Ken Goldman NWS

Interview with Ken Goldman: Finding Beauty by Joe Nalven

2011-12-26T21:11:00.000-08:00

Ken Goldman and I agreed to continue our discussion about art. I wanted to know more about how he thought about and pursued beauty.

What is beautiful to you? How do you find it?

Ken Goldman: Interesting that you would mention the topic of beauty. This painting I just finished says - in Kanji Japanese, "Beauty can be found any where, any time, any place." On the right, it simply says "Morning Glow." I use the Kanji not so much for what it says but because of the aesthetics and compositional possibilities it provides. I love the flat Japanese aesthetic and attempt to blend it into my own western dimensional aesthetic.

Ken Goldman / Morning Glow

But as regards the rest of my work, one of the reasons I love to paint alleys, autos, fat figures, old men and many man-made ugly objects is to prove that beauty is not about the thing we paint but the colors, values, gestures and design possibilities that any person, thing, scene or situation can provide.

Artists make things, situations or places look beautiful or ugly depending on the way they compose, paint and color or shade. As with music, an artist can deliberately play beautifully and inspirationally, atonally with dissonance, or use a combination of both for pure drama.

If I were to take out the intense contrast of light and dark, bright color versus neutrals, straight versus curve, all being elements and principles of good eye-pleasing design, Morning Glow would be a drab, ugly, unexciting picture of plates, glasses, cups and jams on a breakfast table.

Can you give me several examples of ugly or drab to beautiful?

KG:" One example is this painting, East on Orchard* which was done as a demonstration for the San Diego Watercolor Society. Apparently we were scheduled to meet at the end of Orchard street to paint the ocean. But I liked the opposite view both for its complexity and the editing challenge it provided.

*Ken Goldman / East on Orchard - Watercolor crayons on paper"

Some participants were shocked that I chose to paint the street because they thought cars and jumbled homes were un-appealing. I explained that cars and homes were not ugly at all rather, minus their connotations asman-made things, were interesting, beautiful shapes, especially with the morning light causing cool horizontal shadows on a warm vertical street sandwiched between a cool busy left side and a simpler cool dark mass on the right. It is the beauty of proper design principles such as these that a viewer's eye appreciates above and beyond drab or ugly subject matter.

What other examples might you give in other media?

KG: Here are some charcoal and pastel examples.

Ken Goldman / Up Narragansett - Charcoal on Paper

Ken Goldman / Wash Basin - Pastel on paper

KG: Here is an acrylic example of ordinary objects becoming beautiful for the shapes they provide.

Ken Goldman / Fire extinguisher I - Acrylic on canvas

This an example of figure drawing from my life-drawing class:

KG: Van Relaxed - Pencil and watercolor

Did you develop your sense on what is beautiful over time or did you have a revelation that defined your current thoughts on what is beautiful?

KG: I started my career in art as a bird artist back in 1972. I was a naturalist and I thought at the time that only nature was worth painting. I was only 22 so I guess I can be excused for holding uneducated idealistic views.

Ken Goldman / Two Birds - Watercolor on paper

KG: My transformation began in 1980 when I started painting landscapes and I saw works by Wayne Theibaud. He made cityscapes look as lovely as his landscapes. I also started drawing in life figure groups then and began to see that people of all sizes, shapes and colors could make successful drawings.

Here is another example of an early bird painting.

Do you want to add anything? Perhaps, how your comments match up with what collectors, galleries or museums want?

KG: Galleries shy away from figures and portraits unless collectors specifically commission paintings of themselves or family. Figures, composed nicely with good colors showing the backs or side views are sometimes OK. Some galleries in San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York do sell figures by well known artists but here in San Diego it is tougher to break into that market.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/joe-nalven/2011/dec/25/ken-goldman-finding-beauty/

LA JOLLA LIGHT WEEKLY WRITES ABOUT KEN AND STEPHANIE'S MRI MURALS

2011-07-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

With only a short interview over the phone, Emily Deruy of the La Jolla Light wrote a very nice brief article about our new Murals at Rady Children's MRI Center. See all the images in my two last blog entries. Here's a link to the article. http://www.lajollalight.com/2011/07/05/artists-commissioned-to-add-‘fun’-to-mri-room-at-children’s-hospital/

TWO NEW MURALS AT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

2011-06-18T09:18:00.001-07:00

The Waiting Room Mural 4'x8'

Imagine if you were a child in a sterile environment where everything was unfamiliar and you were asked to undergo test after test. Yikes! Not fun!

