The Godfather of Soul in ink, painted for a close friend of mine.

In India ink, from Mika‘s place.

This is a painting in oils of my sister Mary-Anne’s family.  The painting is 36 x 48 inches, approx. 91 x 122 cm.  It features from top left: Sophia, Ana, Mary-Anne, Julian, Max and their two cats below, Bacchus on the left and Zeus on the right.  There are a few other details to show the particular quirks and comforts of the family, including a decanter and glass of port for Julian, Mary-Anne’s favorite coffee mug, Max playing with Thomas the Tank Engine, some colored pencils for Sophia and a portrait of their beloved dog Tanner, who passed a couple of years ago.  To have an idea of the process here are a couple of images which show the roughing out stage in charcoal and then heightened with white afterwards.  I haven’t been painting in oils for a while so this painting was a welcome adjustment after painting in watercolors and inks for so long.  It also reminded me of how difficult painting a child’s face can be–any wrong stroke and the face completely changes, especially with babies!

Here are the earlier images of the piece:

First a charcoal sketch with some painting over:

Then heightened with white and burnt umber:

Well before these stages I did many sketches and preparatory drawings to get a feel for each person’s face and the overall composition.  Most of my decisions were made during this early stage, perhaps the most important stage of the whole process.

This is what came in the mail this week: from the September issue of DestinAsian, one of my sketches from my travels in India two years ago.  Specifically it’s an image of Lake Pichola in Udaipur.  This is one of my sketches from my India sketchbook which the magazine asked if they could use.  Originally they wanted to use an image from Agra featuring the Taj Mahal but then they selected the one above.  Click on the images below to enlarge.

At the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts, the door to the school lounge, along with the cypress tree, lavender and pomegranate leaves.

An ink painting of the bronze statue by Benvenuto Cellini in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence.

A sketchbook spread from a few months back.  Steven, a former student sketching during Free Draw at the Aegean Center, Socks, my favorite cat, a woman in profile, a man on the ferry and the small church right next to the port of Paros, in no particular order.

Figure painting in watercolor is fun because you can’t think about it too much, you just have to do it.  Here’s a sitting nude.