This portrait is a study of a handsome dark haired man painted in a restrained, subtle palette. I wanted to evoke a soft haze as though viewing the subject through the distance of time.
The background was created by layering transparent glazes which created an effect reminiscent of weathered and faded denim with a very glossy surface. It's an unusual, textured surface without being too dominant.
This is a portrait of a pale, blue eyed girl with finger waves in her golden hair. This portrait study ended up being oddly timeless, both retro and contemporary at the same time. The vivid, cherubic face and swan like neck have a Baroque, mannerist feel while her style is delicately minimal with a 1920's vibe. I like the bold strokes of the loosely painted lavender blue of the background.
This is a portrait of a handsome man with dark hair and pale blue eyes in strong chiaroscuro lighting. I am pleased with the expressive looseness I achieved in the brushstrokes while capturing details like the dazzling light in the eye. It's a very electric, lifelike portrait that makes you wonder exactly what is on his mind.
In this painting a handsome man stands in darkness, his pale skin glowing. He looks a bit shadowy and sinister. But is he truly dark? Or is he the light within the darkness?
I wanted to focus on mood and atmosphere so I kept the colors and values within a limited range. I am pleased with the subtlety of the shadows which simultaneously accentuate and obscure his sharp features and lean body. There is texture and visible brushwork, especially in the background. I'm not sure if the images sufficiently convey the mood and depth of this painting is as darker paintings are difficult to photograph. This is a small but evocative painting with a powerful presence.
This portrait of a handsome man conveys what fascinates me...the physical sense of a person and also the expression of an inner life. There's a feeling of energy in the contours of his muscular upper body and a palpable warmth in the glow of his skin. I like the turn of his head in opposition to his body as he stands in a honey colored light casting a cool blue shadow on the wall behind him.
I focused on loose brushwork, keeping the edges soft and I used impasto in the highlights. I'm happy that my strokes here convey the energy of painting.
This portrait of a young man is perhaps the most alive and tactile of the male portrait studies I've done thus far. I'm pleased to have captured something rather elusive...a thoughtful and complex quality in this beautiful face. This one is a little larger than my usual head studies and there's a strong feeling of immediacy and an electric presence.
I focused on loose brushwork, keeping the edges soft and I used impasto in the highlights and background. I'm especially happy with the expressive look of his eyes and mouth and the painterly texture in his hair.
This drawing was done as a preparatory study for a painting. The model is standing next to a window with natural light defining his muscular physique. I was inspired by this model's dark good looks and haunting, intense eyes.
This is a classic standing nude figure study of an exotically handsome man with a powerful physique. I like creating nudes that are also unique portraits of distinct individuals. I pushed the contrast between the cool colors of the background and the warm skin tones and the crimson drape in the lower corner to create a vibrant mood. I kept the edges crisp to make the figure pop against the background. There is vigorous brushwork throughout, especially in the shimmering impasto of the background and the fabric. The effect is that of a fine traditional academic figure study with a fresh, modern energy.
This is a classic nude study of a man sitting in bed reading while bathed in natural light from an unseen window. There's a poetic quality to the scene, as though he just woke up, reached for this book and was transfixed by what he read. I love the luminosity of his body against the darkness of the room, the way the light bounces off the sheets and envelopes him. I had fun with the varying hues and impasto texture in the sheets and especially enjoyed the glow of the brilliant light hitting his inner thigh.
This is a unique contemporary portrait of a handsome young man napping on a couch in afternoon light. I was taken by the intense reflected light and exuberant colors in this view of my favorite model. The planes and angles of his face were sharply defined by the unusually luminous conditions. A variety of vivid flesh tones occur within the bright shadow areas and vigorous brushwork captures rich textures and details. I love the relaxed feeling of this scene and there's a fascinating contrast between the peaceful languor of the model and the energy created by the angles of the composition.
This is a painting of a handsome, muscular man emerging from the ocean. He's dripping wet and glistening, the warm golden tones of his body contrasting with the blues and greens of the sea. I enjoyed painting the highlights on his shining skin, the transparent green wave lapping against him and the droplets falling off his arm. This is a very happy, sensual painting that evokes a perfect day at the beach with a beautiful man, bright sun and warm water.
This painting is a figure study and portrait of a handsome man. I wanted to do a study of this gorgeous man and his athletic musculature while keeping a focus on painterly brushwork, texture and light. I'm happy that I also captured a sweet expressiveness in his face. The golden tones of his body are complemented by the warm blue-grey of the background. There's a casual feel combined with moodiness that makes this painting both contemporary and timeless.
This painting is a study of a sleeping man in a room with light pouring in, highlighting his back and the sheets on the bed. I wanted to present the warm colors of the body in contrast to the pale aqua tints of the surrounding room. I kept the brushwork quite loose and painterly while maintaining a high degree of realism.
Fine quality prints of this painting are now available here.
This is a portrait study of a dark haired man with dramatic features and an intense expression. I focused on loose brushwork and keeping the edges soft. While I often do paintings of my friends, this guy is based on various sources that I mashed up with my imagination. So he's entirely my creation, and just as with the women I paint, I enjoy a vintage look in men. Therefore, I wanted to concoct a man who looked like he could have posed for a painter a hundred years ago. I like inventing people and I think I got him pretty lifelike.
As I have mentioned before a few times, I love painting faces. Actually, I love painting the entire figure but a whole figure can become a big project for me so I often to stick to faces as that seems to be where I focus even when painting a figure. I'm not sure what it is about the face that gets me so involved. I guess because it's amazingly intricate. The eyes alone have such a delicate architecture. While it can be aggravating, I enjoy painting flesh so a shirtless man is a good compromise between painting a face and a whole figure. Getting the skin tones believable is difficult, it's so easy to veer off into a chalky mess if you add white too heavily. Even a very pale person has far less white in their skin tone than you'd think. Women's faces are easier for me to paint than men because the look of makeup can go a long way to highlight features and inject color and visual interest that would look odd on the average man. All this effort is required simply to produce a passable looking human being, to convey something of the human spirit and emotion is an even higher mountain to scale but one I never tire of tackling.
This painting is a classic figure study. Figurative subjects are my favorite and I love the challenge of painting nudes. Especially male nudes as they tend to have more defined musculature. There are few things more difficult to paint than the human body and I have to admit that the contrapposto stance gave me some trouble...but I think I pulled it off.