With more than 20 years of experience at Sharp and Children's MRI center, Keith Prince, CEO of the department, decided to put child anxiety on the run by transforming his new MRI center into a kid friendly zone.

Based on a recommendation by the art coordinator at Rady Children's Hospital, Janis, (posted one blog ago), Keith called me to see if I would design two undersea cartoon style murals for the MRI room and waiting room. He also wanted about 30 individual cartoon vignettes to be placed anywhere children might look. This was a rewarding project. Stephanie Goldman (wife/mural partner) and I completed the project in 8 days - 3 days before their deadline.

The MRI Mural is 9 feet x 19 feet; the Waiting Room Mural is 4 feet x 8 feet. The Vignettes are about 2 feet square except for 4 smaller Vignettes painted directly on the MRI Machine. Everything was painted with Acrylics. We have heard the kids love the images and make up stories about the various sea critters. Here they are:

THE MRI ROOM MURAL 9'X19'

Pinky and Blueboy

Detail of Singing Fish

THE MRI MACHINE

Vignettes on MRI Machine

Stephanie painting Vignettes

THE WAITING ROOM MURAL 4'X8'

A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE VIGNETTES

Lover Boy

Fan Fish

Cool Daddy-o

Star Boy

Dancing with the Stars

Kissing Fish

Speed Racer

Clown Fish

Free Ride

Whistler

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MURAL AND WALL-COVERINGS

2010-09-06T16:35:00.001-07:00

Here are several views of a 10' x 28' mural (Kite Flyers at Mission Bay) just completed for the intensive neonatal care unit at Rady Children's Hospital.

See CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL UPLIFT (2 posts down -Feb. 28 -'10) for full story of wall-covering designs.

WALLCOVERINGS
The vinyl wall-coverings below are enlarged 6 times from the original watercolors and then applied as wall paper in patient rooms and corridors.
Each floor has a different theme:

SEASHORE AND TIDE-POOLS, 2nd floor
SUN, CLOUDS AND SKY, 3rd floor
OUTER SPACE, 4th floor

SEASHORE AND TIDE-POOLS

A 2 HOUR WATERCOLOR PORTRAIT CONDENSED INTO 2 MINUTES!

2010-05-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

I have a documentary videographer, Mary Lynn Price, who has been filming aspects of my teaching and life for years. She just got a new type of camera and wanted to experiment with it. This is a 2 hour portrait painting condensed into 2 minutes. She surprised me by putting it on youtube. Have a chuckle; I did.

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL UPLIFT

2010-02-28T21:44:00.000-08:00

Last year - '09, I was commissioned by Aesthetics Inc. to create 18 wall coverings for newly renovated Rady Children's Hospital. Their idea was to create fun style images that would add color, joy and outdoor life to a potentially sad, sterile environment. The original images are painted small so they will fit onto an 11x17" scan bed. The reproduced wall coverings will then be enlarged seven or eight times for impact. The originals are painted with transparent watercolors on Arches watercolor paper and non-water soluble ink pen. The ink line corrals the watercolors when they're enlarged. This particular technique is geared towards small children through adolescents.

Each patient room design will be reused 7 or 8 times in different rooms while the Corridor pieces will be used only once per location. This technique worked well for the San Diego Humane Society's Animal House (scroll along bottom of site), so I look forward to seeing how these will enlarge. I will also be doing a painted mural, but the wall is not ready yet. To be continued....

Each floor was given a theme from nature. I was assigned:

Second Floor - "Seashore"

Third Floor - "Sun & Sky"

Fourth Floor - "Outer Space"

SEASHORE

Patient Headwall - reused 8x

Patient Headwall 2wc. 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 reused 7x

Corridor 2wc.47

Corridor 2wc.48

Corridor 2wc. 52

Corridor 2wc. 53

Corridor 2wc. 54

SUN & SKY

Corridor 3wc. 41

Corridor 3wc. 42

Corridor 3wc. 43

Corridor 3wc. 53

3wc. 61 Curved Play Alcove (sides and tall front view)

OUTER SPACE

Corridor 4wc.41

Corridor 4wc.42

Corridor 4wc.53

Corridor 4wc.54

Patient Headwall 4wc 3, 5, 8, 10, 28, 30. 33. 35 reused 8x

Patient Double Headwall 4wc 1, 4, 13, 26, 28, 31, 36 reused 7x

PASADENA ROSE BOWL

2009-12-18T22:30:00.000-08:00

THE MAKING OF A PANORAMIC PAINTING

The two of us hard at work in a corner of our studio. During the day, north light comes in when the warehouse door is open.

