Title: This moment
Oil on Canvas
12×9 Inches
This is a color study for a new pose that started this week. Many of my color studies are more detailed than traditional studies, but executing these studies helps me tryout various combination of color mixes.
When all things fall apart, there is only one thing left to do—very carefully, put everything on the palette on the canvas.
Je — May 18, 2022
Title: Time
Oil on Canvas
48×24 Inches
I spent 3 weeks painting this portrait.
So much has happened during that time. The war in Ukraine is still raging on, Inflation has been driving up the cost of everything—apparently there is shortage of baby formula, Twitter is slated to be owned by Elon Must, etc.
Despite all that, time moves on.
On the personal front, I began and completed this painting, had a successful class exhibition with fellow artists—One of my painting was recognized with a blue-dot award—and I finished my #100HumanChallenge.
After a series of short poses that range from 1 minute to twenty minutes, I got around to draw a twenty minute portrait from life this afternoon.
Twenty minutes can be spent on doing lots of things: do nothing, watch TV, go for a walk, read, or create something.
On view — Our Studio Exhibition will be available for viewing at the Art Students League of New York from April 25 through April 30, 2022.
2 portrait paintings of mine and 4 little composition and color studies from 2021-2022 will be showcased there along the works by many talented artists.
The Art Students League of New York
Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, 2nd Floor
215 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
April 25—30, 2022
Gallery Hours: Monday–Friday, 10 am–9 pm
Saturday, 10 am–3 pm
The April 2022 issue of Monocle Magazine wrote a story, League of its own, about Art Students League of New York. The article describes the league and includes cool interview commentaries from executive director Michael Hall, and two instructors, one of them being no other than my instructor and mentor Sharon Sprung.
What’s also cool is that the magazine highlights a few photos of our Studio, including a pose of Maria that resulted the featured painting.
Monocle preview: April issue, 2022 – Monocle’s April issue features our annual retail survey, a report from France ahead of its presidential elections, an interview with Fiat’s CEO on his electric ambitions and a visit to America’s oldest independent art school, plus much more.
One More Painting – My post from the time that we painted the highlighted photos from the magazine
For all the times that I painted portraits, I found 2 ways to measure proportions: (1) use a stick, ruler, brush or similar device, or (2) simply start painting.
Measuring and calculating the proportions of a portrait is important—it will make or break a painting.
The problem for measuring occurs when models move—this is very natural—the measurements that were perfect seconds or days ago can be totally out of place.
So, for me, measuring too much takes away the experience of painting from life, so I don’t measure much. Once I am happy with the head size and the overall placement of the figure, it’s time for my army of brushes and paints to start the battle.
This is not to say that I don’t measure. I am constantly measuring while I am painting, but much of it based on judging whether or not I am able to capture the likeness.
So I have been thinking. While it is easy to start painting with oil medium, it’s incredibly difficult to become great at oil painting, especially from life. They’re simply so much to learn, not to mention the need to master the draftsmanship required to attempt painting from life models. Then comes a series of oil colors that have all different properties.
And, hundred years of tracing from photos or other mechanisms have ruined—or have enhanced—the entire experience of painting from life.
The pandemic have allowed me to work using digital tools. I have to say I had no desire or inspiration to paint from life before, but I learned that many great artists used photo references to paint, which I found interesting.
Now that we are back in the studio, I now have renewed enthusiasm and appreciation for painting from life and live interaction with professional models and the entire experience.
This particular pose was super interesting, not only because it was all completed from life, but using natural light. You see, because of construction, our studio skylight had been closed for a few years.
I have made some significant and noticeable—more from the perspective of how I paint—improvements since coming back to paint at the league after a month long break from it.
I have decided to focus all my attention to become the best painter I can be in shortest time possible. What’s the secret sauce? My answer: Paint more & fail quicker.
The shown portrait, titled ‘Peekaboo’ (Good reason why it is named the way it is, but I am not going to get into it now) was painted in 2 separate sessions. I probably could have finished on the first day, but I didn’t like some of the changes that I placed at the end of the first session. Next day, I fixed majority of it from memory, but I ended up looking at the live model for the last mile.
This pose began the Monday after when Russia invaded Ukraine. Three weeks into the crisis, I completed this portrait, but the conflict hasn’t.
I titled this painting Blue & Yellow—the colors of the flag of Ukraine, which happen to be the 2 dominating colors used to paint the background and the sweater.
My heart goes out to all the people that have been impacted by this conflict. While it doesn’t seem likely now, I hope for a quick resolution to this conflict.
There are many ways to measure our success. One thing is for sure—we need a new kind of measuring sticks to measure success these days, especially as we survive —perhaps better to say LIVE—through the pandemic.
For some years, I measured my success based on how often I spent time in the wilderness. How many times did I go hiking? How often did I go running? Those are really rewarding ways to measure success. Spending less time inside, and spending more time elsewhere, builds more vivid experiences, which are the foundation of producing great paintings.
In the recent years, I have been measuring my success by the number of faces that I have painted, and by the colors that I am able to see. Along the way, I have met wonderful people and heard stories of their lives.