Portrait of Young Ernest Hemingway - sold

Oil on canvas, 10"x8"

This is a portrait of the 18 year old Ernest Hemingway at the start of his voluntary service as an ambulance driver in Italy during WWI. It's based on an old black and white photo and I thought it would be fun to paint Hemingway as though he had posed for a quick portrait study by John Singer Sargent, who went to capture the conflict in Europe as an official war artist. I kept the brushwork loose and I think it has the look of portrait from the early 20th century.

It was fascinating to contemplate the young Hemingway in this period shortly before encountering the horrors of war which would both inspire and mark him. I feel he emerged looking quite boyish yet confident, almost cocky...as though he knew that big things were ahead for him.

Copyright © Pat Kelley. All rights reserved. 

Cesar Reading in Bed - sold

Oil on canvas, 12"x9"

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.

Young Man With Blue Eyes - sold

Oil on Canvas, 10"x8"

This is a portrait study of a beautiful dark haired man with pale skin and vivid blue eyes. He's got a timeless, arresting look about him. I played up the high contrast in his coloring and captured the shimmering quality of the skin highlights. I kept the edges sharp and surrounded him with the color of cool air, the palest yellow-tinged turquoise. The effect is intensely lifelike and rather mesmerizing.

As one viewer said, "I know he's never gonna talk but I'm still listening...he's got my attention".