Rose Bowl Acrylic on Canvas 27" x 60"

In 2004 PETCO commissioned me to create a painting in commemoration of the San Diego Padres' opening day at PETCO park. The fourteen foot triptych now hangs in the lobby of PETCO's Sony Dugout Club where box seat holders and press enter the stadium.

It was in this lobby that my client (a CAL Berkely alumnus) got the idea to have me create a gift painting of UCLA vs. CAL, at the Rose Bowl, for his UCLA alumnus twin brother's 50th birthday.

To accomplish this, he drove my wife and me up to the stadium on a clear santana day where we chose our viewpoint and took loads of action and landscape pictures. After I got home and downloaded everything, I sent ideas to my client. We decided to show the football action unfolding in the context of a panoramic landscape including the distant San Gabriel Mountains.

Here are the stages:

1. Reference Photos

2. Photos roughly stitched together for a panoramic composition

3. Rough value study with numbers (used to ask client where to place the various colors of the UCLA and CAL fans

4. Photos of players used for drawing

5. Detail of drawing

6. Detail of drawing

7. Detail of drawing

8. Entire finished drawing. 28 hrs.

9. Beginning to apply paint

10. More paint (gold area CAL fans; all the rest UCLA blue)

11. Pick, pick, pick.

12.

13. Final.

Left Video screen says UCLA vs. CALIFORNIA Bears; the other says John, Happy 50th birthday... and many more. Roll on! Jim

Rose Bowl Acrylic on Canvas 27" x 60"

SUNSET CLIFFS PARK BROCHURE

2009-06-21T16:22:00.000-07:00

Finally done! I've been working on this commission for the last month and a half.

Sunset Cliffs Park (San Diego) Acrylic on canvas 16"x48"

The purpose of this brochure is to educate visitors about our Sunset Cliffs Park here in Point Loma. This is a Pelican's eye view. As a surfer, one of my favorite sights is watching pelicans gracefully ride the updrafts of breaking waves.

Originally, this painting had some figures on the edge of the cliff (for scale). But I was asked to remove them in order to avoid giving tourists a dangerous idea (and potentially handing the city a law suit).

The 16"x48" original acrylic will be reduced down to a 5 1/2" x 16" - standard proportions for a City Parks brochure. Here is the rough compositional drawing to give you an idea - both folded and open.

The photos I used for this project were taken by Mark Lipskey from a mini remote controlled helicopter with both a still and video camera. Here are some pictures showing the copter at work and a few of it's still shots.

Cool idea! Lucky me that the graphic designer found this guy.

PAINTING AN OIL FROM WATERCOLORS

2009-04-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

This is my good friend Jan.

Astrologer Jan Oil on Canvas 40 x 30

Detail

INSPIRATION

This is the watercolor I used as a basis for "Astrologer Jan". Since it sold several years ago, I used a printout as reference for the oil painting.

Jan's Garden Watercolor 30 x 22

PORTRAIT #2

But Jan never liked the expression on "Jan's Garden," so I painted this second portrait which she liked better. This is the face I used for the oil painting.

Portrait of Jan Watercolor 22 x 15

PORTRAIT #3

In this last watercolor, I tried to capture Jan's essence as a long-time dedicated astrologer.

Astrologer Jan Watercolor 22 x 15

TECHNIQUE

All the watercolors are begun with an exact cross hatched under-drawing (HB Graphite) to establish the forms and values. Then I used transparent watercolor to build up the likeness, and Titanium white for accents and final touches.

For the oil I used lots of Liquin glazes to maintain a sense of transparency and to speed up the drying time.

The oil is "hot off the press" - 2009; the watercolors were done in 2003 - 2004. It's interesting to note the differences between a watercolor and oil of the same subject... and how my vision has changed.

A BRUSHY INTERLUDE

2009-03-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

Window Sill Watercolor 22x15

Sometimes, as an interim project, its fun to quickly capture a simple kitchen moment with loose, juicy watercolors.

OPAQUE SHAPES OVER TRANSPARENT WASHES

2009-03-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

Watercolor/Acrylic 22x30

Both of these figures were painted from life in two consecutive three hour Sunday sessions. However, in the end, the naturalistic backgrounds were boring.

Back in the studio, with opaque acrylics and tape, I invented symbols, shapes, straights, curves and diagonals to make the initial transparent areas more interesting.

