I have been painting bigger than ever this year. It’s one thing to painting something small and let it be cute and all, but I think when painting portraits, a painting brings a whole new feeling when it is life size.
Some years ago when I set out to begin painting, I really didn’t know for how long I could paint. And, I still don’t know.
People ask me about my plans as an artist. I usually say that my plan is the same as yesterday: paint one more painting.
And, as I keep on painting, I have found ways, encouragements, and reasons to keep on painting.
I got around to finish 3 paintings today:
Portrait of Paul, which I had been working for the past 3 weeks. A painting for a competition that I had been working on for some time. And this portrait of Steve, which I worked on it after completing Paul’s Portrait.
I had initially painted the entire painting with raw umber, and I thought about stopping there, but with two 20 minute sessions remaining, I decided to put colors. The images shown were taken after each 20 minute sessions.
There are many ways to begin painting with oil, but I like to simply begin painting, drawing with oil, rather than spending whole lot of time using charcoal or pencil.
I might make a composition sketch and/or color study, but when I am ready, I simply begin to paint and adjust as I go.
More than ever, I have grown to enjoy painting fast, but for the mostly, I spend about 2 to 3 weeks on a painting. It’s fair to say that I enjoy painting slow, too.
After intense 2 weeks of painting, I focused on fine-tuning the painting. Although the photo doesn’t capture all the changes, this portrait has gone through multiple surgeries this week… can you spot all the changes from the previous week?
After years of painting, I conclude that it takes really long time to see.
Moreover, it takes even more time to mix that color.
This is why I usually paint a small color study—from a live model—before embarking on a bigger painting.
And, what we often fail to understand about painting is its chemistry.
Paint is made of all different parts of earth: soil, minerals, precious metals, oil, etc.
To paint seriously means one also needs to have a thorough understanding of chemistry of colors, painting surfaces, and time.
Many of my portraits from life are executed over consecutive days and weeks. This one, however, was done in just a few hours, and is one of my favorite from this year.
Speaking of painting from life, If you are in NYC, go see the Met Exhibition, Manet/Degas. There are some exceptional paintings from both painters.
On view: September 24, 2023–January 7, 2024
Oil on Canvas
40 inches x 30 inches
Even after painting so many portraits, I still wonder why I paint portraits at times.
All the awkwardness and doubt disappears, however, when I am painting again, in front of a sitter, surrounded by pleasing smell of oil paint.
So to keep things simple, I strive to paint one more portrait, and then another, just like placing one foot after another—constantly moving forward.
The total amount of outstanding borrowing by the U.S. Government, as of May 27, 2023, is $31.47 Trillion dollars.
There has been months negotiation about raising the debt-ceiling, and apparently, if the government can’t agree on raising it, it will cause—basically—a financial meltdown.
Do you ever wonder how to start or end a painting? I do. All the time.
I truly think that there is no good way to end a painting but to think that there is always more can be done—it’s just that I decide to wait putting down next strokes.
A similar dilemma exists when beginning a painting. Where do I place the head? What’s going to happen to the feet if the head is painted too big? Is it possible that arms won’t fit inside the canvas? Then, I put aside all the small details and paint one thing at a time, and it is as if the painting has existed all along—and I watch how the painting falls into place.