oil sketch, 12 x 9 inches
In preparation for a portrait commission, I am working on a series of oil portrait sketches to "warm up".
Years ago, I aspired to be an oil portrait painter, but things never seemed to work out.
I painted hundreds, maybe thousands, of pastel portraits, frequently from small photos of deceased loved ones. I painted pastel portraits in shopping malls at Christmas for 5 years. From the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve, the Southland Mall in Houma, LA became my home for 12 hours a day, after which I would retire to the Sugar Motel [read as cheap & smoky] to rest up for the next day. Typically, I painted 6 or 7 pastels from small photos a day, with a few live sittings included, for nearly a month.
The conditions were strenuous and adverse; no wonder I gave up the idea of painting portraits!
When my son was born, I happily left that era behind. I began painting watercolors, sculpting in clay, painting oil and pastel still life and landscape.
I'm looking forward to the commission.
In the meantime, I'll do some 'target practice'.
The sketch of Terry was painted quickly, in @ an hour and one half. I used a black and white photo which I had taken of a friend ten years ago.