STUDIO CORNERS AND INTERESTING SHELVES

2009-02-18T18:44:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas 48x36

Sometimes when it's too expensive to hire a model yet I want to paint from life, the studio is a perfect place to find inspiration. In addition to finding great verticals and horizontals for composition, every square inch is full of possibility: interesting supplies, hanging/stacked paintings, various artist accessories, musical instruments and even some stuffed birds from my early days as an exhibits designer/muralist/taxidermist at our Natural History Museum. These are some examples (all painted from life 1-4 weeks).

Acrylic /Palette Knife 24x18

STUDIO SHELVES

Acrylic on Canvas 40x30

Acrylic on Canvas 36x24

CORRECTING A FIGURE IN WATERCOLOR

2009-02-12T19:10:00.000-08:00

Final Stage Watercolor on paper 22x30"

Every Sunday morning I attend an uninstructed three hour, two session figure painting workshop.

As all artists who paint the figure longer than 20 minutes know, taped-off poses vary slightly after each break, especially hands; and that's OK... after all, its "Life" Drawing. But in this particular pose both hands were always oddly foreshortened and very difficult to do. I'm now sort of OK with the model's left hand, but was never satisfied with her right hand. There was always something wrong with it and my artist wife Stephanie finally fingered the problem (no pun :-)) - it was the thumb. I've corrected it now and the rest of this post shows how.

MASTER DISASTER by Sue Tregay

I give credit for the following correction techniques to my friend Sue Tregay. Her book MASTER DISASTER is a definitive volume for rescuing problematic watercolors. I highly recommend it to all aspiring watercolorists. Materials: Postal tape, bristle brush, rag and pastel pencils.

1. The thumb was placed too high and was too small.

2. I lightly redraw with white pastel pencil and place the tape over it.

3. Carefully cut the tape (exacto blade) and scrub away the paint with wet bristle brush

4. After I pulled the tape I felt the thumb was still too short.

5. After blow-drying, I re-draw a longer thumb and re-tape over it again.

6. Again, following the new pastel outline, gently cut the tape.

7. After scrubbing, pull the tape and blow-dry.

8. Now I repaint the thumb.

Sargent said "a portrait is a painting where there is a little something wrong with the mouth". I expect I'll never be completely satisfied either but at least the thumb isn't a focal point.

CHARCOAL PENCIL ON YUPO PAPER

2009-02-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

After reading Carol Feldman's fine post - FIGURE ON YUPO (February 5, 2009) I decided to add one more element to the discussion: The use of charcoal pencil on Yupo. I had already tried watercolor and pencil on it but did not realize how nicely it took charcoal pencil until I was asked to do this commission from a friend's photo.

I used a General 2b and 4b pencil, a plastic eraser and a kneaded eraser. What I especially liked about charcoal on this surface is that it can hold middle tones and darks, be erased right back to the white surface, crosshatched with both the pencil and eraser and blended with a stump.

Charcoal on Yupo 12x9

RHYTHMIC FREEWAY SHAPES

2009-02-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

Temecula Overpass Oil on Canvas 36x36

Artists look for beauty everywhere and freeways are as good a place as anywhere to find it. I am told that this massive Lilac St. bridge was constructed before the earth in the area it now spans (I-15 in Temecula, San Diego), was even removed. Its grand arch was poured as the earth underneath was slowly cut away.

I can't even begin to fathom how something this large was engineered, but I'm sure glad it was; whether heading North or South, it is one of the most regal, eye captivating bridge spans I've ever seen. My aim in painting it was to contrast an etherial cloudscape against solid earth as bridged by beautiful, functional manmade design. Obviously I photographed it while driving.

PAINTING FREEWAYS EN PLEIN AIR

I-5 Corridor Oil on Canvas Panel 12x16

To paint this image I set up in a driveway off of La Jolla Scenic Rd. above I-5 S. I was attracted to this scene by the distant curving freeways, various rhythmic overpasses, interconnecting onramps, off ramps and railroad tracks. I couldn't make up a more artistic balance of horizontals, diagonals, verticals and contrasting straights vs. curves if I tried ... all important elements of design.

STUDIO PAINTING FROM THE STUDY

My normal sequence is to paint on location first, finish accents indoors and then make a larger painting from my plein air studies. I'm not sure if I like this enlarged version as well as the plein air, but I do think it has a little more of the atmosphere I actually saw that day.

Oil on Canvas 30x40

PLAIN AIR IN THE GOLDEN HOUR

2009-01-29T23:51:00.000-08:00

From the rarified air of East/West zodiac constellations back down to earth.

