center flip flops belong to my boy cousin, Sam, and are called "man flops" by my other cousin, Grace. That just cracks me up. Both factors combined made for an interesting drawing.

"Flops on the Deck"

May 24, 2015

Pencil on Paper

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"Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse."

Winston Churchill

BEACH SKETCHES | PT. I

Following this first installment will follow several recurring chapters, all recounting the recent beach vacation my family took, in the form of the drawings I brought home. First up, the beach path. To the right one can see some slight sketches of birds. Above: the hunting ospreys that I watched all week, climbing into the sky and plummeting down to their next meal. Below: a morning dove that visited the deck handrail for a couple minutes.

Morning Shadows on the Beach Path

May 24, 2015

Pencil on Paper

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"You can't do sketches enough. Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh."

- John Singer Sargent