Whirled Onward by the Hours

Whirled Onward by the Hours / 23 x 23 / oil on brown paper

Straightening up my studio this morning, I came upon a roll of brown paper and suddenly had a desire to paint on it.Here is the result of a happy painting day going where ever my brush took me!

For quite some time now I have been toying with the idea of painting a nude male posed as an odalisque. The word odalisque refers to a female and in popular usage it refers to a concubine, mistress or paramour of a wealthy man. As my idea is to  paint a male, I know I am using the wrong word to describe my intention, but, nonetheless, the idea of a male odalisque has intrigued me. Recently, when I came across a vintage photo of Chauncey Morlan posed in the nude, I decided paint him. The reference photo is, of course, black and white from approximately 1890. I used a limited palette and, surprisingly, am quite happy with the result. At first I was going to post this painting on my blog, but decided against it. In any case, it was an interesting endeavor and now I wonder if I will one day attempt a larger version as the current painting is only 12 x 16.

Diana / oil on canvas / 14x11

And, lastly, this little portrait is of Diana, our model for Wednesday morning open studio.

Open Studio Oil Portraiture

Owen / oil on gessoed cardboard / 12.5 x 14

Young Owen was a superb model in our open portrait session this morning. I don't think he even blinked his eyes the entire time - he was perfectly still giving the artists no excuses at all for not painting him well! And, at the end of the day, the room was filled with incredible portraits - some in charcoal, some pastel, others in watercolor and one or two in oil. It was a delightful morning and I came away feeling I had learned a lot.

Recently, the Reno Portrait Society asked me to exhibit a drawing I did in January of the owner of a local restaurant. They are doing a show in April centered around the 88 year history of the building where the restaurant is now located. The drawing is in graphite with white charcoal highlights on tan toned paper and it framed up fairly well.

The Restaurateur / graphite and white charcoal on paper / 11 x 14

Thanks to all for stopping by and leaving a comment on my blog. Your comments make it all worthwhile!