Once a year, I teach a course called Plain-air Painting in the Golden Hour through the Athenaeum. I usually begin with three demos; one in Oil, one in Pastel and if there are takers, one in Watercolor.

Cormorant Rock in Point Loma is my usual starting point. This oil is a one hour Demo done on a 9x12" Museum Mat board, double primed roughly with Dick Blick Master Gesso.

I use an absorbent gesso ground because it takes initial thin oil shapes nicely and dries so quickly that I can then add thicker impasto strokes in a pastel-like brushy fashion over a very dry surface. Low clouds rolled in after I shot the photo... a common occurrence in coastal San Diego.

OILS

Sunset Cliffs Trail Oil on Canvas panel 11x14

Sunset Cliffs Dusk Oil on Canvas Panel 11x14

My pastels are drawn on either mid-tone Canson Paper or mid-tone Sennillier La Carte Pastel Card. I begin with a vine charcoal lay-in sketch and then build up layers of flat shapes with a combination of flat and edgy strokes (see Portraits in Pastels).

PASTELS

"Cactus Boulder" Pastel on paper 16x12

Towards Soledad Mt. Pastel on P. Card 24x18

The Pastels were done in a single session (2-3 hrs); the Oils sometimes require two or three re-visits for final touches.

EAST MEETS WEST

2009-01-25T22:39:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago I was exchanging emails with some friends about the twelve western signs of the zodiac and the twelve astrological animals of the eastern calendar. Our conversation led me to mention a watercolor project I was involved in ten years ago which took me three years to complete. It was called EAST MEETS WEST. It was the brainchild of our famous local patron/collector of the arts Ruth Hoffman. The website, books, posters and notecards were beautifully designed by her sister Joanne Mell (available in the San Diego Art Institute store http://www.sandiego-art.org).

Along with five other artists (including my wife Stephanie), I illustrated 31 out of 144 imaginative depictions of the various Eastern and Western signs combined.

Each watercolor is full of various symbols represented by minerals, plants, flowers, planets, constellations, symbols, colors etc. Other than being asked to include these symbols, we were all given free reign to let our imaginations fly. FUN!!!!

Most people know a lot about the twelve western astrological signs but very little about the eastern animals. Here is the story of the birth of the twelve eastern astrological years. If you want to know more, please go to www.eastmeetswestco.com

The Story of the Eastern Astrological Years 

One day the jade emperor, ruler of the heavens and the cosmos, realized he knew little of the earth and the wondrous creatures who lived there. He summoned his chief advisor and asked to meet the animals of this rich kingdom. “Too many to pass through heaven’s gate,” he was told. The emperor decided to meet twelve of the most interesting. Those who served humanity and were beautiful or clever were determined to be of most interest, so the advisor set out to make the selection. 

After pondering his choices, the advisor issued twelve summons. At the appointed hour all but the Cat made their appearance; as it happened the Rat, one of the first chosen, liked the Cat but was jealous of its beauty and so gave the wrong appointed time. The Cat overslept and the jade emperor was furious at its lack of manners. He sent his advisor to earth to find the first animal he saw. That’s how the Pig, in a basket on the way to market, was chosen to substitute for the Cat. 

Once assembled at heaven’s gate, the animals clustered and jockeyed to be first in line. The Rat, both wily and charming but small, began to fret at his chances of being first. Just as the gates were to open, it jumped on the Ox’s nose and began to play the fiddle. The ploy worked, the emperor was delighted and the rat was admitted first. The Ox, who had born the affront with good humor and patience, was admitted second. And one by one the rest of the animals were put in order according to their appearance, their attributes, and their beauty. The lucky dozen and their positions: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

If none of these images represent your combined Eastern and Western sign,

please go to http://www.eastmeetswestco.com/calendar.htm and find your own. Please scroll down as fast or slow as you like and enjoy three unique years of my painting career.

Cover for BOOK OF THE DOG

Cover for BOOK OF THE RAM

AQUARIUS

CAPRICORN

PORTRAIT OF PAUOLO CRISTOBOL

2009-01-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

This Portrait of Pauolo Cristobol, 40x30, oil on canvas, was accepted into the upcoming California Art Club's 98th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition, April 26 - May 17, 2009. Im always happy to be in this event because it takes place in the spacious Pasadena Museum of California Art.

My intention in this portrait was to convey a sense of Paulo's singularity, thoughtfulness, strength and virility. To achieve this aim, I used a limited range of toned down complimentary colors, a strong focal point and straightforward heroic composition.

I met Pauolo at an art opening, hired him for a modeling session, lost contact and now all I know is he lives somewhere in mainland Mexico.

Oil on Canvas Panel 40x30"

ONE POSE, TWO POINTS OF VIEW

2009-01-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas season is a slow time for sketch groups so, rather than growing rusty, Stephanie and I took the opportunity to set up a nude model in our studio. This particular model is also a student of mine who likes to trade drawing lessons for modeling time, so this six hour sketch session was like a Christmas gift.

I worked on a large sheet of stonehenge paper (50x36") in medium sized soft vine charcoal, while Stephanie worked smaller, but more experimentally, on a half sheet of stonehenge (25x36") in a technique she developed that very day using conte sanguin, black and white powdered pigments applied with alcohol and a stiff brush. I really like the way her drawing turned out and look forward to seeing more attempts.

Ken Goldman Stonehenge 36x50"

Stephanie Goldman Stonehenge 25x36"

FIGURE SKETCHING: ONE PEN THAT DOES IT ALL

2009-01-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

As a way to sharpen my hand/eye coordination and to practice new ways of "seeing," I try to attend at least two figure sketch groups per week. My techniques range anywhere from pen, pencil and charcoal to watercolors and oils.

Lately I've been using a special water soluble calligraphy pen that I discovered by accident. This "calligraphy pen" by Itoya may have been developed for calligraphy, but turns out to be an excellent fine art drawing tool as well. It makes thick bold dark lines when used flatly or thin delicate lines when turned on edge. It does not lose its shape and its ink lasts a long time. But what makes this pen really special is the way its water soluble acid free ink creates rich shadow tones quickly, simply by stroking the lines with a wet brush and making them "run."

I do not work for Itoya but sure turned out to be an unpaid mouthpiece for them. I now buy these pens by the box and when I pass on my semi used-up pens to other artists, they end up loving them too.

The examples I've chosen to show here are done on either white Canson paper or toned pastel paper using varying degrees of pastel accents. This pen also works well on watercolor paper combined with transparent watercolor washes.

Here is a sample of one of my Canson sketchbooks with two quickly sketched portraits showing the box, pen, water container and brush.

Detail

This detail shows two gestured figures with a thinner line.

Each of these three pages represent 2 1/2 hours of various poses ranging in time from 2 to 20 minutes per sketch. The surfaces are different tones of Strathmore Artagain Pastel paper ; the color accents are made with pastel.

18x24

Here is the pen in use again, but this time as 2 minute gestures on watercolor paper with washes of warm and cool transparent color.

These are 1 minute gesture poses - using warm/cool washes only, to show how different the figures look without using the water soluble pen.

These last two figures are both done in 20 minutes - using the same technique as the 2 minute gestures - only there is more time to finish, hopefully without losing freshness.

Detail of washes

Too large to photograph in the studio

2008-12-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

Photographing Stephanie's 7x5 foot portrait was a challenge we could not meet with our regular digital cameras. So we strapped the portrait onto the roof racks of our Odyssey and hauled it over to a professional. Here is a low resolution of the jpeg he sent us.

We are now in the market for an entry level digital SLR so we can take our own photos of difficult images in the future. Any recommendations?

The Unveiling of A PORTRAIT OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN

2008-12-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

I'm really green when it comes to this new blogging adventure and not sure yet what to write about when it comes to my own work.

But what I do know today is how proud I am of my wife Stephanie and her unveiling last night of a 7' x 5' life size classical portrait of Pam Whidden, one of our favorite models who also organizes and schedules all of our other models. So I will begin this blog with a tribute to Stephanie's ultra-successful unveiling last night 12/7/08.

There were approximately 250 to 300 people at the Athenaeum where we both teach and when that cover dropped, the mass response went from silent admiration to unanimous praise. It's hard to describe what it was actually like in words. I am also posting a few images.

This is a transcript from the introduction she gave before the cover was pulled down.

People have seen her sketched, painted, and sculpted, countless times, in all manner of costume and poses. She’s been a large part of the art community for over 30 years, working as an artist assistant and model, as well as actively training and placing models in classes and groups, privately and publicly, throughout San Diego.

I commissioned myself to paint this portrait just over a year ago, having envisioned the idea 15 years earlier. After talking it over with Pam, we carefully selected what of hers would be included. Each item we’ve chosen has a story and reveals a little known side of her as a person.

Aristotle said, "The aim of Art is to present not the outward appearance of things, but their INNER significance; for this, not the external manner and detail, constitutes TRUE reality." I have sought to stay true to this classical idea of art in the creation of this painting.